Sadiq Khan has unveiled plans for a second Superloop network of express bus services as part of his re-election bid.
If granted a third term at City Hall, the capital’s Labour mayor is proposing to double the number of Superloop services from 10 to 20.
The new collection of routes, dubbed ‘Superloop 2’, will include the recently announced ‘Bakerloop’ service, designed to provide an alternative to the unfunded £10billion Bakerloo line Tube extension.
The proposed Superloop 2 routes, all subject to consultation, are:
- Harrow to Barnet, via Edgware
- Barnet to Stratford, via Enfield and Chingford
- Leytonstone to South Havering, via Gants Hill and Romford
- North Greenwich to Thamesmead, via Woolwich
- ‘Bakerloop line’: Elephant and Castle to Lewisham, via Old Kent Road and New Cross
- Streatham to Eltham, via Tulse Hill and Lee
- Richmond to Wimbledon, via Roehampton
- Ealing Broadway to Kingston, via Great West Road and Richmond
- Hounslow to Hammersmith, via Great West Road
- Hendon to Ealing Broadway, via Brent Cross and Hanger Lane
Mr Khan said: “The success of the Superloop is one of my proudest achievements as mayor, connecting Londoners to key locations in outer London and getting more people onto public transport. It has been nothing short of a game changer – making journeys quicker and more convenient…
“The proposed new routes will all be subject to consultation with Londoners, but I’ve asked Transport for London to start looking at how they could best serve key locations – whether popular town centres, other transport hubs or public services like hospitals.”
The mayor has meanwhile promised to continue lobbying the Government to fund the Bakerloo line Tube extension, among other Tube and rail projects.
When the Superloop was first announced by the mayor last year, backed by £6million of funding, it was attacked by his Tory critics as “nothing more than a repackaging of existing routes and vague promises” and “a microscopic level of investment”.
On the Superloop 2 plans, Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall said: “Sadiq Khan’s last attempt at an orbital bus service turned out to be a Superflop, and there is no reason why this would be any different.
“I have long called for more investment in outer London buses and I will deliver this without hammering motorists with Sadiq Khan’s Ulez expansion or bringing in his pay-per-mile plans. On May 2, you have the chance to vote for a mayor who listens.”
Mr Khan denies he plans to bring in ‘pay-per-mile’ road user charging, having explicitly ruled it out in his manifesto on Thursday.
Four of the original 10 Superloop routes were ‘re-badged’ existing services, albeit with increased frequencies.
It is not yet clear whether any of the Superloop 2 routes will use existing services, but the mayor’s campaign team pointed out that even the re-badged routes have seen increased ridership. For example, the SL7 – which runs from Heathrow to West Croydon – saw a 56 per cent ridership rise between June and November following its rebrand and frequency boost.
The London mayoral election is on Thursday, May 2, along with elections for the London Assembly.
