'I rode TfL's latest Superloop bus - and people were genuinely excited to get on board'

“Superloop is a network of 10 express bus routes which will improve connections and journey times between key outer London town centres and transport hubs,” according to the Transport for London (TfL) website.

The Superloop was first announced last April as debate over the expanded Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) heated up.

The new routes are priced at the regular £1.75 rate and are subject to Hopper fare rules, meaning unlimited journeys within an hour of touching in.

The news was welcomed by many in the outer boroughs, who often experience patchier transport connections than in inner London.

Despite being just under six miles apart as the crow flies, bus users travelling between Croydon to Bromley often complained of "painfully slow" bus routes that could take up to an hour during busy rush hour traffic.

The arrival of the SL5 line earlier this month offers south Londoners a quicker route and I set out to experience it and, more importantly, to see whether anyone is using it.

On TfL's SL5

I joined the route from a stop beneath the skeletal remains of Croydon's Nestlé Tower, a site familiar to south Londoners.

My sightseeing time was cut short as the SL5 came into view, just as the timetable said it would. The route runs every 12 minutes during the daytime on Monday to Saturday and every 15 minutes during the evening and all day on Sundays.

While the white livery suggests the new network will comprise a new and improved fleet, the inside of the bus says otherwise.

Once you have tapped your way onto the SL5 you are met with the familiar interiors of a Go Ahead single decker. This particular bus had the added feature of heavily vibrating loose windows, which let out an excruciatingly loud rattling sound.

An inconvenience but, on the whole, the bus was fine. It was clean and comfortable and the newly installed charging ports worked. 

Need for speed

But journey time is the key factor, at least for those riding on the SL5 with me last Thursday morning.

Hammersmith resident Claire, who has friends in Croydon and Bromley, said: “It’s not that there wasn’t a direct bus before, it’s just that it stopped at all the houses and took ages. I got this for the first time last week without knowing anything about it and it was so much quicker.

“The idea that Bromley is easily connected to Croydon is great because if anything goes wrong with the trains, and it usually does, you have a quick way to get in between. It’s brilliant, god knows why it took this long.”

Leaving Croydon’s metropolitan cityscape, we entered the sweeping avenues of Addiscombe and Shirley near the Bromley boundary. At this point, a group of mothers and grandmothers step on board with a gaggle of excited grandchildren on half-term.

One of the mums, Louise, said: “Just to know that it’s there is great, it makes life so much easier. We’re going straight to the train station, so we can jump right off the bus and onto the train without having to worry about parking the car.

“We used to take the 352, but that goes everywhere before it gets to Bromley. You can also get the 358 from here to Bromley, it’s pretty quick but not as good as this. We’re quite excited to have a new toy to play with.”

'New' TfL Superloop routes

The SL5 is the shortest section on the Superloop network and operates almost entirely the same line as the former 726, which took passengers on a long route from Bromley to Heathrow Airport. 

The Superloop rebranding split the journey into the more manageable SL5 and SL7 routes, the latter of which takes passengers from West Croydon bus station to Heathrow. 

Before arriving in Bromley, Louise told me of problems she used to experience.

She said: “We have been in Croydon before and thought we needed to get to Bromley for the shops. However, instead of getting the bus we would come home and get the car instead because it was quicker than the other routes.

“It’s easier to get a bus now because a lot of older people can’t use the new RingGo app you need to use to park in the town centre. It’s just too much of a faff for old people.

While rounding up the kids for hasty disembarkation at Bromley South, Louise pointed to her mum, saying: “She rode one of the first Superloop buses and even got a special pin badge. I told her to keep hold of it, it might go up in value.”

Terminates here

The bus pulled into its terminus at Bromley North, a mere 24 minutes after starting its journey in Croydon. Other than the windows' heavy vibrations and the occasional baby scream, it was one of the most pleasant bus journeys I’ve experienced. 

The mood on board was cheery, with people seeming eager to give up their seats and make chit-chat. Whilst rush hour traffic and the waning novelty of the network may eventually dampen the gaiety, the efficiency the new route brings seems to have been warmly received. 

On the returning leg of my journey, fellow passenger Geona said: “I thought it was going to be fancier inside, but it seems quick and reliable. That’s the main thing isn’t it.”