TfL Superloop: First bus routes launched between Uxbridge and White City

The first of the new Superloop buses will be launched on Saturday, the mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced.

Buses on Route 607 between Uxbridge and White City will be renumbered SL8 and rebranded with the new Superloop roundel and design.

The buses will call at the same stops as now, but some of the bus stop names will change to reflect their locations.

The timetable for SL8 will also be extended to provide more early morning and evening buses from August 19. Other improvements, including improved customer information and USB charging, will also follow.

TfL has also confirmed that subject to consultation, the complete loop of the Superloop network will be in service by Spring 2024, with consultations launching on three more routes this month.

This is with the exception of route SL4, which would be launched when the Silvertown Tunnel opens in 2025.

The full proposed Superloop network consists of existing bus routes, which are being given new route numbers and branding, and newly proposed bus routes, which TfL is consulting on.

The network is part of a £6m investment by the mayor to compensate for the impact of the ultra-low emission zone expansion, due to start in August.

Mayor Khan said: “The proposed Superloop will be a gamechanger for travel around outer London, delivering quicker links to transport hubs, town centres, schools and hospitals, and I’m so excited for Londoners to start seeing the Superloop on the roads from tomorrow and benefiting from the increased and improved services.”

“I am pleased that we can confirm today that the aim is for the Superloop routes which circle the capital to be fully in service by Spring 2024, delivering on my promise to improve transport links in outer London. These new routes will help tackle our city’s toxic air and build a better, greener and cleaner London for all.”

The limited-stop express bus routes circle the entire capital - aiming to connect outer London town centres, railway stations, hospitals and transport hubs, more quickly.

Louise Cheeseman, Director of Buses at TfL said: “The newly numbered and branded SL8 will provide people in outer London an instantly recognisable express bus route helping to make it easier to choose a sustainable travel option. I urge customers who are used to seeing the 607 to give the SL8 a try.”

TfL recently consulted on a proposed route between Harrow and North Finchley, which would be SL10 (previously X183) and it is currently consulting on SL1 (previously X34) which will run North Finchley and Walthamstow.

Consultations on routes SL2, SL3, and SL5 will follow in the coming weeks.

The buses will have branded seat moquettes, USB charging points and better on-board route information. Superloop trips will cost the same as a conventional London bus - £1.75.

However, Tory critics have dubbed the initiative the “Superflop”.

Nick Rogers, the City Hall Conservatives transport spokesman, said: “Sadiq Khan’s Superloop announcement is a Superflop, amounting to nothing more than a repackaging of existing routes and vague promises that will not be delivered before his Ulez expansion hits Londoners.

“This is a microscopic level of investment. The mayor’s rushed plans have been thrown together in a panic, and do nothing to address the devastating impact of his ULEZ tax.”