Plans for a “Bakerloop” route on the Superloop express bus network have been unveiled in a move that the mayor hopes will lead to the Tube’s Bakerloo line being extended.
A £10bn-plus Bakerloo line extension, south from Elephant and Castle to Lewisham and beyond, has been sought for years to improve connections in “historically under-served” south-east London.
But it is unfunded – resulting in Sir Sadiq Khan proposing to “prime” the route by launching a new Superloop route along the same travel corridor.
He hopes improved bus connections will be a “precursor” to attracting new homes and investment to the area and will strengthen the economic case that Transport for London has to put to the Government to convince it that extending the Bakerloo line would be a good use of public money.
Transport for London opened a six-week consultation on the Bakerloop bus route on Friday, giving Londoners the chance to comment on where the bus stops will be located and whether tweaks are needed to the route, especially around Lewisham town centre.
Unlike the Tube extension, the bus route will provide links to and from Waterloo station rather than just to Elephant and Castle station.
Following the consultation period, which runs until March 14, TfL will offer bus companies the chance to tender for the route.
TfL says that, subject to the consultation results, the Bakerloop could start running by “autumn 2025”.
TfL is also planning two further additions to the existing Superloop network – a SL11 bus linking Abbey Wood and north Greenwich via Thamesmead, and a SL12 route linking Rainham, Ferry Lane and Gants Hill in outer east London.
The last of its original 10 Superloop routes, the SL4, will launch on April 7 when the Silvertown tunnel opens.
The SL4 - which will be free for all passengers for at least a year – will link Grove Park and Canary Wharf.
Sir Sadiq first launched the Superloop network in the summer of 2023, as a trade-off to car drivers living in the suburbs who found themselves adversely affected by the expansion of the Ulez ultra-low emission zone to the Greater London boundary.
Superloop buses stop at fewer bus stops than conventional London buses, meaning they can offer passengers quicker journeys over longer distances. The £1.75 fare is the same as for a “normal” London bus.
Sir Sadiq, travelling on a prototype Bakerloop bus on Friday, said there had been an 11 per cent increase in Superloop journeys, compared with a two per cent rise in all London bus travel. Launching the Bakerloop had been a 2024 mayoral manifesto pledge.
“The reason is because it’s an express bus route – it doesn’t stop at every single bus stop. People have realised it’s faster to go in a Superloop bus than in your car,” he claimed.
Speaking to The Standard, the mayor said Southwark council had offered to contribute towards the cost of the Bakerloop bus, using money received from Section 106 planning consents.
He added: “It’s a precursor, potentially, to the Bakerloo line extending south.
“If you are a developer thinking about building new homes, you will have the confidence there will be [transport] infrastructure there. This could be the precursor to more jobs, homes and regeneration.”
The Bakerloop bus – which is expected to be branded BL1, in case the buses have to be used on other Superloop routes – will run between Waterloo via Elephant and Castle to Burgess Park, Old Kent Road, New Cross Gate, Lewisham station and Lewisham town centre.
It will follow the same route as the 21, 53 and 172 buses on Old Kent Road and to New Cross Gate. The 136 bus already links Elephant with Lewisham via Peckham.
The Chinese-built BYD prototype double decker was painted brown to match the Bakerloo line’s colour, and had Tube-style moquette seating.
The Bakerloo trains are the oldest not just on the London Underground but in passenger service in the country.
TfL hopes to order a new fleet of trains from Siemens once it completes the order for 94 new Piccadilly line trains, but needs Government funding.
The SL11 would connect with the SL3 at Abbey Wood and Thamesmead, and the SL12 with the SL2 at Gants Hill.
Brenda Dacres, the mayor of Lewisham, said: “This a great progress, although the Bakerloop bus is not an alternative to the Bakerloo Line upgrade and extension.”
Helen Dennis, cabinet member for sustainable development at Southwark council, said: “We hope that people will get on board with the Bakerloop and ultimately back the Bakerloo Line extension.”
