Superloop: Main circle of express bus services completed

Sadiq Khan has hailed the completion of the main circle of his express bus services in London's suburbs.

The Superloop's final three routes have been launched in the past few weeks. The network forms an 86-mile (138km) circle around the capital.

The latest routes to join the network are SL2, linking Walthamstow and North Woolwich; SL3, linking Thamesmead and Bromley North; and SL5, linking Bromley North with Croydon town centre.

Mr Khan called scheme "game-changing".

London's mayor said the routes linked with stations, town centres, hospitals and transport hubs.

Still to be launched is the SL4 route, which does not form part of the main loop but will connect Canary Wharf with Grove Park, when the Silvertown Tunnel under the Thames opens next year.

"When I made the tough decision to expand the Ulez London-wide, one of my key commitments to Londoners was to improve transport links in outer London," Mr Khan said.

"I'm proud to say I'm delivering on this commitment."

The Superloop was first announced by the Labour mayor 12 months ago and has been backed by £6m of City Hall funding. It has been criticised by Conservatives as "nothing more than a repackaging of existing routes and vague promises" and "a microscopic level of investment".

The Superloop has also been criticised for not reaching some parts of outer London, with the borough of Havering left unserved by the network.

The London Assembly's cross-party transport committee told the mayor in January that he must look at expanding the network to ensure wider coverage.

The network will include four rebranded routes and six new ones.

The Superloop connects people with 310 other bus routes, 49 rail stations and 23 rail lines, according to Transport for London.

It added that early ridership figures indicated almost half of Superloop journeys involved an interchange with another mode of public transport.

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