A spokesperson for Transport for London said: “Customers using the Route X26 between Heathrow Central and West Croydon will see this bus renumbered to SL7 from 19 August offering customers an instantly recognisable express bus service between west and south London. In March, the Mayor announced plans for the Superloop, a transformative network of express bus services in outer London to strengthen and improve public transport options to maximise the benefits of the London-wide ULEZ expansion.
“The SL7 will double in frequency to one bus every 15 minutes instead of every 30 minutes providing more frequent public transport options for those travelling to and from Heathrow Airport. Other improvements to follow on many of the buses include improved customer information, USB charging and luggage racks.
“Buses on the SL7 route will call at the same stops, with some of the bus stop names changing to better reflect their locations, such as Wood Street, which will now become Kingston Wood Street.”
On July 15 the first bus route to become part the network, running from Uxbridge and White City, was renumbered SL8 and rebranded as a Superloop service. Now, the timetable will be extended to provide more early morning and evening buses.
In July, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and TfL launched the scheme’s first route between Uxbridge and White City. This comes ahead of Mr Khan’s planned expansion the city’s ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) into all London boroughs on August 29.
As Outer Londoners adapt to the £12.50 fee, the Superloop, officials say, will improve transport connections in the boroughs on the edge of the capital. Mr Khan said last month: “The proposed Superloop will be a gamechanger for travel around Outer London, delivering quicker links to transport hubs, town centres, schools and hospitals”
He added: “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.”
More “improvements” to the capital’s buses are to be introduced from August 26. They include, TfL says:
- Route 123 will now be a 24-hour service, seven-days-a-week travelling between Wood Green Station and Ilford
- Route 158 will now be a 24-hour service, seven-days-a-week travelling between Stratford Bus Station and Chingford Mount
- Route 86 travelling between Stratford Bus Station and Romford Station will see its frequency increased on Sundays. It will run every 8-9 minutes instead of every 10 minutes during the day
- Route 141 travelling between London Bridge and Palmers Green will see its frequency increased at certain times. It will run every 10 minutes instead of every 12 minutes in the evening every day of the week, and all day on Sundays buses will be running every 10 minutes instead of every 12 minutes.
This article was published on Develop Croydon. Full article available here.
