Bromley to Croydon Superloop SL5 express bus to begin in just over a week

An express bus route linking Bromley to Croydon will begin operation in just over a week on Saturday 3rd February.

The route is the only Superloop not to use double-decker buses and starts at Bromley North station before heading to Bromley South station, proceeding to Croydon via Bethlem Hospital.

Services will run every 12 minutes during the day and 15 minutes at night and Sundays. Click here for a full list of stops.

Parts of the route have been chosen with the intention not to to head too close to tram services. That has however seen some question if it misses key interchange points.

The route is another piece in the Superloop puzzle which will (almost) comprise of circular routes around London, limited stop buses alongside a few others to confuse matters.

The obvious gap as seen above is linking Thamesmead to Woolwich in order to connect with buses heading from just over the Thames in North Woolwich onto Walthamstow.

We know an express bus will be coming from north Thamesmead to Woolwich.

It’s long been on the drawing board and can help facilitate housebuilding in Thamesmead.

Funding of £23 million for such a link was also announced recently in the Autumn Statement.

One interesting point is where in Woolwich the service will terminate – or stop if it’s decided to extend beyond to, say, Charlton or Greenwich. A recent consultation on major changes to Woolwich town centre streets after the announcement did not mention an express bus.

As for branding or routes that remains to be seen. SL11? An extension of Bromley to Thamesmead or is that too long a route?

Something unique? That would seem an odd choice if an express bus from Thamesmead to Abbey Wood has one name (the SL3) and another to Woolwich something else entirely in terms of branding.