SUPERLOOP HAS ARRIVED
22 July 2023
ABOVE: Metroline West VMH 2561 (LA68 DXG), a Volvo B5LH MCV eVoSeti, has just passed Dormers Wells Lane in Southall, on its way to Uxbridge on 'new' Superloop route SL8 on the second day, Sunday 16th July 2023.
I write more about London than I probably should, in what is supposed to be a national blog, but it is where I live, and there's always such a rich seam of material available. And with Transport for London (TfL) having decided to launch its Superloop right in my back garden (well, actually about 500 feet away as the crow flies), I do feel the need to comment.
For the uninitiated, Superloop route SL8 was launched last Saturday, 15th July, replacing route 607 between White City and Uxbridge, a 13-mile run pretty much straight down the Uxbridge Road through West London.
ABOVE: When Superloop was just a gleam in someone's eye; a Volvo B5LH MCV eVoSeti on route 607 passes the Dormers Wells Lane junction on a service to Uxbridge on Sunday 27th March 2022
In some respects, you would be hard-pressed to spot the difference. The same buses are on the route, running to the same timetable, and still with no very late evening or early Sunday morning service.
The buses have been treated to a nice new livery, which makes them stand out, and they certainly look good in comparison to the slightly bland 'all-red' livery with no relief that TfL usually insists on. And no marketing on the windows either - hooray!
Metroline West VMH 2570 (LA68 DWW) shows off the new Superloop branding on route SL8 on Sunday 16th July 2023. The bus is just approaching the 'Iron Bridge' stop. This wasn't originally a stop on the express service but was added when the 607, as-was, was reallocated to Greenford depot in 2019. Being the nearest point to the depot (albeit about a mile away from it), this is where driver changes take place. An Abellio London Enviro400 on route 207 can just be seen behind.
The white-on-blue destination blinds, for so long a bastion of "Express" services, have gone, as has the "Limited Stop" advice (presumably people are meant to see the small "Express Bus Service" wording above the entrance door).
But otherwise, no change.
Oh wait, most of the bus shelters have been treated to a Superloop roundel, and additional branding has been applied to the bus stop flags.
ABOVE: The Southall, North Road stop would logically be called Southall High Street, to reflect where it actually is. On the right is the old Odeon cinema building, more recently a Lidl supermarket, although that too has closed down. Behind, new flats are being built on what was once the famous Southall Horse Market site.
Some bus stop names have been changed to "better reflect their locations". In practice, that means that the name of the town or locale has been added to the stop name, so "Bromyard Avenue", for example, has become "Acton Vale, Bromyard Avenue".
And it's such a shame that, with all this money being spent on showing off the brand, that the opportunity could not have been taken to ensure a full set of timetables in stops at the same time, with no blank panels:
So it all looks very smart (bus stop panels excepted), but why did TfL launch such an 'important' new marketing exercise with a route that isn't actually part of the planned loop itself?
At the time that the SL8 announcement was made (the end of June), TfL was consulting on the proposed X34 route (North Finchley to Walthamstow). No-one had heard of the "SL" concept at that time, although it is something I suggested in my consultation response (not that anyone in TfL will have read that)...
When I heard that the 607 was to become the SL8, I assumed that the seven core services of the loop would be numbered SL1-7, with the 'hangers-on' (607, X68 and X239 - the latter doesn't even exist yet) becoming the SL8, 9 & 10 respectively.
But it's not as simple as that. A diagram that 'exists', but is not easy to find, shows the intended pattern of the 10 routes:
So to do the actual loop, the routes you will need will be SL1 (the X34 proposal mentioned above), SL2, SL3, SL5, SL7 (currently X26), SL9 (currently X140) and SL10 (went out for consultation as X183).
But why launch with the eighth route in the series? And why with one that isn't part of the main loop? I have no idea. A few comments have been made on other sites about the need to have this 'improvement' visibly in place in Uxbridge in time for the Uxbridge by-election of 20 July, but surely no-one would be taken in by a vinyl wrap-around on a few buses and bus stop shelter roof roundels?
The next route to become a Superloop service will be the X68 - another route that isn't part of the main loop. This is a rush-hour only service - from West Croydon to Russell Square in the AM peak, and the reverse in the PM peak. It will become the SL6 from Monday 31st July.
ABOVE: Soon to be the SL6... Go-Ahead London Central MHV57 (BV66 VKH) is also a Volvo B5LH MCV eVoSeti. It is turning from Waterloo Road into Baylis Road, near London Waterloo Station, on Friday 1st April 2022. (I never use the same photo twice; whilst this is very similar to one I published in my "TfL's Express bus routes" article, it is NOT the same picture - the time stamp confirms this one was taken one second earlier than the one in the previous article at https://busestopdeckarchive.co.uk/?p=850.)
There's lots of discussion in various fora about whether the buses on this route will carry the Superloop branding. This is because the vehicles are moved in and out of position for their trips on the X68 by running in service on other routes. And nothing will devalue the brand faster than using Superloop-branded vehicles on other routes.
ABOVE: Not quite using a Superloop bus on the wrong route, but the brand started to appear on buses while they were still working route 607. This picture was taken, at Ealing Common, from the third row of a 207 bus in the mid-evening twilight of Wednesday 12th July 2023. The picture is terrible, I know, but it's the only one I have to illustrate this point!
But perhaps the X68 - sorry, SL6, will be extended to full seven-day operation at some future date, to fit in with the other services? The SL8 is to have its operating hours extended on 19th August, with first buses around an hour earlier and last buses almost three hours later (from Uxbridge at 2350 instead of 2100, for example). On Sundays, first bus from Uxbridge will be at 0430 instead of 0855, and from White City at 0510 instead of 0900 (with evening services extended as on weekdays). That will make a difference - especially on Boxing Day when people flock to the Westfield London sales - but what is really needed is a more frequent service during the day on weekdays, when the buses are rammed.
My impression is that the whole Superloop scheme has been created in a hurry, as a response to the criticism about the expansion of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone across Outer London from next month. A series of late changes to the plans, a hurried launch and an illogical choice of route to launch with all suggest an urge to be seen to be doing something, but without a clear idea as to what.
When I wrote an earlier article about TfL's express services, in response to a suggestion that an express service might be launched down the Old Kent Road, I wrote why I didn't think express services were very practical in London. And I said that it would be "interesting [to see] what TfL comes up with". Well now we know.
What would I have done, I hear you ask? I would have numbered the seven loop services SL1 (West Croydon to Heathrow, the current X26), then clockwise to SL7 (the proposed Bromley to Croydon route). I would not have brought any of the 607, X68 or X239 into the scheme at all.
On 19th August, the X26 will have its frequency doubled to four buses per hour. That's when, and where, I would have launched the Superloop (which would have been route SL1 in my scheme).
When I wrote an earlier article about TfL's express services, in response to a suggestion that an express service might be launched down the Old Kent Road, I wrote why I didn't think express services were very practical in London. And I said that it would be "interesting [to see] what TfL comes up with". Well now we know.
What would I have done, I hear you ask? I would have numbered the seven loop services SL1 (West Croydon to Heathrow, the current X26), then clockwise to SL7 (the proposed Bromley to Croydon route). I would not have brought any of the 607, X68 or X239 into the scheme at all.
On 19th August, the X26 will have its frequency doubled to four buses per hour. That's when, and where, I would have launched the Superloop (which would have been route SL1 in my scheme).
Further Recommended Reading:
Bus and Train User: "Superloop is super loopy so far"
Diamond Geezer: "Minutes of the Superloop Nomanclature Committee"
Bus and Train User: "Superloop is super loopy so far"
Diamond Geezer: "Minutes of the Superloop Nomanclature Committee"