A brand new Superloop bus route launches in Havering next week and will provide completely free travel for the first seven days.
The SL12 route will come to Havering's roads for the first time on September 5 and Transport for London (TfL) has revealed that pay-as-you-go passengers will pay nothing during the service’s debut week.
The express route will run through Romford, stopping at Queen’s Hospital, Elm Park and Rainham.
Other stops will include Horns Road, Newbury Park, King George Hospital, South End Road, the Ferry Lane Industrial Estate and Gants Hill.
In Rainham, the route will serve the Tesco bus stop in both directions. Rainham Tesco stop F will be served at all times, giving nearby residents and shoppers a link to the service.
At Romford station, buses will stop at bus stops Y and Z. These replace the originally proposed stops V and T.
Buses will run every 12 minutes from Monday to Saturday during the day.
Services will run every 15 minutes on Sundays, in the evenings and during early mornings.
The route was first proposed in spring last year, when TfL announced plans to add more express services to its Superloop network.
Following a public consultation, the transport body confirmed in September last year that the SL12 had been approved and would serve Havering from 2026.
The service towards Rainham will run from Gants Hill through Parham Drive, Horns Road, Newbury Park, Eastern Avenue, Romford, Queen’s Hospital Romford, Elm Park, Mungo Park Road, South End Road, Cherry Tree Lane, Rainham and the Ferry Lane Industrial Estate.
In the opposite direction, buses will travel from the Ferry Lane Industrial Estate through Rainham, Cherry Tree Lane, South End Road, Mungo Park Road, Elm Park, Queen’s Hospital Romford, Romford, Eastern Avenue West, Eastern Avenue, Newbury Park, Ley Street and Gants Hill.
The buses will be electric and zero emission, with air conditioning, charging points and real-time customer information.
When confirming the details for the SL12, TfL also said it will also be increasing the frequency of Superloop route SL9 (Heathrow to Harrow) at all times.
New electric buses have been introduced on route SL2 (Walthamstow to North Woolwich), are being rolled out on route SL7 (Heathrow to West Croydon) and are planned for later this year on route SL11 (Abbey Wood to North Greenwich).
Further new Superloop routes are planned with routes SL14 (Stratford to Chingford Hatch) and route SL15 (Clapham Junction to Eltham) on track to start operating during 2027.
Lorna Murphy, TfL's director of buses, said: "We’re thrilled to be able to deliver yet another Superloop express bus service for Londoners, with services on the game-changing network now expanding into Havering for the first time.
"The SL12 will boost travel and journey times in northeast and east London, taking people across the area to local shops and amenities and onwards to fast and convenient Elizabeth line and Tube connections at Romford, Newbury Park, Elm Park and Gants Hill.
"We’re also excited to be able to offer customers free journeys on the SL12 for the first week and I’d encourage everyone in the area to try out this new, sustainable, accessible transport link.”
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