Wednesday, 24 September 2025

Transport for London to launch Bakerloop BL1 express bus route on 27 September 2025 with free travel for first week

Bakerloop Bus
TfL Image

It has been revealed that TfL will be launching the Bakerloop BL1 route from Elephant & Castle to Lewisham. The service will be operated by Go-Ahead London, who won the bid to run the route at £4,931,033 per annum using existing electric buses. The service will be free to use for the first week after its launch.

TfL press release:

Transport for London (TfL) and the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, revealed the new look BL1 express bus today ahead of it going into service this Saturday, 27 September. The new express electric bus service will provide quicker journey times, mirroring the proposed Bakerloo Tube line extension route, running between Waterloo (offering interchange with SL6), Elephant & Castle and Lewisham via Burgess Park, Old Kent Road, New Cross Gate, Lewisham station and Lewisham town centre. Working alongside local councils and partners, the bus route showcases the potential of the Bakerloo line extension to better connect historically underserved parts of the city.
To celebrate the launch of the route, for the first week, pay as you go customers will be able to take advantage of free travel on the BL1, to find out how the route could transform their journeys around southeast London. Customers will still be required to touch in as they board the bus as usual but won’t be charged. The BL1 vehicles will be fully electric and offer enhanced customer features including USB chargers at seats and dedicated priority seating moquettes. The route will run every 12 minutes during Monday to Saturday daytimes and every 15 minutes during Sundays, evenings and early mornings, increasing capacity along the whole route.
Feedback from the Bakerloop consultation showed there was strong support for the proposed route with 82 per cent of respondents saying the new express bus service would be more convenient and 79 per cent of Londoners stating it would result in faster bus journey times.
TfL, alongside the London boroughs of Lewisham and Southwark, continue to develop plans for the Bakerloo line extension, including tunnel design, station designs and plans for a possible extension beyond Lewisham. The extension from Elephant & Castle to Lewisham would not only upgrade the existing line and connect a historically under-served part of London to the Tube network but would also unlock thousands of new homes and support new jobs and economic growth. Discussions with the Government and stakeholders are ongoing about how this important infrastructure could be delivered in the future.
Southwark Council contributed significant Section 106 funding of over £5 million to delivery of the BL1, the investment sourced from developer contributions in the Old Kent Road area.
The new route builds on the success of the game-changing Superloop. With the inclusion of BL1, the Superloop bus network will increase to 203 kilometres, transforming travel in and around outer London and adding almost eight million kilometres per year to the capital's network. Plans are now in place to expand the network even further, ensuring buses continue to play a critical role in a green, healthy, and inclusive future for London, where more trips are made by public transport, walking and cycling, and fewer by private car.
The expansion will continue to focus on busy corridors without direct rail links where Superloop can provide a step change in connectivity and journey times between key destinations. The SL11 between Abbey Wood and North Greenwich, was recently given the go ahead after positive consultation feedback, along with the SL12, between Gants Hill and Ferry Lane in Rainham via Romford. These routes are due to launch in 2026. In addition a consultation on the proposed SL13, between Ealing Broadway and Hendon, launched on 10 September and will run until 22 October; consultation for the proposed SL14, between Stratford and Chingford Hatch, is due to launch imminently and plans for the proposed SL15 between Clapham Junction and Eltham, will be revealed later this year.

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Here are more details about the BL1 from TfL’s Bus Changes page.

Introduction of Bakerloop BL1 route from Saturday 27 September 2025 

On Saturday 27 September new route BL1 (branded as Bakerloop) will be introduced running as an express service between Waterloo Station and Lewisham Centre. 

The new route BL1 will run between Waterloo Station and Lewisham Centre stopping only at Elephant & Castle, Old Kent Road / Burgess Park, Old Kent Road / Ilderton Road, New Cross Gate Station and Lewisham Station. 

Towards Lewisham buses will only stop at the following bus stops: 

  • Waterloo Station - stop D named Waterloo Station / Waterloo Road
  • Elephant & Castle - stop E named Elephant & Castle / London Road (for connection to & from Bakerloo line)
  • Elephant & Castle - stop J named Elephant & Castle / New Kent Road (for connection to & from Northern line and national rail services)
  • Old Kent Road - stop EC named Old Kent Road / Burgess Park (located outside the Tesco superstore)
  • Old Kent Road - stop ES named Old Kent Road / Ilderton Road
  • New Cross Gate - stop M named New Cross Gate Station (for London Overground & national rail services)
  • Lewisham Station - stop E named Lewisham Station (for DLR & national rail services)
  • Lewisham Centre - stop Q named Molesworth Street

Towards Waterloo buses will only stop at the following bus stops: 

  • Lewisham Centre - stop U named Lewisham Centre located on Lewisham High Street
  • Lewisham Clock Tower - stop R named Lewisham Clock Tower located on Lewisham High Street
  • Lewisham Station - stop F named Lewisham Station / Loampit Vale (for DLR & national rail services)
  • New Cross Gate Station - stop O named New Cross Gate Station (for London Overground & national rail services)
  • Old Kent Road / Ilderton Road - stop WA named Old Kent Road / Ilderton Road
  • Old Kent Road / Burgess Park - stop WN named Old Kent Road / Burgess Park (located opposite the Tesco superstore)
  • Elephant & Castle - stop N named Elephant & Castle / New Kent Road (for connection to & from Northern line and national rail services)
  • Elephant & Castle - stop A named Elephant & Castle / London Road (for connection to & from Bakerloo line)
  • Waterloo Station - stop F named Waterloo Station / Waterloo Road (for connection to Bakerloo, Jubilee, Northern & Waterloo and City lines & national rail services)

At Lewisham buses will set down at bus stop Q on Molesworth Street by the rear entrance to Lewisham Shopping Centre and pick up at bus stop U close to the front entrance of Lewisham Shopping Centre located on Lewisham High Street. 

Buses on route BL1 will run every 12 minutes during the daytime on Monday to Saturdays and every 15 minutes during the evening and all day on Sundays.  

Times of first buses will be 04:55 from Waterloo and at 05:00 from Lewisham on all days of the week. Last buses will depart Waterloo at 00:30 and 00:35 from Lewisham on all days of the week. 

Route BL1 will be operated by Go Ahead using electric double deck buses. 

As part of these changes there will be some amendments to what routes service which bus stops at various locations along the route. 

Route 59 will use a different bus stop at Waterloo Station from this date due to the introduction of a new bus route. Route 59 will now serve bus stop E instead of stop D when heading towards Clapham Park. No change towards St Bart's Hospital. 

Route 415 will have changes to the bus stops served at Elephant & Castle from this date due to the introduction of a new bus route. Towards Tulse Hill buses will now serve bus stop M instead of N and towards Old Kent Road Tesco route 415 will now serve bus stop K instead of J. 

Route 436 will have a new pick up point in Lewisham Town Centre from this date due to the introduction of a new bus route. Route 436 will no longer serve bus stop S on Molesworth Street, passengers who use this stop should instead go to bus stop U on Lewisham High Street. 

Route C10 will use a different bus stop at Waterloo Station from this date due to the introduction of a new bus route. Route C10 will now serve bus stop D instead of stop E when heading towards Canada Water. No change towards Victoria. 

Route P12 will use a different bus stop on Old Kent Road from this date due to the introduction of a new bus route. Route P12 will now serve bus stop ER instead of stop ES when heading towards Surrey Quays. No change towards Brockley Rise. 

The new times for all the above routes including the BL1 can be found in our journey planner tool at http://www.tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey

More information on the Superloop bus network can be found here http://www.tfl.gov.uk/modes/buses/superloop

This is not the first time a London transport authority has introduced an express bus service running parallel to a proposed train or light rail service.

The X15 operated from Aldwych to Beckton between 1989 and 1995, before being replaced by a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) extension to Beckton. Between 1989 and 1991, AEC Routemasters were used, some with conductors operating the doors; after that, the service was one-person operated with standard double-deck buses.

The X30 ran from West Croydon to New Addington between 1987 and 2000, after which it was replaced by a new Tramlink service T3.

During the BL1 consultation, I suggested that tram-style bendy buses should be used, as they would take advantage of extensive bus priority measures, effectively making the BL1 a Bus Rapid Transit service.

My response to the Bakerloop (Express Route BL1) consultation: • Cantium Retail Park lacks a stop; I suggest adding one. • Expand bus priority measures on the BL1 route. • Propose zero-emission bendy buses for BL1. • Review the 1970s Speedbus proposal for Superloop 2.

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— CLondoner92 (@clondoner92.bsky.social) February 23, 2025 at 5:58 PM

However, the service will use existing Alexander Dennis BYD Enviro400EV City electric buses, which have a design similar to the New Routemaster bus.

I can understand why Go-Ahead London chose that particular bus model with the New Routemaster-style design, rather than the new BYD BD11 as initially anticipated during the demonstration launch earlier this year. The BL1 consultation report shows a significant 341 comments suggesting the use of New Routemaster buses.

I would like to extend an invite for you to follow me on X (formerly Twitter) for transport-related updates. You can find me by searching for @CLondoner92 or by clicking on the direct link to my X page here. I am also present on BlueSky and Mastodon. I look forward to connecting with you on these platforms. Thank you for your support.

Further reading:

Transport for London Shouldn't Debrand the Bakerloop BL1 Bus; It Should Be Used to Promote the Consultation

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