Reform UK London Assembly Member Keith Prince has called for an express bus service on the M25 and a new Superloop route along the North Circular to improve outer London connectivity, but Transport for London (TfL) has rejected the motorway idea as unsuitable.
Speaking at the Urban Transport Group fringe event during the Reform UK conference in Birmingham last week, Mr Prince, who also leads Havering Council, said London's transport network has the capacity but not the connectivity to discourage car use. He credited City Hall for boosting passenger capacity, especially with the Elizabeth Line, but argued that journeys between outer boroughs remain too difficult.
Superloop expansion and its limits
Sir Sadiq Khan and TfL have responded to the connectivity challenge by expanding the Superloop network, first proposed in 2008 under Boris Johnson. There are now 12 operational routes, including one launched between Gants Hill and Rainham this month, with three more in the pipeline. However, Mr Prince said the mayor needs to be more radical to achieve his target of 80 per cent of journeys via public transport or active travel by 2041.
“In London, we've got capacity sorted - the Elizabeth line was the last big jump, really, and that has made journeys much quicker and easier,” he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS). “The challenge now, and what the Mayor has tried to do with the Superloop, is boost connectivity.” Citing his own borough of Havering, he said a journey into Central London is far easier than a shorter trip from north to south of the area, and that the new SL12 Superloop route does not go far enough.
Proposed M25 and North Circular buses
Mr Prince suggested City Hall should pioneer an “internal orbital bus” running around the North Circular and an express bus on the M25 that meets local services just off the motorway. “That way you'll be able to get to where you want to go a lot, lot quicker,” he added. He described a typical journey to Lewisham: “What would be a 45-minute car journey can turn into a two-hour transport journey.”
He argued that without the right services, people will continue to use cars, leading to more congestion. He criticised Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs), saying a five-minute drive to a local Screwfix became 45 minutes, with no bus service available, causing him to be on the road nine times more and creating more pollution. He also claimed 20mph limits mean people spend longer in their cars, adding: “These restrictions don't stop people using their vehicles - it just means there's more pollution as a result.”
TfL's response and political context
A Transport for London spokesperson said: “We are committed to providing a comprehensive, reliable bus service across the breadth of London and keep the network under constant review to ensure we invest our resources where they are needed most. The Mayor has previously outlined plans for further Superloop routes which operate across London, and we continue work to look at implementing them in the future. In relation to the M25, given that it is a multi-lane motorway with a national speed limit, it would not be suitable for scheduled bus services to operate on.”
Mr Prince said he had discussed transport with the party's London Mayoral candidate, Laila Cunningham, and praised her as “very switched on”. He added: “She'll get London moving. London traffic now has come down to a halt. You can almost walk quicker and you can certainly jog quicker than a London bus - that really has to be dealt with.”
