London mayor Sadiq Khan has announced plans for a new bus network to improve public transport links in outer London - but the scheme does not include Havering.
The Superloop network, with an investment of £6million, will circle the capital and comes in light of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) expansion to all of London on August 29.
It aims at providing an alternative to cars in regions where public transport connectivity is considered weaker.
In east London, the new network will see services connect Walthamstow to the Royal Docks via Ilford, but there is anger from Havering politicians and residents at its omission.
Keith Prince, Havering and Redbridge Conservative London Assembly Member, called the Superloop "a lick of paint for existing buses and a vague promise of a few more routes in a few years time".
He said: "If Sadiq Khan is intent on forcing his £12.50 ULEZ tax on our residents, he needs to go back to the drawing board and deliver accessible public transport for outer London.”
Labour group leader on Havering Council, Keith Darvill, highlighted the lack of adequate bus services connecting the north and south of Havering that would have benefited from these new plans.
Cllr Darvill said the Superloop “doesn’t appear to benefit Havering" and added: “At the moment if you are living in the north of the borough and need to work in the south or vice versa, it could take you up to an hour or an hour and a half from A to B and the part of the lobbying we have been doing is to bridge that gap and we are not enthusiastic about the current offer."
Read more: ULEZ: Bus route change plan slammed by Upminster association
Conservative councillor David Taylor added: “Havering suffers from some of the worst public transport connections in London.
"If the mayor wants us to ditch our cars and move to public transport then he needs to open his wallet and invest into Havering."
Proposals have been launched to withdraw the 346 (Upminster to Upminster Park) and 347 (Romford to Ockendon) bus routes and to instead extend the 497 from Dagnam Park Square in Harold Hill down to Upminster, to “simplify the local bus network”.
Residents took to social media to express their frustration at being left out of the new Superloop network.
One Twitter user, @georgethisisnot, pointed out that if an outer London borough like Uxbridge is included in the plans, he couldn't see why Havering is not.
If it’s going to Uxbridge, Sutton and Bexleyheath I don’t see why Havering has to be ignored
— George 🇫🇷🇸🇪🇫🇮 (@georgethisisnot) March 28, 2023
Mr Khan called the Superloop "the game-changing new network of express buses that will add over four million additional kilometres to our bus network in outer London".
"These new routes will make it much easier for Londoners to get around the capital, and help build a better, greener London for everyone.”
His spokesperson said: "Havering residents will be able to travel by bus and connect with the services on the Superloop, using the Hopper Fare.
"In addition, Transport for London (TfL) is working to deliver an increase of more than one million extra kilometres to outer London's bus network and earlier this month launched proposals on improvements to buses in Havering."
Transport for London, the spokesperson added, is now proposing to provide 35 buses per day on route 497 compared to just four services per day that operated on route 347.
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