Margaret Mullane has asked Transport for London to reconsider how the new SL12 Superloop bus serves King George Hospital, after a constituent raised concerns about the walk from the nearest stop. The Dagenham and Rainham MP said the route is presented as serving the Redbridge hospital but does not go into its grounds, a distinction that can matter to passengers with mobility impairments, chronic pain or other access needs.
The service began on 5 September, linking Gants Hill with Ferry Lane in Rainham through Romford and other east London centres. TfL promoted it as creating a direct bus connection to King George Hospital as well as Queen’s Hospital. The route is part of the Superloop network, which is designed to provide faster orbital journeys through a limited-stop service.
Hospital travel guidance clarifies what the connection means on the ground. It lists the SL12 among the buses serving Eastern Avenue, describing that road as a 10-minute walk from the hospital, with a footpath leading to the back of the site. The same guidance lists routes 173, 362, EL3 and 396 as serving the hospital itself. It also describes Goodmayes station as a 25-minute walk away, with the EL3 bus available from opposite the station and running into the hospital.
That information helps define the issue: the SL12 brings passengers close to the hospital, but its stop is not at the hospital entrance or inside the grounds. A ten-minute walk may be routine for some travellers. For someone managing pain, fatigue or limited mobility, the extra leg of a journey can be more difficult, particularly when travelling for appointments or visiting someone. Mullane said residents had understood a route described as serving the hospital to offer closer access.
TfL told Mullane it would monitor the route through its review process and had passed accessibility feedback to its bus-planning team. It defended the decision not to take buses through the hospital site on journey-time grounds, saying a diversion would add time to the express service. The agency has not announced a change to the route.
Mullane said she understood the case for faster buses but argued that access should be weighed alongside speed and convenience. She also stressed that disabled people need public transport for everyday journeys to work, education, shops and social activities, not only for hospital visits. She has asked TfL to make passenger feedback a meaningful part of future reviews and said she welcomed the commitment to keep the route under review.
The SL12 runs every day. TfL’s launch information set daytime frequencies at every 12 minutes from Monday to Saturday, with buses every 15 minutes on Sunday and in the evening. This frequent service gives people a new connection across Havering and Redbridge, but the route’s frequency does not resolve the question of how the final walk works for passengers who cannot comfortably cover it.
The route therefore presents two competing aims in a practical, local form: maintaining the speed expected of an express bus and reducing the distance passengers must travel on foot to reach an important public service. TfL’s review and the feedback it receives will determine whether the current arrangement stays in place or whether the hospital connection is reconsidered.
