An SL7 Superloop bus (Aubrey, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons).
London’s buses may not get the love of the Tube, but one route in particular offers what could be the best-value journey in the capital — 23 miles of outer London, from West Croydon all the way to Heathrow, for the price of a standard £1.75 single.
The SL7, part of Transport for London’s Superloop express network, runs from West Croydon Bus Station to Heathrow Central Bus Station, stopping only at selected points along the way. And because TfL charges a flat fare, passengers pay exactly the same £1.75 whether they ride the full 23-mile route or hop on for one or two stops.
The full journey can take more than two hours depending on traffic — long enough for the fare to start looking like one of the cheapest travel deals in Britain.
The route
The SL7 cuts an arc across south and west London, serving Wallington, Carshalton, Sutton, Cheam, Worcester Park, New Malden, Kingston upon Thames and Teddington before reaching Heathrow. It’s one of a small number of routes that let passengers travel between outer London boroughs without going into central London at all.
For airport travellers it doubles as a genuine budget alternative — a fraction of the cost of the train or the express services into Heathrow, though you will need to be in no hurry and leave plenty of slack for delays. TfL’s advice to anyone catching a flight stands: check live journey times and allow extra time.
How it got here
TfL introduced the SL7 in August 2023 as part of the Superloop expansion, replacing the old X26 service. The upgrade roughly doubled the frequency, from around every 30 minutes to every 15, and brought the red Superloop branding to one of the longest routes on the network.
Like all London bus journeys, the £1.75 single is paid with Oyster or contactless — cash hasn’t been accepted on London buses for years. The fare also triggers TfL’s Hopper scheme, which allows unlimited bus and tram journeys within an hour of the first touch-in, making the SL7 an even better deal if you’re connecting elsewhere.
Cheap, if you’re not in a rush
There is a trade-off, of course. Two-plus hours on a bus is nobody’s idea of a quick commute, and the service is at the mercy of south London traffic. But for passengers with time on their hands, students, or anyone who simply resents paying several pounds for a train, it is hard to beat. A full-length ride works out at roughly eight pence a mile.
It’s a reminder that London’s bus network — the largest in Europe — still has surprises. The capital’s transport keeps evolving: Oxford Street is about to go traffic-free with major bus diversions, while new £100 fines are being brought in for antisocial behaviour on buses. And for Heathrow-bound passengers arriving by road, bus diversions around the airport this week show why checking live times before setting off remains wise.
