Lewisham (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Transport for London launched the Bakerloop BL1 bus from Lewisham to Waterloo in September 2025, free for a week, funded £5m by developers; Mayor Sadiq Khan and Lewisham Mayor Brenda Dacres supported it.
As The Greenwich Wire News reported, Transport for London has confirmed that the new Bakerloop BL1 bus service will start on Saturday, Sep 27, 2025, from Lewisham. The service will be free for the first week. Mayor Sadiq Khan officially launched the route on Wednesday, Sep 24, 2025.
The bus runs from Lewisham Shopping Centre to Waterloo. It only stops at 6 locations:
- Lewisham Shopping Centre
- Lewisham station
- New Cross Gate station
- Ilderton Road
- Burgess Park
- Elephant
- Castle
The BL1 has been introduced as a temporary solution until the Bakerloo Line extension is built. The £5 million funding for its first year comes from developers building on and near the Old Kent Road. The money was paid to Southwark Council to support local transport.
What is Lewisham’s Bakerloop BL1 bus, and how will it help commuters?
Extending the Bakerloo Line to Lewisham has been a long-term goal for Transport for London, Southwark Council, and Lewisham Council. No government funding has been provided so far. Estimates show that refurbishing the current Bakerloo Line with new trains and extending it to Lewisham could cost up to £8 billion. Neither the previous Conservative government nor the current Labour government has offered money for the project. The BL1 bus route provides a practical alternative for commuters.
TfL said:
“Discussions with the government and stakeholders are ongoing about how this important infrastructure could be delivered in the future.”
Transport for London and Lewisham Council have said they want to extend the Bakerloo Line beyond Lewisham to Hayes and Beckenham Junction. Bromley Council has opposed the plan. It is concerning that National Rail services along the line could be reduced if the extension goes ahead.
The new Bakerloop BL1 service will use electric buses. From Monday to Saturday during the day, buses will run every 12 minutes. On Sundays, in the evenings, and early mornings, buses will run every 15 minutes. Other bus routes in the area will continue as before, but some stops have been moved to fit the new service.
Khan said:
“Bakerloo line extension will take years to build, and I don’t want to wait any longer to improve transport connections for Londoners. That’s why I’ve introduced the Bakerloop now – a faster, greener service, building on the success of the Superloop, that delivers the links people need immediately, while showcasing just how transformative the Bakerloo line extension could be for our city and economy.”
Brenda Dacres, the elected mayor of Lewisham, said the bus is “a welcome and exciting development for southeast London.” She noted that the service will help improve commuting, make journeys faster, and support cleaner and more sustainable transport in the area.
Brenda Dacres added:
“Though this new service is a positive step, many communities south of Lewisham will remain underserved, and bus travel simply doesn’t match the speed and efficiency of trains. That’s why the Bakerloo Line Extension remains crucial – not only fo delivering the transformative connectivity our borough needs, but also for unlocking the new homes, jobs and wider economic benefits.”
The extension of the Bakerloo Line has been discussed for over 100 years. Lewisham was first discussed as a potential terminus in the 1930s. Transport for London (TfL) and local councils began to formally research the potential extension of the southern Bakerloo line in 2014. By 2017, the discussion had moved to extending the Bakerloo line even further south to Hayes and Beckenham Junction.