Meet Paul Fineman, a dedicated transport enthusiast from Bromley who has recently rode all of the Superloop routes across London in just one day, also known as the ‘Superloop Challenge’.
On Wednesday March 6, Paul headed off on his Superloop quest just after 10am, and he was finally finished with the routes by 8.30pm the same day.
Paul told the News Shopper: “I rode all the Superloop routes, aside from the SL6 – this route is a bit of an argument as it only runs at certain parts of the day.
“The journeys took eight and a half hours, but it’s travelling to and from the Superloop buses that make it longer.
“Once I did it, three or four others have taken on the challenge.
“I have got friendly with some of the members, and we’ve done some of the Superloop routes together.”
The former employee at John Lewis has shared his passion for the TfL Superloop routes on a Facebook page, dubbed ‘Fans of the Superloop’, which encourages people to share their love for the buses in London, and get involved in conversations with how services could be improved.
Paul Fineman (centre), Simon Tshulak (right), Jack Robertson (left) (Image: Paul Fineman)
The Facebook page has over 2,500 members.
The page is dedicated to people who want to celebrate the great customer service, share pictures of the busy bus routes, and to make friends with like-minded people.
Paul added: “I want the group to be fun, constructive, and interactive – you’ve got to allow free speech, but there’s a limit with how you do it.
“I have promoted my friend’s YouTube channel on the page – it’s about working together, helping people out and having a good, passionate conversation.”
Paul said he has reached out to Transport for London (TfL) and the Mayor of London’s office with new suggestions and positive feedback from members on the Facebook page around the Superloop.
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan believes the Superloop has been a “real game-changer”, and that he is “so excited” about the “benefits” the Superloop service has provided to Londoners.
He told the News Shopper: “The Superloop has been a real game-changer, adding millions of additional bus miles to the capital’s bus network, and linking people to stations, town centres, hospitals and transport hubs in outer London much more quickly.
“The Superloop has already had a major impact on ridership, with Superloop routes showing a 15 per cent increase in passengers above other routes.
“It’s clearly going down well with Londoners.
“I’ll continue to do all I can to deliver a high-quality and affordable transport network for all Londoners – whether freezing TfL fares or improving bus routes in outer London.”
However, Liberal Democrat London Mayoral candidate Rob Blackie said the Superloop is a “rebranding exercise” and gaps “remain in the system.”
Blackie previously outlined measures to restore reliability and frequency of services to commuters, while allowing new lines and services to be added.
The Lib Dem candidate said: “London should have the greatest transport system in the world, but for too many it has become unreliable.
“After eight years with Sadiq Khan in charge, bus services have been cut, tubes are breaking down more, and there’s no hope for the extensions to the network that he promised.”
Despite the criticism, mega-fan Paul Fineman said his favourite Superloop routes are the SL5 (from Bromley to Croydon), the SL3 (from Bromley to Thamesmead), and the SL1 (from Walthamstow to North Finchley), as it goes on the North Circular.
Superloop pin badge Paul picked up at Walthamstow bus station (Image: Paul Fineman)
Paul explained: “I enjoy the SL5 because it’s only 11 or 12 stops and you can get from Bromley to Croydon in half an hour.
“I am pleased with the Superloop – it’s kept my enthusiasm alive for transport. I’ve probably driven my car for six hours in the space of having it for five years.
“I love transport, and since having my 60+ card I have gone further out on the bus, and now I am doing the TfL challenge.
“There’s roughly 549 TfL buses and I have done 176 so far – either the full journey or three quarters of it.
“I get up, go to my local station in Orpington, highlight all the buses I have been on, and I plan to do all of the routes.”
Paul said he wants to “grow the group” as much as possible, by promoting it to people in the community and finding more suggestions to send to TfL.
Paul added: “I have sent suggestions to Sadiq Khan, but it goes to his office.
“I asked members of the group what their ideal Superloop route would be, and I had under 200 responses, with the most popular route being Thamesmead to Bluewater.
“All the responses I have got have been really good – I want to carry on making sure the group is alive.”
The News Shopper reached out to Susan Hall’s office, Speak Change and The Green Party for a comment but did not get a response.
