They say that 400 buses – many with no passengers – drive along Calvert Link at Kilnwood Vale in Faygate every day, causing almost 24-hour noise and disrupting their sleep.
City worker Andrea Gaielli has been leading a campaign by local families for action to curb the noise which, he says, was exacerbated in February last year when Metrobus introduced a No 10 bus service to Gatwick starting at 3am.
“We have more buses in front of our houses than Piccadilly Circus,” he said. “We have buses every two minutes from three in the morning and most of them are running completely empty.”
Another local resident said: “When we downsized to our house in Kilnwood Vale we never thought that we would have to put up with the constant noise of hundreds of buses passing by our property.
“These go day and night, especially with the introduction of the no 10 Fastway to the airport. This has greatly affected our sleep patterns and the quality of life that we wanted.”
Another said: “The constant roar of engines and grinding of brakes makes restorative sleep nearly impossible, leaving us exhausted and struggling through our days.”
Italian-born Andrea, 47, says that other buses also use the route through Kilnwood Vale meaning there is a bus passing residents’ homes at the rate of one every 2.5 minutes.
They include the No 200 with 80 buses a day to Gatwick; No 23 to Worthing with 62 a day, along with school buses and driving school buses, as well as the No 10 which operates 252 buses a day.
Andrea says that the current bus 10 route deviates from a legal agreement which, he says, stipulated only the No 200 and No 23 should use Calvert Link.
The residents are now urging Metrobus to cut the number of early morning and late night bus services in the area.
But Metrobus commercial director Nick Hill said that overnight bus services to Gatwick were important for people working at the airport.
“It has always been planned that Kilnwood Vale would have an excellent bus service, and this was made a planning requirement of the neighbourhood,” he said.
"We are pleased to be operating this required level of service that enables residents to be able to get about 24 hours a day without the need to own or use a car. The nature of shift work at Gatwick and Manor Royal means that the operation of overnight services is important."
1. 'Noisy' buses
Residents in Calvert Link at Kilnwood Vale, Faygate, say that they are being plagued by the noise of 400 buses passing their homes every day Photo: Hollie R
2. 'Noisy' buses
Residents in Calvert Link in Kilnwood Vale, Faygate, say they are plagued with noise by 400 buses a day passing by their homes Photo: Contributed