Did you know that there are over 200 buses running up and down The Street and Ash Lane in Rustington daily?
Are you aware that noise, vibration and air pollution from traffic has been proven to negatively impact your physical and mental health?
We are calling for a formal review of the cumulative environmental impacts of bus operations along The Street and Ash Lane corridor
In April 2025, Stagecoach Group made changes to bus services between Littlehampton and Worthing, replacing the former 700 service with routes 11 and 701. These changes were introduced in part to improve reliability and reduce delays associated with congestion at rail level crossings.
As a consequence, there are 10 more trips across the whole span of day than in 2020. James O'Neill Commercial Director of Stagecoach South confirmed that 99 buses are scheduled daily in each direction on this route. He also stated that 'It's very possible more buses will be added to services in future if numbers continue to grow, especially Service 9 which runs through the growing community of Angmering.' (18 Jan 2026).
Over the past year the Operations Manager at the Worthing bus garage has been very helpful in encouraging drivers to limit idling to a maximum of two minutes however, that is 2 minutes of noise, vibration and exhaust. Two hundred buses at just one minute each is 3 hours 20 minutes a day.
See the blog page Stagecoach South: Timing Stops and Passengers for more detail.
An example of the timetable taken from bustimes.org for one hour on 17/04/2026 shows that the buses are timetabled within minutes of each other and sometimes at the same time.
| To | Scheduled | |
|---|---|---|
| 701 | Lancing 10959 - SN18 KOA | 12:33 |
| 701 | Lancing 27669 - GX10 KZY | 12:48 |
| 11 | Worthing 27671 - GX60 PBZ | 12:54 |
| 9 | Shoreham-by-Sea 36727 - SF62 CTX | 12:55 |
| 701 | Lancing 27664 - GX10 KZS | 13:03 |
| 701 | Lancing 10947 - SN18 KNL | 13:18 |
| 11 | Worthing 10962 - SN18 KOE | 13:24 |
| 12 | East Preston 4112 - GX13 FSN | 13:24 |
We recognise that the bus network plays an essential role for the community however, there must be a way of maintaining a reliable bus service and safeguarding the health and
wellbeing of residents and businesses along parts of the route.
We request that ADC, WSCC Highways Team and Stagecoach South:
- Reviews whether The Street / Ash Lane is a suitable corridor for the current combined level of bus services
- Assesses the cumulative environmental impact of both through-running and timing-stop operations, including clustering of up to four routes
- Considers whether alternative timing stop arrangements or route coordination could reduce concentrated disturbance
- Reviews whether alternative routing or redistribution of services could reduce residential exposure without compromising network connectivity
- Clarifies what mechanisms are available under the Enhanced Partnership or Traffic Regulation Order powers to address cumulative impacts of this nature
Environmental Impacts: Noise, Air Pollution and Cumulative Exposure
Who is responsible?
Responsibility for managing the environmental
effects of transport is shared across different authorities.Arun District Council, through its Environmental Health function, has advised that noise and vibration from general road traffic are not typically treated as a statutory nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. As such, there are limited direct enforcement powers available to address traffic noise through nuisance or anti-social behaviour legislation.
West Sussex County Council, as the Highway Authority, is responsible for considering appropriate measures to manage the impacts of traffic, including noise. Nationally, this includes reviewing DEFRA strategic noise mapping and identified Noise Important Areas (NIAs), which are generally focused on major roads. The Street in Rustington is not designated as a NIA, which reflects the scope of national mapping rather than the absence of a local noise problem.
In relation to air quality, Arun District Council has indicated that pollution levels across the district are generally within legal limits. However, this assessment is based on wider monitoring and not specific roadside locations. New monitoring equipment has recently been installed near the Rustington bus stops, but validated results are not expected until 2027. Stagecoach Group has also confirmed that it does not carry out air quality monitoring on the highway, as this falls within the remit of local authorities.
Taken together, these positions highlight that while responsibilities are defined, there is currently limited site-specific data available to assess the combined environmental effects of high-frequency bus activity at this location - there is a gap in assessment of local street-level cumulative impacts.
Understanding Cumulative Health Impacts
WSCC and The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies environmental noise as a significant health risk, linked to sleep disturbance, stress responses, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. Similarly, air pollution is associated with respiratory illness, cardiovascular conditions, and adverse impacts on vulnerable groups, including children. For some pollutants, there is no clearly safe level of exposure.In a transport corridor such as Rustington, these effects do not occur in isolation. Instead, they arise from repeated and cumulative exposure to:
- frequent vehicle movements
- acceleration and braking
- engine idling at stops
- clustering of multiple buses within short time periods
Local context: Rustington
In Rustington, over 200 daily bus movements pass through The Street and Ash Lane, with multiple routes converging at shared timing stops. This results in repeated stopping, queuing, and engine idling within a relatively confined area.The bus stops are located close to homes, shops, cafés, residential properties, and two pre-schools. The cumulative impact of exhaust, noise and vibration is felt in homes, by pedestrians, by business owners,bus users and people sitting at cafes and bars.
From an air quality perspective, emissions from repeated acceleration, braking, and idling contribute to localised pollutant concentrations at street level. Indicative emissions modelling suggests that even short periods of idling, when repeated across a high number of daily bus movements, can result in a measurable contribution to local emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) and carbon dioxide (CO₂).
From a noise perspective, the same operational pattern of frequent arrivals, departures, and vehicle clustering results in uncomfortable levels of near-continuous noise and vibration disturbance throughout the day.
The closely spaced buildings and high pedestrian activity can reduce dispersion of emissions and increase noise levels, creating conditions similar to a “street canyon” environment.
Conclusion
This is not a claim that legal air quality or noise thresholds are being exceeded. Rather, it highlights a reasonable and evidence-based concern that the cumulative unpleasant environmental effects of the high-frequency bus operations in Rustington have not been fully assessed at a local level.Given the combination of:
- high service frequency
- repeated stopping and idling
- proximity to homes, businesses, and early years settings
- and the absence of detailed local monitoring data
For more information regarding the health implications of exposure to air pollution please see the blog page: Air Pollution and Engine Idling
For more information regarding the health implications of exposure to long term noise and vibration pollution please see the blog page: Noise and Vibration
What Can You Do?
If you believe that the volume of buses or the associated noise, vibration, and pollution in Rustington is affecting you adversely, you can submit a complaint to WSCC.
