Buses outside Finsbury Park station

A RESIDENT living near Finsbury Park station says Transport for London has sat idly by while up to four buses at a time idle within feet of her home daily.

Lindsey Blumell, who moved to Coleridge Road with her family in 2024, says she has felt like she has been “living inside a bus depot” since 2025.

The one-way street is home to a bus stand with space for two buses to rest, but a bank of photos and videos seen by the Tribune show multiple incidences of up to five buses idling simultaneously. The mother-of-one said buses from numerous different routes often idle on the street, ­creating significant noise and air pollution.

Ms Blumell says it has persisted despite apologies from TfL, which prohibits engine idling for extended periods of time under its own guidelines.

“It’s not just one bus driver, it’s the majority,” she told the Tribune.

“I’m sitting there and I can’t even watch my TV or have a conversation with my family because all I can hear is this bus idling and it drives me crazy.

“It sounds like jackhammers,” she added. “When we’re in the living room, we have an idling TfL bus within 10 feet of us.”

She said “no idling” signs put up along the street by Islington Council have proved “useless”.

A sign warning against idling

“I literally have to go out there every day and tell them to stop. Some of the bus drivers are really nice, some of them are very hostile. Some of them have told me, ‘Oh, there’s no sound here’. Some of them have told me, ‘Go tell TfL’. Some of them have been very rude.”

Ms Blumell said some drivers have told her they are not given the keys required to switch off their engines, while others say they need to keep the bus idling to keep the heating on. She has complained several times to several bodies, and said TfL has taken very little action in response, emphasising the fact that the bus stand has been there for decades.

“To me, that’s not really an argument when we’re talking about dealing with the environment, because we’ve had to make changes to make the environment better,” said Ms Blumell. “I mean, to me, it’s incredible. You can see this is a domestic street and it’s basically a bus depot. I don’t understand how that’s legal.

“How is it legal for commercial buses to park right here within five feet of people’s residences?”

It is not just big red buses causing the din – Ms Blumell says the Finsbury Park to Stansted airport service is also a frequent idler on Coleridge Road, although its operator Flibco is far more responsive to her complaints.

She said TfL told her to keep a log of bus idling on the street.

“And I wrote back. I’m like, how do you think that that’s an acceptable ask? It’s literally happening 20-plus times a day. I’m a busy person. There’s no way I can sit here and write a log for you.

“Come sit here in my living room for an evening and tell me that that’s acceptable or that’s what you would want in your house. It just should not be acceptable.”

“Especially with the rent prices and the housing prices,” added Ms Blumell, who owns her flat. “You pay so much money to literally live in a bus depot.”

A TfL spokesperson said: “Bus drivers are required to switch off their engines when stationary for extended periods, in line with TfL’s official guidance issued to all drivers. We are investigating the reports of idling on Coleridge Road and will work with operators to remind all drivers to follow the guidelines.”