Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a bus stop. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

The complaint

1. Dr Y complains the Council has failed to properly address school buses stopping inappropriately outside her home. She says this leads to school children sitting on her wall and those on the bus being able to look into her home.
2. Dr Y says this causes her discomfort as she feels her privacy is invaded and inconvenience as she regularly has to ask school children not to sit on or kick the wall outside her home.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information Dr Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Dr Y complained to the Council about the issue in January 2022. The Council visited the bus stop in both January and February and considered the behaviour of those using the bus stop, where the bus itself stopped and its proximity to Dr Y’s home.
6. The Council also spoke to the bus operator, who agreed to remind drivers not to stop elsewhere, but the Council recognised that were cars were parked near the bus stop this may mean the bus needed to stop closer to Dr Y’s property. It also spoke to the school about the behaviour of pupils waiting at the bus stop and asked the school to remind pupils to behave properly while waiting for the bus.
7. The Council concluded that although Dr Y experienced some inconvenience for a few minutes as school pupils waited for the bus, the inconvenience was not significant enough to conclude that the bus stop needed moving or changing. Dr Y approached us in February.

Analysis

8. The Council has considered Dr Y’s complaint and decided it does not need to move or change the place where the bus stops. It has decided this after inspecting the site and considered the time the bus was stopped for and how this impacts on Dr Y. It has also contacted both the bus company and the school to try to address any issues Dr Y has experienced and to try to prevent them from recurring.
9. As the Council has considered relevant factors in its decision-making process, there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating this complaint.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Dr Y’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman