Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about Transport for London’s handling of his concerns about the conduct of a bus driver. This is because Mr X’s injustice is not significant enough to warrant our continued involvement in the complaint.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, says he was verbally abused by a bus driver. He complained to Transport for London (TfL) but is not happy with its handling of his complaint.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• the authority has provided a suitable remedy for the complaint, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6) and 24A(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I reviewed Mr X’s complaint and Transport for London’s response. I shared my draft decision with Mr X and discussed the complaint with him.

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What I found

4. Mr X was verbally abused by a bus driver while travelling on a bus operated on behalf of Transport for London (TfL). He complained to TfL and asked that it interview the driver and review CCTV footage of the incident. TfL told him the matter had been referred to senior management but its written response simply said it had passed the details to the operator to deal with. Mr X has asked TfL to confirm if it identified the driver and reviewed the CCTV footage but has not received a response.
5. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. Mr X confirms this was an isolated incident and while he is concerned about the conduct of the bus driver and the impact their actions could have had on others, it did not cause him significant injustice. We would not therefore investigate further to find out whether TfL identified the driver and reviewed the CCTV footage as Mr X would like.
6. Should Mr X wish to pursue the matter further he may wish to take his concerns to London TravelWatch, an independent watchdog representing the interests of transport users in and around London. London TravelWatch is not bound by the same legislation as the Ombudsman and it may decide to investigate Mr X’s concerns further.

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Final decision

7. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because the matter does not cause Mr X significant injustice for which we would recommend a remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman