Summary: Miss X complained about the Council placing a bus stop site close to where she lives instead of several metres further down the road. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault causing injustice to Miss X which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Miss X, complains about the Council siting a bus stop near ger home. She says that it did not properly consider other sites which may have been more convenient for passengers.

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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 further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered all the information which miss X submitted with her complaint.

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What I found

4. Miss X says the Council created a permanent bus stop site opposite where she lives without sufficient consideration for other sites or public consultation. She says another site further up the road was more suitable in her view. She asked the Council to produce the criteria which it considered when making the permanent stop outside her home.
5. The Council told her that the site she preferred was less suitable then the one it chose for highway safety reasons. It is satisfied that the new site meets the necessary highway and safety levels.
6. The Local Government Ombudsman is obliged by law to consider not only any fault which a complainant has alleged, but also the injustice caused to them as a direct consequence of that failure. In this case the new stop is less than 100 metres from the previous site which Miss X preferred. Whilst she may object to this, others may find it more convenient. I do not consider that this is sufficient personal injustice to warrant an investigation.

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Final decision

7. Subject to any comments Miss X might make, my view is that the Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault causing injustice to Miss X which would warrant an investigation

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman