The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a bus stop. This is because there is not significant enough injustice to justify our involvement.
The complaint
Mrs Y complained the Authority has refused to move a hail and ride bus stop which has led to buses stopping outside her home.
Mrs Y says this means pedestrians wait outside her home and both people and buses are blocking her driveway. This makes Mrs Y anxious as her son regularly needs to attend hospital by ambulance.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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 any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information Mrs Y and the Authority and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
We spoke to Mrs Y as part of our consideration of this complaint. Mrs Y told us buses wait for a maximum of five minutes, but her main issue is the amount of people waiting outside of her home, as if it is a bus stop. She says when people have congregated outside her home, she is worried about moving them when she needs to exit her driveway quickly if her son needs emergency treatment or if treatment needs to come to him, such as by ambulance.
While this is a concern for Mrs Y, it is not a significant enough injustice to warrant our investigation. Consequently, we will not investigate.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs Y’s complaint because there is not significant enough injustice to justify our involvement.
Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman