The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about TfL’s alleged failure to properly heat its buses. This is because an investigation would be unlikely to result in a finding of fault or a worthwhile outcome.
The complaint
Ms X complained she felt cold whilst travelling on TfL buses and is unhappy the buses are not heated.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers]We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Ms X and the Authority.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Ms X complained to TfL that she finds buses she has travelled on too cold.
TfL explained the buses’ temperatures are set before leaving the garage and bus drivers are unable to change them. TfL advised it would feedback Ms X’s comments to the bus operator and checks would be performed to ensure there were no mechanical issues.
Ms X was unhappy with the response she was received and brought the complaint to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman uses public resources to fund its investigations so it must use them wisely. There is no evidence TfL has acted unlawfully or that it has acted with fault in providing buses that are set at a specific temperature. There is also no evidence this is a holistic issue. Further, an investigation into this matter would be unlikely to result in a significant change in the TfL bus temperatures. An investigation into this matter would therefore not be a good use of resources.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because an investigation would be unlikely to result in a finding of fault or a worthwhile outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman