The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about bus fares because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. In addition, there is nothing we could achieve by starting an investigation and we cannot add to the Council’s response.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I refer to as Mrs X, complains about a loss of a bus ticket in her area (area A). Mrs X wants the Council to review the ticket provision and reintroduce a ticket for area A.
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 an investigation if we decide: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6)) We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. We cannot investigate the actions of bus operators. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 25 and 34A, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence and information about the Bus Fares Pilot. I also considered our Assessment Code and invited Mrs X to comment on a draft of this decision.
My assessment
The Council is working in collaboration with bus operators to improve bus services in the county. As part of this the fares have been reviewed. Some fares have been removed from sale and many fares have been reduced in price.
Mrs X complained about the loss of a specific ticket for area A. For three months she was able to buy a ticket which was valid for 24 hours for £3. This ticket was withdrawn. Mrs X complained about the loss of the ticket and that there is no dedicated ticket for area A.
In response the Council explained it is the bus operators who set the fares. The Council gave information about the Bus Fares Pilot and said the aim is to simplify and standardise tickets across the county. The Council said the £3 ticket had been introduced in error and it is not financially viable for it to continue. It also explained that many local journeys are now cheaper than before the pilot started. The Council said it would monitor and review the impact of the new fares and said it will keep area A under review.
I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council has explained why new fares have been introduced and why the ticket for area A has been withdrawn. It also explained that many people now have access to cheaper fares and the new fares will be kept under review.
We cannot set bus fares and it is not our role to tell councils what fares to set. The fares are set by the bus operators and we have no power to intervene in their practices. In addition, the Council has already said it will monitor the new fares. We are not an appeal body and we cannot intervene simply because a council does something that someone disagrees with. If Mrs X disagrees with the new fares she could make objections to her local councillors.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council, we cannot achieve anything by starting an investigation and it is unlikely we could add to the Council’s response.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman