The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the authority’s refusal to remove an existing bus stop from outside Mr X’s home. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.
The complaint
Mr X complained about the authority rejecting his request to move a bus stop to another location to prevent service users from sitting on his wall and standing in his gateway. He says the pavement is too narrow for the bus shelter and it should be moved to another location with a wider footway.
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: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A (6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X says he asked the authority to remove a bus stop from outside his home. He says when it is peak hours there is not enough room in the shelter and passengers sit on his wall. He also says the light in the shelter is intrusive at night and that he has to clear up litter and detritus left by waiting public who sometimes stand in his gateway. He told the authority there is not sufficient room between the shelter and his boundary wall and this causes the pavement to be congested at times.
Transport for London has design guidance which recommends a 2m distance from the kerb to the path edge. It also recommends that there should be a minimum of 1.2m clearance behind the shelter to allow for the passage of buggies and wheelchairs. Mr X has measured the distance from the back edge of the shelter to his wall as 1.6m which means the clearance is adequate.
The authority is responsible for ensuring that bus stops are placed at convenient intervals for the public to use. It is not responsible for safeguarding private property and Mr X could take his own precautions to prevent trespass and littering on his property.
When considering complaints, we may not question the merits of the decision the public authority has made or offer any opinion on whether or not we agree with the judgment of its officers or members when there is no fault. This means we will not intervene in disagreements about the merits of decisions.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint about the authority’s refusal to remove an existing bus stop from outside Mr X’s home. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman