The price tag of a bus stop which took longer to build than a supermarket has been revealed this week as a whopping £600,000.

The figure, enough to pay the salaries of 32 bus drivers or to buy four new double-decker buses, has left passengers gobsmacked.

And in a double whammy, the people who use the stop in St Nicholas Way, Sutton, say that when it rains they still get wet despite protection from the elements being one of Transport for London's (TfL) key reasons for building the stop's accompanying glass and steel shelter.

TfL and Sutton Council, who jointly funded the scheme, say it is part of an ongoing effort to improve journeys, despite unforeseen engineering problems which have caused delay.

London Assembly member for Sutton Andrew Pelling, who obtained the final cost in a statement from Mayor Ken Livingstone, labelled the scheme as scandalous.

He said: "Bus passengers need to shelter from the rain. However, to spend £600,000 reveals the kind of money that both Sutton's council and Ken Livingtone's GLA seem happy to fritter way. This bus shelter has cost the price of two whole decent houses in Sutton."

Earlier this year Sutton MP Paul Burstow criticised developers for taking longer to build the shelter than the new Asda supermarket in Sutton.

Asked if they thought it was sensible to spend £600,000 on a bus stop and shelter, all the passengers the Guardian spoke to gave a resounding thumbs down.

Jackie Needham, 40, from Sutton, said: "We've been robbed I think it's terrible. It is big but you can't justify that sort of money half of the shelter isn't even used anyway."

Simone Jafri, from Carshalton, said: "There's loads of things wrong with it. When it rains all the seats get wet and no one can sit down, and when the buses stop behind one another you can't see which one is which."

A spokesman for Sutton Council said although the development had experienced problems it was an enormous improvement on the previous bus stop.

He said the state-of-the-art structure, with its innovative lighting system, provided a safe environment for late night travellers.