Communication with the public Easily reachable Citizens evidently welcome the fact that the AOB is easily reachable in person, by phone or in writing. 7,600 people made use of the AOB's information service, either in person or by phone, to obtain initial information, lodge a concrete complaint about an authority or to inquire about the status of proceedings. AOB headquarters in Vienna received around 15,000 letters and emails, about concrete problems with authorities or containing requests for a wide variety of information, including legal information. The AOB's correspondence in total amounted to over 25,000 items of written correspondence, an increase of 8% relative to 2009. Correspondence with authorities at the Federal, state and local level amounted to around 11,000 letters and emails. Communication with the Public 7,600 people contacted the AOB information service 15,000 people wrote to the AOB 25,000 items of written correspondence in total 11,000 letters and emails were sent to authorities 273 consultation days 1,800 persons attended these consultation days Increase in the number of consultation days 12 Consultation days remain popular. Held at locations throughout the Federal States, they are an opportunity for the parties involved to discuss their concerns directly with an Ombudsperson. 2010 saw a dramatic increase in the number of consultation days: 273 consultations days, with around 1,800 consultation hours, were held during the year (2009: 189). They were held at the offices of district authorities and state governments, and at penal institutions, police detention centres and federal army barracks. Vienna, as the most populous state, accounted for a large proportion of the consultation days (74). Tyrol and Vorarlberg (in these states, complaints about regional and local administration are not handled by the AOB) accounted for 21 and 10 consultation days respectively.