'I did it for the community': Banbury woman successfully campaigns to have shelter installed at busy bus stop

Like many Banbury residents, Carol Cronin enjoys a trip to Oxford for shopping and sightseeing.

Instead of driving into the city, Carol says she prefers to take the bus from Oxford Road to and from Oxford.

However, for as long as she can remember, the bus stop nearest to her house, which is named Ashridge Close, has never had a shelter.

One day, whilst waiting to take the bus during a downpour of rain, Carol decided enough was enough.

Carol said: “The bus stop is a popular stop for people, including myself, who like visiting Oxford.

“Last year I was waiting for bus and got absolutely soaked and thought this is ridiculous, so I thought I’ll do something about it.”

This led to a campaign of five months of calling and writing emails to Oxfordshire County Council until the new shelter was installed last Saturday (March 1).

Carol said: “It took me several attempts to find out which department dealt with bus shelters, and I finally found the technical head for bus infrastructure at Oxfordshire County Council.

After communicating with him for a month or so, Carol was informed that the new bus shelter would be installed during spring.

She said: “I did it for the community, not just for me. It’s just much better now, and nobody will need to get wet or splashed by lorries while waiting for a bus.”

The new shelter is of the council’s standard design and features colours that help the visually impaired to locate the seats inside.