Proposed Congestion Charge to access Oxford Station

[cactustwirly]

How? You can get to it from the ring road without passing a filter.

I'm not in favour of this harebrained scheme for multiple reasons, but like with objections to EVs on that thread and card payments on that one we really should be sticking to correct and valid objections - there are enough of them!

Which way? Thames Street has a filter

 

[johncrossley]

I am not opposed to a congestion charge as was in place temporarily. This means people who really need to make a given journey can pay and still make it, but there is a fairly hard nudge to do it differently. I think this has been highly effective in London and would be a good fit for Oxford.

The reasons filters are a bad idea in the context this is being done in my view are thus:

• If you get it wrong it's not just a case of having to go online later and chuck a tenner in for the C-charge, instead you are fined. This makes things a lot more stressful.
• It is grossly unfair, basically just buying votes, for Oxfordshire residents to have passes to use these gates but outsiders not. All should be charged the same, with the sole exception of those who live actually inside a C-charge area.
• If people are forced to make longer journeys to reach given places by car because they cannot simply pay to pass a filter/enter the C-charge zone because to them that car use is essential, then carbon emissions are increased.

I don't think I would be too bothered if a hybrid scheme was applied, i.e. that passing a filter cost £10 per day, say. It's the fining thing I don't find acceptable, primarily.

There are similarities to bus gates, I suppose, but these are largely used in different contexts, e.g. shortcuts between estates, rather than to impose on longer distance traffic.

I see where you are coming from here. They have effectively increased the congestion charge from £5 to £35 even though "filters" sounds less harsh than "congestion charge". They must be very confident that most people won't be bothered to go the long way around so won't bother making the trip by car at all. It isn't so different for Oxford/Oxfordshire residents as they still get a free allowance, although those who currently get a central area permit will no longer be fully exempt and will only get the same number of free trips as other Oxford residents.

Having said all that, outsiders can avoid filters easier than people within Oxford.

 

[JamesT]

Which way? Thames Street has a filter

From Botley Road.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Having said all that, outsiders can avoid filters easier than people within Oxford.

I can see an argument for permits for residents of Oxford city. I cannot see why a resident of Bicester should get one but not a resident of Buckingham - anyone who lives outside the ring road is in exactly the same practical position. It's just buying votes.

 

[johncrossley]

The map on the website is a bit confusing as it shows the Hythe Bridge Street filter to be right on the junction, when it is actually east of the junction, suggesting that traffic from Botley Road is filtered)


(extract from map from https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/sites/default/files/file/xother/Oxford_traffic_filter_locations_0.pdf showing the location of the Hythe Bridge Street filter)

 

[Bletchleyite]

The publicity is indeed poor and it's hard to see exactly where they are. An Ordnance Survey map and a Google map with the locations added would be the bare minimum of what they should be publishing.

 

[johncrossley]

I suppose it is sort of like a LTN (Low Traffic Neighbourhood) but on a bigger scale.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I suppose it is sort of like a LTN (Low Traffic Neighbourhood) but on a bigger scale.

And it's that bigger scale which makes it much more of a problem.

 

[ox_chap]

I am not opposed to a congestion charge as was in place temporarily. This means people who really need to make a given journey can pay and still make it, but there is a fairly hard nudge to do it differently. I think this has been highly effective in London and would be a good fit for Oxford.

The reasons filters are a bad idea in the context this is being done in my view are thus:

• If you get it wrong it's not just a case of having to go online later and chuck a tenner in for the C-charge, instead you are fined. This makes things a lot more stressful.
• It is grossly unfair, basically just buying votes, for Oxfordshire residents to have passes to use these gates but outsiders not. All should be charged the same, with the sole exception of those who live actually inside a C-charge area.
• If people are forced to make longer journeys to reach given places by car because they cannot simply pay to pass a filter/enter the C-charge zone because to them that car use is essential, then carbon emissions are increased.

I don't think I would be too bothered if a hybrid scheme was applied, i.e. that passing a filter cost £10 per day, say. It's the fining thing I don't find acceptable, primarily.

There are similarities to bus gates, I suppose, but these are largely used in different contexts, e.g. shortcuts between estates, rather than to impose on longer distance traffic.

I think what you are getting at is that a congestion charge has a sort of positive feel to it. You pay it; it goes toward better public transport, for instance, and that offsets the fact that, on occasion, you take a car into the middle of an ancient city, which isn't always ideal. Whereas a fine has connotations that you have done something wrong, borderline illegal, which never sits well with people who consider themselves generally law-abiding.

I'm in Oxford now, and I've never seen the roads so empty of cars!

 

[tomoufc]

I think what you are getting at is that a congestion charge has a sort of positive feel to it. You pay it; it goes toward better public transport, for instance, and that offsets the fact that, on occasion, you take a car into the middle of an ancient city, which isn't always ideal. Whereas a fine has connotations that you have done something wrong, borderline illegal, which never sits well with people who consider themselves generally law-abiding.

I'm in Oxford now, and I've never seen the roads so empty of cars!

Good to hear - it’s madness that driving through oxford was ever facilitated or allowed once the ring road was built.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Sep 2026 ==

I can see an argument for permits for residents of Oxford city. I cannot see why a resident of Bicester should get one but not a resident of Buckingham - anyone who lives outside the ring road is in exactly the same practical position. It's just buying votes.

It may be for political reasons too, but there is a logic - it’s the regional centre for residents of Oxfordshire, including where principal public services are located - and that’s not the case for someone living in Buckingham.

 

[BanburyBlue]

I am not opposed to a congestion charge as was in place temporarily. This means people who really need to make a given journey can pay and still make it, but there is a fairly hard nudge to do it differently. I think this has been highly effective in London and would be a good fit for Oxford.

The reasons filters are a bad idea in the context this is being done in my view are thus:

• If you get it wrong it's not just a case of having to go online later and chuck a tenner in for the C-charge, instead you are fined. This makes things a lot more stressful.
• It is grossly unfair, basically just buying votes, for Oxfordshire residents to have passes to use these gates but outsiders not. All should be charged the same, with the sole exception of those who live actually inside a C-charge area.
• If people are forced to make longer journeys to reach given places by car because they cannot simply pay to pass a filter/enter the C-charge zone because to them that car use is essential, then carbon emissions are increased.

I don't think I would be too bothered if a hybrid scheme was applied, i.e. that passing a filter cost £10 per day, say. It's the fining thing I don't find acceptable, primarily.

There are similarities to bus gates, I suppose, but these are largely used in different contexts, e.g. shortcuts between estates, rather than to impose on longer distance traffic.

I agree.
And don't understand the logic. So going forward, if you don't have a permit the only way to get to the railway station is down Botley Road? And I'm not sure where the traffic filter is along Thames St/Oxpens Road, but all traffic for Westgate will be going down either the Abingdon Rd/Botley Rd? So rather than reducing traffic, you're just sending in different directions?

 

[W-on-Sea]

I agree.
And don't understand the logic. So going forward, if you don't have a permit the only way to get to the railway station is down Botley Road? And I'm not sure where the traffic filter is along Thames St/Oxpens Road, but all traffic for Westgate will be going down either the Abingdon Rd/Botley Rd? So rather than reducing traffic, you're just sending in different directions?

All traffic for Westgate (without a permit) will be down Botley Road.

I think the idea is by making some journeys inconvenient for cars (because they will now require a long detour via the ring road), those journeys will be made by other forms of transport except when it is essential they are made by car.

 

[johncrossley]

I'm in Oxford now, and I've never seen the roads so empty of cars!

More empty than during the congestion charge? Of course, it is the first day of filters so people are likely to stay away in the beginning. Like when London congestion charging started. The initial cut in traffic was far more than expected but eventually traffic came back when they realised that for a mere £5 they could drive freely around the city again.

 

[JamesT]

I agree.
And don't understand the logic. So going forward, if you don't have a permit the only way to get to the railway station is down Botley Road? And I'm not sure where the traffic filter is along Thames St/Oxpens Road, but all traffic for Westgate will be going down either the Abingdon Rd/Botley Rd? So rather than reducing traffic, you're just sending in different directions?

The filter is between the junctions with Blackfriars Road and Speedwell Street. As @W-on-Sea says, all cars without permits heading for the station or Westgate car park will have to go via Botley Road.
So people who previously drove through the city will have to go round the ring road. Money has been used to subsidise the park and ride system which will hopefully tempt some out of their cars.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Good to hear - it’s madness that driving through oxford was ever facilitated or allowed once the ring road was built.

That rather depends if people are taking other modes of transport or if it is damaging business in Oxford.

Ironically it's residents who are best placed to do that, with Oxford's excellent bus service, not those from outside, though the Park and Ride helps.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Sep 2026 ==

I think what you are getting at is that a congestion charge has a sort of positive feel to it. You pay it; it goes toward better public transport, for instance, and that offsets the fact that, on occasion, you take a car into the middle of an ancient city, which isn't always ideal. Whereas a fine has connotations that you have done something wrong, borderline illegal, which never sits well with people who consider themselves generally law-abiding.

Partly that and partly the sums involved. £10 seems a reasonable sum to pay to do something you probably shouldn't do occasionally when it's really needed. £30+ is a penalty, not a fee.

 

[BanburyBlue]

The filter is between the junctions with Blackfriars Road and Speedwell Street. As @W-on-Sea says, all cars without permits heading for the station or Westgate car park will have to go via Botley Road.
So people who previously drove through the city will have to go round the ring road. Money has been used to subsidise the park and ride system which will hopefully tempt some out of their cars.

So very little will be going down Abingdon road? Apart from the courts, possibly St Aldgates Police Station (can' t think where this sits in relation to the traffic filters), there is nothing else down there?

 

[tomoufc]

That rather depends if people are taking other modes of transport or if it is damaging business in Oxford.

At the same time the ring road was developed, there was a very deliberate change of policy to allow out of town, car accessed retail. Ultimately if we want to revive the high street, that will need to be reversed to some extent.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Sep 2026 ==

More empty than during the congestion charge? Of course, it is the first day of filters so people are likely to stay away in the beginning. Like when London congestion charging started. The initial cut in traffic was far more than expected but eventually traffic came back when they realised that for a mere £5 they could drive freely around the city again.

That's not quite the picture from the research: private car use is down overall, but that's been countered by the rise in delivery vehicles: https://www.oecd.org/en/publication...e-and-its-low-emission-zones_c6cd48e9-en.html

 

[JamesT]

So very little will be going down Abingdon road? Apart from the courts, possibly St Aldgates Police Station (can' t think where this sits in relation to the traffic filters), there is nothing else down there?

Yes, there's not a great deal in the centre itself accessible from Abingdon Road. Which will hopefully make the buses using that route more reliable.

 

[johncrossley]

That's not quite the picture from the research: private car use is down overall, but that's been countered by the rise in delivery vehicles: https://www.oecd.org/en/publication...e-and-its-low-emission-zones_c6cd48e9-en.html

What you have said and quoted is right overall. I was really only talking about the immediate aftermath of the start of the scheme in 2003. For a few weeks, London's streets were incredibly quiet. The City of Westminster council had even cut their parking rates as they were losing a lot of parking revenue. That was never going to last forever, though.

 

[ox_chap]

One thing to think about is that now the station and Westgate centre can only be approached via Botley, how that will impact some of the bus routes (e.g. on a Saturday, will traffic back up on Botley Road)?

For instance, bus 14 (Risinghurst, JR hospital, Marston, Summertown, City) was exceptionally reliable in my experience. However, it has now been combined with the bus from Wantage, travelling down the Botley Road. That's great, providing direct hospital links from Wantage to the main hospital, but will its reliability be impacted?

 

[johncrossley]

According to posts on Reddit, the council made more money from penalty charges than the regular £5 charge.

 

[tomoufc]

One thing to think about is that now the station and Westgate centre can only be approached via Botley, how that will impact some of the bus routes (e.g. on a Saturday, will traffic back up on Botley Road)?

For instance, bus 14 (Risinghurst, JR hospital, Marston, Summertown, City) was exceptionally reliable in my experience. However, it has now been combined with the bus from Wantage, travelling down the Botley Road. That's great, providing direct hospital links from Wantage to the main hospital, but will its reliability be impacted?

My guess is that they hope that Westgate traffic on its own won’t cause significant additional delays, given that other journeys are no longer possible (or possible, but expensive/not available indefinitely).

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Sep 2026 ==

According to posts on Reddit, the council made more money from penalty charges than the regular £5 charge.

Probably because the allowances were so generous.

 

[Cdd89]

I don't think I would be too bothered if a hybrid scheme was applied, i.e. that passing a filter cost £10 per day, say. It's the fining thing I don't find acceptable, primarily.

Ironically I suspect this approach was taken to make it seem "fairer"; it's easy to see your proposed £10 scheme being spun as "it's alright for the fat-cats in their BMWs" and "the council just wants to make money out of us".

Obviously £10 or £35 makes no difference to a purported fat-cat (whether it's called a charge or fine), and if the council can raise revenue while achieving a good outcome that ought to be applauded! But in terms of optics it's a big difference. It's "this is not allowed, except within the parameters we specify" as opposed to a "pay to play" scheme.

That's not to say I disagree with you - but (as someone with a close relative who won't stop going on about it) I can tell you this whole thing is shrouded in local politics beyond belief.

 

[Falcon1200]

I'm in Oxford now, and I've never seen the roads so empty of cars!

That depends on where in Oxford you are! I am in Oxford now, in Marston to be precise, and I have never seen Marsh Lane so congested - The road has been very busy at times ever since the JR Hospital was built, but even at 1530 today traffic towards the city was backed up for a long way, worse than I have ever seen. I believe the Marston Ferry Road congestion charge has diverted traffic elsewhere, with no thought whatsoever for those residents who suffer as a result.

For instance, bus 14 (Risinghurst, JR hospital, Marston, Summertown, City) was exceptionally reliable in my experience. However, it has now been combined with the bus from Wantage, travelling down the Botley Road. That's great, providing direct hospital links from Wantage to the main hospital, but will its reliability be impacted?

My first experience of the new S9 today. The 1426 from Frideswide Square to the JR turned up at 1453 and, was overtaken en route by the next S9. Both services to Marston now originate well away from the city (Abingdon for the other route, Oxford Bus Company's X3) and reliability inevitably suffers.

 

[PeterC]

One issue that I have with the traffic filter map is that it doesn't show the existing nine bus gates. Somebody planning an alternative route could easily be caught out.

 

[fishwomp]

One issue that I have with the traffic filter map is that it doesn't show the existing nine bus gates. Somebody planning an alternative route could easily be caught out.

How - the bus gates don't stop cars, they are additional to the cars - but trigger the traffic lights to change to the advantage of the bus.

Unless you're meaning the existing things like (time bound or time and purpose bound) road blocks on High St, Queen St, George St, or Turl St, Broad St, etc etc etc - frankly there are lots of places not to drive the car in Oxford.. but people already know them, and Google Maps does too..

Oxford has pretty much every category under the sun of restrictions like .. for loading (certain hours) only, loading and buses only, no cars, no anything-but-a-bus-or-taxi, no anything, no left turn without doing 360 degrees of the roundabout, one way except bicycles, ultra-low emission only.

 

[PeterC]

Unless you're meaning the existing things like (time bound or time and purpose bound) road blocks on High St, Queen St, George St, or Turl St, Broad St, etc etc etc - frankly there are lots of places not to drive the car in Oxford.. but people already know them, and Google Maps does too..

Those are what OCC call bus gates which is why I called them bus gates. Sorry if that doesn't match your personal definition.

 

[Bletchleyite]

How - the bus gates don't stop cars, they are additional to the cars - but trigger the traffic lights to change to the advantage of the bus.

Those are bus overtakes, not bus gates, surely?

 

[tomoufc]

Those are bus overtakes, not bus gates, surely?

I would call them bus priority gates.

 

[ox_chap]

One thing that is important to be aware of is that if you move around Oxford (on foot, etc.), you get in the habit of it being very "car-calmed". It's important to be alert when going elsewhere, as traffic may be moving much faster. That's especially so if taking a train, because you don't get desensitised by driving in normal conditions, having got on the ring road or beyond. So take care.