NEWS ITEM

Congestion Charge Consultation

Oxford County Council have now announced a consultation on their proposals to introduce a Congestion Charge for cars using certain streets in the City Centre at certain times. This would be in place until the Botley Road is open at which point they plan to revert to the Traffic Filters scheme.

The Congestion Charge (£5) will be payable for anyone in a car (not any other type of vehicle) passing the ANPR cameras at certain times of the day unless the driver has used a 'pass' or is exempt from the charge. The scheme will operate with the same principles as the proposed filters; residents in the wider Oxford permit area(External link) would be eligible for 100 day passes each year, while residents in the Oxfordshire permit area(External link) would be eligible for 25 day passes each year, allowing free travel through the charge locations on days of your choice. Each day pass would allow you to drive through all six charge locations as many times as you like on that day.

All permits would be free and valid for 12 months unless stated otherwise.

Without a permit, car drivers could choose an alternative route or pay the daily charge.

Permits would be available for certain groups including community health and care workers, carers, blue badge holders, and mobile traders - exactly the same as for the planned traffic filters trial - allowing them to pass through the charge locations without incurring a charge.

For this scheme, a new central permit area would be created. Permits would be available for residents, their visitors and commuters in this central area where car drivers would have no option but to pass through a charge location.

Here is a zoomable map of the permit areas with the new central permit area shown in purple: Traffic Permit Areas(External link). See more information about permits in the links at the right hand side of the page.

Here are the positions of the cameras and the times that they would be 'live':

If you would like to find out more and add your comments, please click here.

The consultation closes on 3rd August 2025