Temporary congestion charge data – August 2026
Information related to the temporary congestion charge
On this page
The data below is for a single month. No firm conclusions can be drawn from such a short monitoring period. Travel patterns and external factors will continue to change so the figures should be treated with caution.
About our data
Our data comes from numerous different sources. Most data are updated monthly. Although data has been checked for errors, it is being published immediately after collection so minor discrepancies may remain.
Traffic flows and journey times
Our traffic volume and journey time monitoring uses data from term-time weekdays to ensure the timing of holidays doesn’t affect the year-on-year comparisons.
There are no term-time weekdays in August, so traffic volumes and journey times will not be published for August 2026.
Visitor numbers
Visitor numbers (sometimes referred to as “footfall”, although the two are not strictly the same) are provided by Beauclair using data from BT Active Intelligence – Location Insights. This data is used widely across the UK, including by the Office for National Statistics which is also the source for the regional comparator data used below.
The data presented below is for single months, and some of the areas presented are very small. The shorter the period and smaller the area, the lower the sample size. Figures for individual months in single areas should be treated with caution and viewed in the context of other months/areas.
View a map of the Oxford areas included below
| Nov-25 | Dec-25 | Jan-26 | Feb-26 | Mar-26 | Apr-26 | May-26 | Jun-26 | Jul-26 | Aug-26 | Nov25 to Aug26 total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oxford city centre | -3.2% | -5.8% | -0.9% | -0.1% | -7.4% | -7.0% | -0.9% | -5.7% | 8.1% | 1.2% | -2.2% |
| South East Town and City Centres (ONS) | 0.5% | -0.4% | 0.4% | -3.2% | -8.7% | -9.7% | -2.6% | -3.7% | 2.4% | -1.7% | -2.7% |
| Botley Road | -13.8% | -21.7% | -13.0% | -13.7% | -19.2% | -21.8% | -0.3% | -1.2% | 4.9% | 0.8% | -10.7% |
| Cowley centre | -0.7% | -9.2% | -7.6% | -9.5% | -11.6% | -8.3% | -9.8% | -10.3% | -13.0% | -15.8% | -9.6% |
| Headington | -7.9% | -7.6% | -10.2% | -11.5% | -12.5% | -2.9% | -5.6% | -7.8% | -6.8% | -3.6% | -7.7% |
| Hollow Way & Oxford Road | -6.0% | -7.0% | -7.8% | -10.3% | -8.5% | -2.5% | 2.7% | -2.2% | 3.1% | 0.5% | -3.9% |
| Jericho | -10.9% | -11.0% | -4.3% | -1.7% | -2.8% | -1.0% | -0.8% | -4.0% | 4.6% | 4.2% | -2.9% |
| St Clements & Cowley Road | -27.3% | -28.2% | -27.7% | -24.3% | -23.3% | -14.6% | -12.9% | -12.8% | 1.3% | -2.5% | -18.7% |
| Summertown | 0.7% | -4.7% | 3.5% | 6.7% | -5.3% | -5.3% | -4.4% | -3.3% | -1.4% | -4.0% | -1.9% |
| South East District or Local Centre (ONS) | -9.2% | -8.3% | -11.5% | -11.7% | -12.1% | -6.3% | -2.5% | -3.7% | 5.7% | 3.5% | -5.7% |
Data source: Beauclair
| Oct-25 | |
| Oxford city centre | -5.1% |
| South East Town and City Centres (ONS) | -2.7% |
| Botley Road | -12.2% |
| Cowley centre | -2.9% |
| Headington | -11.1% |
| Hollow Way & Oxford Road | -14.9% |
| Jericho | -12.7% |
| St Clements & Cowley Road | -24.6% |
| Summertown | -2.9% |
| South East District or Local Centre (ONS) | -13.4% |
Data source: Beauclair
| November 2025 to August 2026 total year-on-year change | |
|---|---|
| Oxford city centre | -2.2% |
| South East Town and City Centres (ONS) | -2.7% |
| Botley Road | -10.7% |
| Cowley centre | -9.6% |
| Headington | -7.7% |
| Hollow Way & Oxford Road | -3.9% |
| Jericho | -2.9% |
| St Clements & Cowley Road | -18.7% |
| Summertown | -1.9% |
| South East District or Local Centre (ONS) | -5.7% |
Data source: Beauclair
Credit and debit card spending
Our spend data is provided by Experian and comes from a national sample of around 4 million debit and credit cards. The data presented below is for single months, and some of the areas presented are very small. The shorter the period and smaller the area, the lower the sample size. Figures for individual months in single areas should be treated with caution and viewed in the context of other months/areas.
View a map of the Oxford areas included. These areas have been updated since the July update to match the areas used for visitor numbers and meet Beauclair/BT’s technical requirements.
Comparator areas have been provided for context. The comparator areas are listed under the tables.
| Nov-25 | Dec-25 | Jan-26 | Feb-26 | Mar-26 | Apr-26 | May-26 | Jun-26 | Jul-26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oxford city centre | -8.7% | -5.5% | -1.6% | -3.6% | -0.5% | -5.2% | -1.2% | -6.1% | 5.3% |
| Other UK historic centres | -3.5% | -7.9% | -0.3% | -1.1% | -3.1% | -6.3% | -4.9% | 0.7% | 2.6% |
| Jericho | -10.3% | -4.7% | -11.0% | -15.1% | -10.8% | -14.2% | -2.6% | -5.0% | 4.1% |
| St Clements & Cowley Road | -11.0% | -9.0% | -8.8% | -6.2% | -10.4% | -13.1% | -14.5% | -3.4% | -6.7% |
| Other UK suburban food and beverage led centres | -5.3% | 0.1% | 6.9% | -3.0% | -8.4% | -7.4% | -6.8% | -0.7% | 0.0% |
| Botley Road | -7.7% | -5.6% | 5.1% | -4.3% | 4.9% | -13.1% | 9.3% | 17.4% | 10.3% |
| Cowley centre | -18.4% | -7.1% | -7.1% | -4.7% | -8.4% | -9.8% | -14.4% | -6.4% | 1.3% |
| Headington | -19.3% | -9.6% | -12.4% | -9.3% | -17.0% | -18.8% | -16.6% | -12.7% | 1.8% |
| Hollow Way & Oxford Road | 37.6% | -7.6% | -4.9% | -1.8% | -2.8% | -4.0% | -10.3% | 1.5% | 16.2% |
| Summertown | -2.8% | -4.0% | -2.8% | 3.2% | 7.7% | -13.4% | -9.3% | -5.1% | -8.6% |
| Other UK suburban mixed retail centres | -2.0% | -3.1% | -1.0% | 0.7% | -0.4% | -3.7% | -2.6% | 4.0% | 1.9% |
| Other Oxfordshire town centres | -7.7% | -5.5% | -2.0% | 0.1% | -1.9% | -9.4% | -2.0% | 2.7% | 1.1% |
Data source: Experian
| November 2025 to July 2026 total year-on-year change | |
|---|---|
| Oxford city centre | -3.3% |
| Other UK historic centres | -3.1% |
| Jericho | -7.7% |
| St Clements & Cowley Road | -9.4% |
| Other UK suburban food and beverage led centres | -2.9% |
| Botley Road | 1.2% |
| Cowley centre | -8.6% |
| Headington | -13.0% |
| Hollow Way & Oxford Road | 2.0% |
| Summertown | -4.2% |
| Other UK suburban mixed retail centres | -0.8% |
| Other Oxfordshire town centres | -2.9% |
Data source: Experian
Comparator areas for consumer spend data
Other UK historic centres: Bath city centre, Cambridge city centre, Cheltenham town centre, Winchester city centre
Other Oxfordshire town centres: Banbury, Abingdon, Witney, Bicester, Didcot
Other suburban food and beverage-led centres: Mill Rd, Cambridge; Gloucester Rd/Stokes Croft, Bristol; Montpellier/Regent St, Cheltenham; Oxford Rd, Reading; Larkhall, Bath
Other UK suburban mixed retail centres: North St, Southville/Bedminster, Bristol; Bath Rd, Cheltenham; High St, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge; Caversham Centre, Reading; Moorland Rd, Bath
Park and Ride usage
| Park and ride car park | Change % |
|---|---|
| Peartree | 13.4% |
| Oxford Parkway (includes park and ride and station car park) | 27.3% |
| Thornhill | 16.0% |
| Redbridge | 34.7% |
| Seacourt* |
Source: Automatic Traffic Counters
* A counter fault means no data is available for August 2026
| Site | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oxford Parkway | |||||||
| 2025 | 25% | 30% | 30% | 30% | 27% | 23% | 12% |
| 2026 | 31% | 37% | 36% | 38% | 29% | 27% | 20% |
| Peartree | |||||||
| 2025 | 48% | 59% | 58% | 60% | 46% | 47% | 28% |
| 2026 | 52% | 60% | 59% | 51% | 42% | 45% | 29% |
| Redbridge | |||||||
| 2025 | 65% | 74% | 70% | 69% | 58% | 62% | 38% |
| 2026* | |||||||
| Seacourt | |||||||
| 2025* | |||||||
| 2026* | |||||||
| Thornhill | |||||||
| 2025 | 38% | 43% | 45% | 42% | 34% | 37% | 27% |
| 2026 | 44% | 48% | 49% | 46% | 40% | 41% | 35% |
Source: Automatic Traffic Counters
*An entry counter fault means no data is available for August
Permit and enforcement data
The tables below show the number of each type of permit issued from 24 September 2025 (when the permit system opened for applications) 2025 to 21 September 2026.
The total number of permits issued to 21 September is 131,858.
| Permit type | Number |
|---|---|
| Approved driving instructor | 334 |
| Blue badge holders | 13,858 |
| Business car used as goods vehicle | 457 |
| Car clubs | 3 |
| Central permit area resident | 435 |
| Central permit area sports clubs, nurseries or military training | 635 |
| Central permit area workplace parking | 1,341 |
| Disability benefit claimant | 1,671 |
| Disabled tax class vehicle | 508 |
| Firefighters | 93 |
| Frequent hospital patient | 682 |
| Hackney carriage or private hire vehicle (HCV or PHV) | 2,600 |
| Hearse or funeral car | 21 |
| Organisational Blue badge holders | 89 |
| Organisational shared cars (pool cars) | 138 |
| Personal car used as goods vehicle | 781 |
| Personal car used by community health or care worker | 4,682 |
| School car used for home-to-school transport | 5 |
| School student with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND) | 113 |
| Unpaid carer | 196 |
Source: Oxfordshire County Council Permit Management System
| Permit type | Number |
|---|---|
| Oxford residents | 36,655 |
| Oxfordshire residents | 66,248 |
| Central permit area visitors | 313 |
Source: Oxfordshire County Council Permit Management System
The table below shows the number of penalty charge notices sent between 1st August and 31st August 2026.
| Penalty charge notices | 19,235 |
Source: Oxfordshire County Council Charge Management System
Income
The table below shows the total income generated by the scheme from 29th October 2025 (when the temporary congestion charge began) to 31 August.
| Income from congestion charge payments | £3,176,466 |
| Income from penalty charges | £5,935,828 |
| Total income before operating costs | £9,112,294 |
Source: Oxfordshire County Council
The table below shows the income generated by the scheme from 1st August 2026 to 30th August 2026.
| Income from congestion charge payments | £322,010 |
| Income from penalty charges | £732,322 |
| Total income before operating costs | £1,054,332 |
What we’ve spent the income on
By law, we can only spend congestion charge income on the scheme’s operating costs and on transport improvements.
The income left over after operating costs is currently being spent on the combined park and ride ticket offer and on the scheme implementation and administration. Other travel offers and transport improvements funded by the charge are coming soon.