Traffic filters
What traffic filters are and how they will work.
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What are traffic filters
When they are operating, private cars will not be allowed through the traffic filters without a permit. All other vehicles including buses, coaches, taxis, vans, mopeds, motorbikes and HGVs will be allowed at all times. Residents in Oxford and some areas just outside the city will be able to apply for a permit allowing them to drive through the traffic filters for up to 100 days per year.
Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras will monitor the traffic filters.
Why we're proposing traffic filters
Across our county, we want to reduce unnecessary journeys by private vehicles and make walking, cycling, public and shared transport the natural first choice.
This will help us deliver an affordable, sustainable and inclusive transport system that enables the county to thrive whilst protecting the environment and making Oxfordshire a better place to live for all residents.
Traffic filters are an important tool to achieve this in Oxford. The proposed traffic filters will reduce traffic levels across the city. They will:
- make walking and cycling safer and more attractive.
- make bus journeys quicker and more reliable.
- enable new and improved bus routes.
- support investment in modern buses
- help tackle climate change, reduce local air pollution and improve the health and wellbeing of our communities.
Proposed locations

The current proposals include six traffic filters. Three of these will be located in the city centre on:
- St Cross Road
- Thames Street
- Hythe Bridge Street.
The remaining three filters will be located on:
- St Clements
- Marston Ferry Road
- Hollow Way.
The St Clements traffic filter is new compared to previously published proposals in 2019.
The exact location of traffic filters will be finalised after the engagement, public consultation and further detailed work. As part of this process, additional traffic filters may be proposed.
The locations have been strategically chosen to reduce traffic in certain parts of Oxford. Some of the filters are on roads with relatively few cyclists and buses, but the filters will work together as a system to reduce traffic on roads that do have high volumes of buses and cyclists.
Trialling the traffic filters
To test the traffic filters and allow people to comment on their impacts before making them permanent, we’re proposing to trial them initially.
The trial phase would run for at least six months, allowing data and feedback from the public to be collected. Changes can be made to the filters in response to monitoring and feedback during the trial.
How traffic filters work
Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras will be installed to monitor vehicles going through the traffic filters. Traffic signs will identify the location of each traffic filter, including operational hours and vehicles that are exempt to travel through.
Any vehicle that goes through the traffic filter and is not exempt, will be charged a penalty of £70.
The traffic filters will operate seven days a week from 7am to 7pm, apart from the traffic filters on Marston Ferry Road and Hollow Way, which will not operate on Sundays. This is because traffic levels in these parts of the city are significantly lower on Sundays than at other times of the week.
Who will be exempt from travelling through the traffic filters?
For the trial phase, it is currently proposed the following vehicles will be exempt from the traffic filters. This means they can travel freely, at all times and without applying for a permit.
- Buses
- Coaches
- Taxis
- Private hire vehicles
- Mopeds
- Motorbikes
- Vans
- HGVs
- Special vehicles such as emergency services
Permits for private cars will be available for:
- Blue badge holders (either driving the car or being driven in the car) and disabled tax class vehicles
- Non-professional carers (in receipt of carer’s allowance)
- Professional health and care workers (for operational journeys, not commuting)
- Businesses within the permit area using a private car as a goods vehicle
- Residential properties within the permit area eligible for 100 day passes per vehicle per year (up to a maximum of three vehicles per household and one vehicle per person)
- Community transport vehicles
- Those in receipt of mobility-related benefits
- Those in receipt of direct travel payments.
Public consultation and timeline
We plan to implement the trial traffic filters under an experimental traffic regulation order (ETRO) for a minimum of six months before making a decision about whether to make them permanent and finalising the exemptions, timings and locations.
Public consultation on plans to introduce the traffic filters under an ETRO will take place from 5 September 2022 to 13 October 2022. If approved by the County Council’s cabinet, the ETRO on the traffic filters will start in Summer 2023.
More information can be found on the consultation page on LetsTalk
Public consultation took place from 5 September until 13 October 2022.
See more information on our proposals.
Timeline
- February to October 2022: meetings with businesses, resident groups, schools, hospitals and other organisations.
- 5 September 2022 – Pre-ETRO consultation opens.
- 13 October 2022 – Pre-ETRO consultation closes.
- Autumn 2022 – Cabinet decision on proposed ETRO.
- Summer 2023 –If approved, the traffic filter ETRO would start for a minimum of six months. A second public consultation will also take place during this time, while the scheme is operating.
Background reports
- The strategic assessment (pdf format, 2Mb) outlines the expected impacts and benefits of the trial traffic filters and their role in achieving wider objectives and policy outcomes.
- The Transport and traffic forecasting report (pdf format, 1.7Mb) provides details of transport modelling carried out on the trial traffic filters proposal.
- The Local model validation report (pdf format, 4.3Mb) explains how the transport model was developed to predict impacts of transport plans and projects.
- The scheme drawings show the location and signage associated with the trial traffic filters:
- Hollow Way 7am to 7pm (pdf format, 933Kb)
- Hollow Way 7am to 9am and 3pm to 6pm (pdf format, 1.2Mb)
- Marston Ferry Road 7am to 7pm (pdf format, 822Kb)
- Marston Ferry Road 7am to 9am and 3pm to 6pm (pdf format, 1.6Mb)
- St Clement’s Street 7am to 7pm (pdf format, 650Kb)
- St Cross 7am to 7pm (pdf format, 380Kb)
- Hythe Bridge Street 7am to 7 pm (pdf format, 141Kb)
- Thames Street 7am to 7pm (pdf format, 131Kb)
- Road Safety Audit Stage 1 report (pdf format, 2.2Mb) confirms the outcomes of checking the road safety implications of the trial traffic filters
- The air quality assessment (pdf format, 5.7Mb) provides details of the air quality and carbon emission impacts of the trial traffic filters
- The road collision assessment ( pdf format, 928Kb) provides a summary of the road safety impacts of the trial traffic filters
- The equalities impact assessment report (pdf format, 2Mb) considers the likely impacts of the trial traffic filters on different groups of people including Protected Characteristic Groups
- Habitats Regulations Assessment Stage 1 report confirms the outcomes of screening for likely significant effects of the trial traffic filters on the Oxford Meadow Special Area of Conservation
- Habitats Regulations Assessment Stage 2 report confirms the outcomes of the assessment of likely significant effects of the trial traffic filters on the Oxford Meadow Special Area of Conservation
- Oxford Core Transport Schemes Traffic Filters HRA SIAA for issue to NE report only (pdf format, 671Kb)
- HRA SIAA Appendix A - Proposed Scheme (pdf format, 763Kb)
- HRA SIAA Appendix B - European Sites Within Study Area (pdf format, 832Kb)
- HRA SIAA Appendix C - Affected Road Network (pdf format, 436Kb)
- HRA SIAA Appendix D - Baseline Conditions (pdf format, 1.6Mb)
- HRA SIAA Appendix E - Air Quality Assessment Supporting Information (pdf format, 853Kb)
- Business impact assessment (pdf format, 2.1Mb) provides a qualitative assessment of the potential impacts of the trial traffic filters for different types of business across Oxford