Oxford traffic filters

Traffic filters trial will be a new way to reduce traffic congestion in and around Oxford.

Warning

Network Rail has announced that Botley Road will reopen in August 2026. The traffic filters trial will start as planned when Botley Road reopens.As an intermediate measure to tackle congestion, we are proposing a temporary congestion charge. See more on this dedicated website.

Traffic levels and congestion in and around Oxford are high. We have to do something about this. Our aim is to reduce congestion by trialling camera-operated traffic filters on six roads in the city to help lower the number of private car journeys.

Traffic filters are part of the central Oxfordshire travel plan and Oxfordshire’s local transport and connectivity plan. They are designed to work together with other measures to:

reduce traffic
make bus journeys faster
allow for new and improved bus routes
make walking and cycling safer
reduce local air pollution
improve the health and wellbeing of our communities

What are traffic filters?

A traffic filter limits through-traffic along a small section of a road when travelling by certain modes of transport. Oxford traffic filters will be camera-enforced points on six roads in Oxford and will only apply to cars.

There will be no physical barriers, and everywhere in Oxford will be accessible. If you drive a car, you may need to take a different route or change how you travel if you don't have a permit to drive through the filter.

Locations

The traffic filters will be placed on the following roads:

St Cross Road, central Oxford
Thames Street, central Oxford
Hythe Bridge Street, central Oxford
St Clement’s Street, east Oxford
Marston Ferry Road, Marston
Hollow Way, Cowley

View a detailed map of traffic filter locations.

The restrictions will only operate during set days and hours.

How the traffic filters will work, their operating days and who is eligible for a free permit.
If you live in Oxford, find out how the traffic filters could affect you.
If you run a business or deliver in Oxford, find out how the filters could affect you.
If you commute to, around or out of Oxford, find out how the filters could affect you.
If you travel to Oxford for shopping or leisure, find out how the filters could affect you.
Read about the potential benefits for travel in Oxford.

Improving bus journeys

Bus services in Oxford will benefit from improved reliability, reducing journey times.
As part of our Bus Service Improvement Plan, we are working with bus companies to improve and deliver better bus services throughout Oxfordshire.
New services will be introduced for the ‘Eastern arc’ of the city, from Summertown, Marston, Headington and Cowley to John Radcliffe Hospital.
We are working with bus companies to deliver 159 new electric buses.

Monitoring

Throughout the trial, we will monitor the traffic filters and conduct a consultation to ask for your feedback. The full details are in our monitoring and assessment plan (pdf format, 455 KB).

Monitoring will identify if any changes to the scheme design or any further supporting measures are needed.

Monitoring, evaluation, and consultation results will inform whether and how to continue with the traffic filters

Your feedback

We will be running a consultation during the traffic filters trial.

Changes from our 2022 consultation

From previous feedback, we have made some changes:

Hollow Way and Marston Ferry Road will run at peak times only, from 7am to 9am and 3pm to 6pm, Monday to Saturday.
The Oxford permit area will include households in the Shotover Hill area and adjacent areas to Barton.
Cars in a qualifying car club open to at least 100 people are exempt.
Unpaid non-professional carers now include a wider range of people with informal caring responsibilities.
Oxfordshire residents living outside the Oxford permit area can apply for 25 day passes each year.

Reports

The scheme drawings show the location and signage associated with the traffic filters:
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan – Summary (pdf format, 318Kb)
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan (pdf format, 2Mb)
Appx A Traffic Filter M&E Plan Monitoring Data and Evidence (pdf format, 3 MB)
Appx B Corrective Action Framework (pdf format, 995Kb)
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 the impacts of transport plans and projects.
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
Business impact assessment (pdf format, 2.1Mb) provides a qualitative assessment of the potential impacts of the trial traffic filters for different types of businesses across Oxford.