Oxford traffic filters start on 28 September: times, permits and fines

Why the £5 option ends on 28 September

Oxford has had a temporary congestion charge since October 2025. The council brought it in as a stopgap while Network Rail's closure of Botley Road stopped the traffic filters from starting. The filters themselves were approved by the council's cabinet in November 2022, after a public consultation. With Botley Road reopening on 20 September under Network Rail's revised programme, the council says the planned trial can now go ahead.

The filters sit at the same six points as the charge and use the same permit scheme. What changes for a driver is the payment option. Under the charge, a car without a permit could pass by paying £5 for the day. Under the filters, it cannot pass at all while a filter is operating. The council's stated aim is to cut through traffic so that more people use public transport, walk, cycle or wheel, and Councillor Gareth Epps, its Cabinet Member for Transport Management, called the trial "the next step in helping us tackle congestion that has blighted the city for decades".

The trial runs under an experimental traffic regulation order, which lets the council change the scheme while it is running, and it can last up to 18 months. A six month public consultation opens on 28 September alongside it.

Where are Oxford's six traffic filters, and when do they operate?

Each filter is a single point on the road, a few metres long, watched by automatic number plate recognition cameras. There are no barriers, and the road on either side of the point can be used at any time without a permit.

The filters operate all year, bank holidays included. Outside the hours in the table, any vehicle can pass with or without a permit. A blue sign 80 yards (73 m) before each filter is the place to change route; the yellow signs on both sides of the road mark the filter itself.

Do vans, motorbikes and electric cars need a permit?

Vans and motorbikes do not; electric cars do. The filters apply only to cars and motorhomes, the vehicles DVLA classifies as M1 under vehicle type approval, and the council says electric cars are not exempt. Vans, motorbikes, mopeds, scooters, lorries and all other vehicles can go through at any time without a permit.

If you are not sure how your vehicle is classified, the council points drivers to DVLA's vehicle checker, which shows the type approval. A vehicle that was exempt from the temporary congestion charge is also exempt from the filters.

Does an Oxford congestion charge permit carry over to the filters?

For most holders, yes. The council transfers congestion charge permits to the traffic filter scheme, so there is nothing to reapply for. Resident permits have their day passes reset: 100 a year for addresses in the Oxford permit area and 25 a year in the wider Oxfordshire permit area.

The exception is the central permit area, a small part of the city that could not be reached by car without passing a charge point. With Botley Road open, every part of Oxford can be reached without going through a filter, so that area is ending. Its resident permits move to the Oxford permit area with 100 day passes. Its visitor permits, workplace parking user permits and permits for sports clubs, nurseries and military training expire when the charge ends, and unused visitor day passes are not valid during the trial.

Other permits cover Blue Badge holders, unpaid carers, patients who need frequent hospital appointments in Oxford, community health and care workers, mobile traders, driving instructors, hackney carriages and private hire vehicles, funeral vehicles and cars used to carry business goods. The council lists 20 permit types in all. A registered owner can hold one permit and add more than one vehicle to it. Applications are made online, or by phone on 01865 519800 for anyone who cannot apply online.

What happens if a car goes through without a permit?

A car that passes a filter without a valid permit while it is operating is dealt with in this order.

1. 1In the first six months of the trial, the first time a car goes through without a valid permit, the council sends a warning notice. Nothing is owed, but the council expects the driver to avoid the filters from then on or apply for a permit.
2. 2A second pass without a permit in those six months brings a £70 fine.
3. 3The £70 falls to £35 if it is paid within 21 days, and rises to £105 if it is not paid within 28 days.
4. 4After the first six months there is no warning letter, so any pass without a permit while a filter is operating can bring a fine.

What the temporary charge changed, by the council's own figures

The council publishes monitoring data each month and says the charge showed encouraging trends. In July 2026, park and ride use was up 44 per cent at Redbridge, 33 per cent at Oxford Parkway and 31 per cent at Seacourt on a year earlier. Oxford Bus Company reported about 41,000 extra passenger journeys a week across Oxfordshire, growth of about 12 per cent, with about 17,450 of them linked to park and ride.

Traffic fell in June 2026 on key routes into the city: by 8 per cent on Magdalen Bridge, 12 per cent on Folly Bridge and 5 per cent on Abingdon Road. Some outer and ring road sections carried more traffic or had longer journeys, including the stretch between the Cutteslowe and Wolvercote roundabouts, Headington and Marsh Lane, and the southern ring road around Kennington, Heyford Hill and Hinksey Hill.

More than 129,000 permits had been issued by 2 September. The council puts the cost of the traffic filters at an estimated £6.56 million, funded by the government, and says monitoring, evaluation and the consultation will decide whether and how the filters continue.