Oxford City and County Councils are pushing ahead with a controversial £5 daily congestion charge for car drivers, due to start on 29 October 2025.

This scheme, much like the unpopular Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs), unfairly punishes motorists, hurts small businesses, and ignores the voices of the very residents it claims to serve. Elsewhere, such proposed schemes have also been opposed in numbers.

👉 Why this matters:

1. Unfair burden on residents – Many rely on cars for commuting, school runs, caring duties, or essential errands. The charge is a tax on daily life, not a genuine solution.
2. Damaging to local businesses – Shoppers and visitors may avoid Oxford city centre and the surrounding areas, worsening the economic struggles of independent shops and traders.
3. Ineffective results elsewhere – London’s congestion charge cut inner-city car traffic, but pollution was simply displaced to surrounding areas. Although there were some benefits in regards to air quality and improved mortality rates so there was some positive but not enough, and quite nuanced datahttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18308748/ Oxford still risks repeating the same mistakes.
4. Ignored public opposition – Nearly 3 in 4 people in the council’s own consultation said the charge would negatively impact them. Yet the council pushed ahead regardless.
    

👉 What Oxford really needs:

1. Affordable, reliable public transport with better coverage.
2. Incentives for carpooling and smarter commuting.
3. Investment in cycling and pedestrian infrastructure without penalising car users.
4. A balanced approach that reduces congestion while respecting the needs of residents and businesses.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              This £5 daily charge is supposedly temporary until 2026, but we all know how “temporary” schemes often become permanent. Once it starts, it will be much harder to stop. Whether it does become permenant or not, this should not be started.

📢 We call on Oxford City and County Councils to:

1. Halt the introduction of the congestion charge.
2. Commit to fairer, community-led solutions.
3. Listen properly to the majority who said this scheme would harm them.
                                                                                                                                                                Let’s protect Oxford’s residents, businesses, and freedom of movement. I'm urging everyone to please sign this petition today and stand up for a fairer, more liveable Oxford.

(SOURCES / STUDIES for reference: 

1. https://theoxfordmagazine.com/news/changes-to-oxford-congestion-charge-proposals-published-ahead-of-cabinet-decision/ 
2. https://theoxfordmagazine.com/news/74-of-oxford-residents-think-congestion-charge-would-negatively-impact-them/ 
3. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/oxford-congestion-charge-approved-bkpprvk5x
4. https://core.ac.uk/outputs/7009469
5. https://ops-dr.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop08047/03pertstudieslit.htm
6. https://trid.trb.org/view/1728664
7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18308748/
8. https://www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/58-oppose-cambridge-congestion-charge-gcp-consultation-res-9314541/
9. https://theoxfordmagazine.com/news/petition-against-oxford-5-congestion-charge-gains-6500-signatures-in-three-days/ )