Oxfordshire County Council has issued 31,588 fines to motorists who failed to pay Oxford’s temporary congestion charge as of January 7th, a Council spokesperson told Cherwell.
Introduced on 29th October last year, the scheme requires drivers without a permit or day pass to pay a £5 fee to enter Oxford through six charging locations. Motorists who do not comply are fined £70, reduced to £35 if the fine is paid within 14 days. Enforcement began 10th December, after a six-week grace period.
The temporary congestion charge – which aims to reduce traffic and reinvest in the county’s bus service – has already raised £728,825 from 135,297 total payments, including £22,085 in fines. Despite the high number of fines, Oxfordshire County told Cherwell that “there is no cause for concern”, as enforcement costs were included in the scheme’s financial model.
Nevertheless, the leader of the Conservative opposition group, Councillor Liam Walker, said the number of fines and money raised “doesn’t tell the story the county council might want it to”. He said the scheme looks “less like a transport solution and more like a tax on those who rely on their cars”.
Likewise, Pete White – an Oxford resident who organises the ‘Anti-Traffic Filters and Congestion Charge Oxford’ group – told Cherwell: “From the perspective of many Oxford residents, the congestion charge has very little to do with climate action or clean air, and a great deal to do with revenue generation.
“The scale of fines is telling. Tens of thousands of penalties don’t indicate success; they indicate widespread non-compliance and disengagement.”
White added that “a clear majority” of Oxford residents oppose the congestion charge. During the council’s initial public consultation, nearly 74% of respondents said the scheme would have a negative impact, while separate petitions opposing the charge’s implementation reached 13,500 and 2,500 signatures, respectively. Another organisation, Open Roads for Oxford, is attempting to initiate a judicial review against the congestion charge.
Responding to criticism, Councillor Andrew Grant, who is the Cabinet Member for Transport Management, told Cherwell: “As with any new scheme, there’s a bedding-in period as residents, visitors, and businesses adjust to the temporary congestion charge. We are monitoring the scheme’s impacts carefully and are reporting monthly on the data available to us.”
Grant added that the scheme’s free park and ride – which allows drivers to park outside Oxford and travel by bus for free – “is proving extremely popular”, with 179,000 more journeys in its first two months than in the same period last year. The temporary offer – which has been extended to March – has given Oxfordshire “more choice and convenience when it comes to bus travel and accessing the city, including major hospital sites”, Grant told Cherwell.
Further, Grant said the “fantastic take-up” in bus ridership will lead to cleaner air, reduced traffic, and safer streets.
The Oxford temporary congestion charge scheme is set to run until August, when Botley Road reopens. The scheme will then be replaced by a traffic filter trial, where motorists without a permit will be charged £70 for driving on the same six roads.
