'Our city wants to charge us £5 to drive to the centre'
The introduction of the controversial Oxford congestion charge is to be debated by councillors this week.
On June 17, Oxfordshire County Council officials will discuss the plan for a £5 charge for drivers to access the city centre along six routes. If councillors back the plan, a public consultation would begin on 23 June and the congestion charge could be introduced this autumn.
If approved, the temporary congestion charge would be the first to launch in the UK for 20 years, following similar schemes in London and Durham. When we visited the city this week, Oxford residents told Yahoo News they had mixed feelings about the scheme.
While bus companies in Oxford have welcomed the plan, businesses leaders and members of the public have all raised their opposition, with an online petition opposing the charge approaching 10,000 signatures.
Yahoo News UK asked people in Oxford what they think of the congestion charge proposal:
Conor Phelan, 27, a postdoctoral researcher at Oxford University and a cyclist, said: 'Overall, reducing the volume of traffic in Oxford is good. It will make the city safer, especially with the problem of cars in standstill traffic.
'One time I was on my bike cycling through standstill traffic and nearly got hit by a car door.
'I drive as well so I can understand the pain but ultimately, I back it because of what it will do in terms of disincentivising traffic and encouraging cycling."
Angie Ingenfeld, 69, a tourist visiting Oxford from Bonn in Germany, said: 'I think it is very loud at the moment, with so much traffic in the city. We have to watch for the cars and we cannot enjoy the sightseeing so much."
Her husband, Steve, 60, said: 'We parked at the Oxford park and ride because it was easy and cheap. If people want to go to the city to do their shopping, they could take that."
Dan Roiser, 41, owner of the Peloton Espresso cafe, said: 'I think people who are against it often don't live in the city. I cycle to work. I don't like a city full of cars. But they should have invested more in public transport before bringing it in.'
Ibrahim Ahmed, 27, co-director of Oxford computer service store GigaFix, said: 'From a business perspective, we are getting shafted from all angles.
'In a business like this, there's a lot of dropping boxes off. So for us it will make that more expensive.'
'I know a lot of other businesses who are struggling a lot and it breaks my heart really because it is their only source of income. People have been suffering and this might force them to close."
But Joe Smith, 21, an Oxford Brookes University student working at Peloton Espresso, who backs the plan, said: 'A lot of business owners don't realise that where these types of pedestrianisation measures have happened, foot traffic has tended to improve."
He added: 'Some of the difficulty in Oxford has come from the fact that the council has put the cart before the horse and hasn't yet invested in the infrastructure enough."
Cab driver Abdul Wahid, 57, who has signed a petition against the scheme, said: 'I've signed it because it's going to affect the city.
'They think it will reduce traffic, but this is not London. It is local people living here, and they will just pay the fine. People have to take kids to school. They have to go to the hospital.
'My mother is disabled and I have to take her for appointments. With the congestion charge, I won't be able to afford to pay £5 every time we go. The cost of living is already very high.
'The council should make people's lives easier, not harder.'
Ansar Hussain, 52, a cab driver, said: 'It is a bad idea. They say it is an environmental measure, but eventually all vehicles will be hybrid anyway so I think they are just trying to cash in."
The proposals would see drivers pay a £5 congestion charge to go into Oxford city centre.
Not every motorist would be affected - drivers such as carers, traders and disabled blue badge holders would be allowed to apply for a permit that would allow them to travel by car in the city. Permits would also be given to people with cars who live within the congestion charge area.
The plan would be enforced by number plate recognition cameras and would apply along six roads.
Hythe Bridge Street, St Cross Road, Thames Street and St Clement's Street would be part of the congestion charge from 7am to 7pm seven days a week, while Marston Ferry Road and Hollow Way would be affected between 7am and 9am and 3pm and 6pm on Monday to Saturday.
The £5 charge would be payable online or by phone up until midnight on the day after a motorists goes through one of the six routes.
The congestion charge is designed to be a temporary measure, to plug the gap until a different traffic calming scheme is ready.
Oxfordshire County Council said the congestion charge would last a maximum of two years and is required because of delays to a trial of traffic filters, which cannot be introduced until after Botley Road in the city is reopened, expected sometime in summer 2026.
The traffic filters scheme would again use number plate recognition cameras, but motorists without a valid permit could face fines of £70 (reduced to £35 if paid within 21 days) for driving down certain roads.
"There's too much traffic in Oxford," said Oxfordshire County Council. "We want to create an attractive, thriving city with better buses, safer cycling, less congestion and cleaner air."
An online petition, started by councillor Saj Malik, calling for the congestion charge to be stopped, has reached more than 9,000 signatures.
He said is it "essentially another tax that will hit residents, workers and businesses hard, especially those who can least afford it".
Read more: Oxford anti-congestion charge petition gets 6,500 signatures in three days (Oxford Mail)
The Oxford Business Access Group is also against the congestion charge, accusing the council of deciding to "make it harder for customers to reach our valuable shops and small businesses".
However, transport companies Stagecoach West and Oxford Bus have both welcomed the plans, saying they will make buses a more attractive alternative to cars.
The plans have also led to a row between Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council, who say they've not been properly included in the proposals.
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