Key Oxford street has ‘laughable’ footfall increase of 1%

The charge was introduced on October 29 last year and drivers who do not have permits or are not exempt are charged if they pass six camera-enforced points in the city.

In January, it emerged that more than 31,000 fines had been given out to motorists who did not pay the charge, and more than £700,000 had been raised from those who paid the daily £5 charge.

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Now, new data provided by MRI Software, has shown pedestrian numbers in Queen Street increased by one per cent during the four months after Oxford’s temporary congestion charge was introduced, compared to the same period the previous year.

The marginal boost was described as “laughable” by independent councillor David Henwood, who urged the council to remove buses from Queen Street to significantly boost footfall.

Queen Street in Oxford (Image: Andy Ffrench)

The county council is publishing monthly data to help monitor Oxford’s temporary congestion charge and a spokesperson said the latest figures provided “a snapshot” of one area of the city.

Andrew Gant, the county council’s cabinet member for transport management, said: “This small increase may be a result of many factors, and we cannot attribute it to the temporary congestion charge.

“It’s still too early to draw any firm conclusions about data trends and the data we’re collecting will help us build a picture over time of how the temporary charge is working.”

County councillor Andrew Gant (Image: Oxford Mail)

Mr Gant added: “It’s reassuring to see that from the limited footfall data we now have, the Queen Street figures are positive, particularly in comparison with other town and city centres which have seen some decline, according to the same data provider.

“It gives an indication that Oxford city centre remains an attractive and thriving destination for shopping and leisure.

“We’re working hard to secure more detailed footfall and consumer spending data for locations across Oxford, but there have been some frustrating challenges sourcing this data.”

There have been a number of calls to fully pedestrianise Queen Street over the years but the county council has so far refused to remove all buses, which share space with pedestrians – and cyclists.

Mr Henwood, the county council’s shadow cabinet member for transport management, said presenting the one per cent increase in pedestrian numbers as a success of the congestion charge was “laughable”.

County councillor David Henwood (Image: Oxford Mail)

He added: “This is marginal change dressed up as impact.

“Even as someone who is opposed to the congestion charge, I wouldn’t need to twist the data to call this what it is: underwhelming at best, a failure at worst.

“And here’s the uncomfortable truth – if the same people had used two per cent of their brains they might have landed on something that actually works.

“Remove buses from Queen Street, create a proper dedicated cycle lane, and make the space genuinely pedestrian-friendly.

“That’s how you drive meaningful footfall – not by celebrating a one per cent bump like it’s a breakthrough.”