Driving in Oxford 2026: £3 Park and Ride, Traffic Filters
Oxford, United Kingdom · ZEZ
Drive to Oxford's ring road, not the centre: a £3 park and ride ticket covers 16 hours' parking and a return bus for five. Six camera traffic filters block cars without permits.
Can your car enter Oxford?
The shaded area is the Zero Emission Zone boundary as mapped in OpenStreetMap — zoom in to see which streets fall inside; the signs at the edge are what counts on the day. Full rules: Oxford ZEZ.
You can drive to Oxford without trouble, but the place to stop is one of the park and ride sites on the ring road: from 17 August 2026 to 31 March 2027 a £3 ticket buys up to 16 hours’ parking and a return bus into the centre for up to five people. Pushing on into the middle by car means steering round six camera-enforced traffic filters, which took over from the temporary congestion charge on 28 September 2026 and can no longer be paid to pass, plus the small Zero Emission Zone around Cornmarket.
The ring-road sites and the £3 ticket
| Site | Side of the city | Approach roads | Bus to the centre |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pear Tree (OX2 8JD) | North | A40, A4260, A34, M40 | 300, about 12 min |
| Oxford Parkway | North | A40, A4260, A34, M40 | 2, 2a, 600, 800, about 12 min |
| Redbridge (OX1 4XG) | South | A34 from Abingdon, Didcot, Newbury | 300, about 10 min |
| Seacourt (OX2 0HP) | West | A420 from Swindon and Bath, Botley Road | 400 |
| Thornhill (OX3 8DP) | East | A40 from Thame, High Wycombe, London, M40 | 400, about 15 min |
There is also a park and ride at Bicester, off the A41 near the shopping village, served by the S5. The combined ticket is sold at the car park machine or in the RingGo app and works on any Stagecoach, Oxford Bus Company or Thames Travel bus that stops inside the site; you show the parking ticket or the live RingGo session as you board and again on the way back.
If you only want to park, Pear Tree and Thornhill charge nothing for the first hour and £2.50 for up to 16 hours, with payment due within 10 minutes of arriving. Leaving a car more than 72 hours there triggers a £100 excess charge.
Six traffic filters to plan around
The filters are camera points that stop cars without a permit; vans, motorbikes, mopeds and lorries pass freely, but electric cars do not.
- Hythe Bridge Street, St Cross Road, St Clements Street and Thames Street: every day, 7am to 7pm.
- Marston Ferry Road and Hollow Way: Monday to Saturday, 7am to 9am and 3pm to 6pm.
A blue sign gives about 80 yards’ warning, enough to turn off; the yellow signs on both sides of the road mark the filter itself. Driving through without a permit costs £70, cut to £35 if paid within 21 days and raised to £105 after 28 days, although during the first six months of the trial a first offence gets a warning notice. With Botley Road open again, the council says every part of Oxford can be reached by car without crossing a filter, but the route may not be the one your satnav picks. Visitors do not qualify for the free resident day passes.
The Zero Emission Zone, briefly
The zone is still the pilot that opened on 28 February 2022: New Road from Bonn Square to Castle Street, Bonn Square, Queen Street, Cornmarket Street, New Inn Hall Street, Shoe Lane, Ship Street, St Michael’s Street and the first 40 metres of Market Street. Between 7am and 7pm every day it charges £0, £2, £4 or £10 a day depending on emissions, with a £60 penalty (£30 within 14 days) for not paying. Bands, payment window and exemptions are on the Oxford ZEZ page; a wider zone is still only a proposal.
Parking in the city itself
Oxford City Council runs city-centre car parks including Gloucester Green, Oxpens and Worcester Street. Its online parking map plots every council car park alongside the approximate filter camera locations, so you can choose one you can reach from your direction without crossing a filter.
Beyond the ring road
The Cotswolds and Blenheim Palace are where a car is worth having, and starting from a park and ride keeps you out of the centre altogether. National rules, including driving on the left, are on the United Kingdom driving guide.
Sources
- Oxfordshire County Council, ZEZ charges (bands, 7am–7pm, pay within six days): https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/transport-and-travel/oxford-zero-emission-zone-zez/charges-oxfords-zez
- Oxfordshire County Council, ZEZ fines (£60, £30 within 14 days): https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/transport-and-travel/oxford-zero-emission-zone-zez/fines
- Oxfordshire County Council, ZEZ streets: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/transport-and-travel/oxford-zero-emission-zone-zez/view-map-zez
- Oxfordshire County Council, about the ZEZ (pilot from 28 Feb 2022): https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/transport-and-travel/oxford-zero-emission-zone-zez/about-zero-emission-zone
- Oxfordshire County Council, proposed wider ZEZ: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/transport-and-travel/oxford-zero-emission-zone-zez/city-centre-zez
- Oxfordshire County Council, about the traffic filters (start 28 Sep 2026, warning notices, fines): https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/transport-and-travel/oxford-traffic-filters/about-traffic-filters
- Oxfordshire County Council, traffic filter locations and times: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/transport-and-travel/oxford-traffic-filters/map-traffic-filters
- Oxfordshire County Council, traffic filter exemptions and permits: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/transport-and-travel/oxford-traffic-filters/exemptions-and-permits
- Oxfordshire County Council, park and ride sites: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/transport-and-travel/public-transport/park-and-ride
- Oxfordshire County Council, Pear Tree park and ride (£3 ticket, parking-only charges): https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/transport-and-travel/public-transport/park-and-ride/pear-tree-park-and-ride
- Oxfordshire County Council, Thornhill park and ride: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/transport-and-travel/public-transport/park-and-ride/thornhill-park-and-ride
- Oxfordshire County Council, Redbridge and Seacourt park and ride: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/transport-and-travel/public-transport/park-and-ride/redbridge-park-and-ride · https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/transport-and-travel/public-transport/park-and-ride/seacourt-park-and-ride
- Oxford City Council, park and ride sites and approach roads: https://www.oxford.gov.uk/directory/5/car-parks-in-oxford/category/10
- Oxford City Council, all council car parks: https://www.oxford.gov.uk/directory/5/car-parks-in-oxford/category/43
- Oxford City Council, parking location map: https://www.oxford.gov.uk/parking-oxford/parking-locations
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Frequently Asked Questions
From 17 August 2026 to 31 March 2027 a combined £3 ticket covers up to 16 hours' parking for one car and return bus travel for up to five people of any age. Buy it at the car park machine or in the RingGo app, then show it to the driver when you board.
A car without a permit gets a £70 penalty, halved to £35 if paid within 21 days and raised to £105 if not paid within 28 days. During the first six months of the trial, a first contravention brings a warning notice instead of a fine.
No. The filters restrict all cars, electric ones included, and motorhomes classed as cars. Vans, motorbikes, mopeds and lorries can pass at any time without a permit.
Between 7am and 7pm every day, the daily charge is £0 for zero-emission vehicles, £2 under 75 g/km CO2, £4 for Euro 4 petrol or Euro 6 diesel and £10 for everything else. Not paying brings a £60 penalty, or £30 if paid within 14 days.
No. The charge still covers the pilot streets around Cornmarket, Queen Street and New Inn Hall Street that started on 28 February 2022. A wider zone is proposed, and the county council says a revised programme for engagement and consultation is being prepared.
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