Amazing what you can do when you show some bottle and introduce a tough policy which reaps a dividend later (rather than folding under the slightest pressure, like Oxford East's MP)

Oxford Bus Co has announced more frequent bus services from November to coincide with the congestion charge coming into effect. The improvements mean Blackbird Leys and Cowley will have services to the city centre every 10 minutes, while Iffley Road gets a new night bus.

Only 16% of people understand key Highway Code rules designed to keep everyone safe. TfL have a new campaign aims to raise awareness of the Highway Code, highlighting key rules designed to protect people walking, cycling & motorcycling.

Over 30 local residents gathered on Friday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the post box on Beech Croft Road, North Oxford, installed in 1925. Famous hands are believed to have dropped letters through its slot, from Enid Blyton’s daughter to Phil Selway of Radiohead and John le Carré.

Oxfordshire County Council's cabinet member for transport, Andrew Gant, has fired back at Oxford East MP Anneliese Dodds over the city’s temporary congestion charge. In a five-page open letter, the LibDem councillor calls Labour’s opposition to it “grotesque, upsetting and bizarre”.

Oxford has had congestion problems for years. In 2015, Labour City Council supported Conservative County Council in launching the traffic filters & core schemes. In 2022, all parties & Councillors unanimously approved them as part of LTCP. The solution is clear, regardless of political backsliding.

In London, hate will never win.

Oxford Labour's position on the congestion charge is so disingenuous. They want the benefits of the congestion charge to just magically happen without any policies to deliver them. 🤷‍♀️ www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/2545991...

This policy should improve public transport by making the buses faster, more frequent and more reliable. Labour appears to want the exact benefits this policy will bring but are currently opposing it because they think it's unpopular. I'm sure they'll U-turn again if it works.

1) Oxford's geography is of road space limited by history. That's why we've had traffic jams for years, as Dodds knows. 2) Public transport services in Oxford are among the best for a city of its size... except for the cars in the way of the buses (see limited road space) 3) ... to be cont...

Naturally, Walker didn't say what any 'right approach' would be. Because he, like others does not have any credible alternative to solve the transport problems in and around Oxford.

3) Anneliese Dodds MP and others in local Labour, both County and City, have called for action on traffic jams, but not produced any credible alternatives to their own Traffic Filters policy, which they say they don't now support.

Oxford is to get a congestion charge of £5 per car per day, starting this autumn. Charges will be levied for driving past one of six camera sites. The decision, intended to accelerate bus services and encourage cycling/walking, was taken at an Oxfordshire County Council cabinet meeting this morning.

Good morning! Today is the day when Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet decides whether to levy a temporary £5 congestion charge in Oxford, as an interim measure before the full traffic filters come into effect (planned for after next summer when the Botley Road railway bridge reopens).

Aeron Buchanan: “The most repeated opposition argument is Schrödinger's traffic: ‘traffic doesn’t exist making the charge unnecessary, while also being so bad that the LTNs need to be removed’. I haven’t heard a single constructive alternative. I urge Cabinet to push ahead.”

Calum Miller, MP for the constituency where Nigel Farage delivered his repatriation speech today, says Oxfordshire is “thriving thanks to overseas talent” – and criticised him for not meeting residents living near Campsfield House detention centre, next to the venue for Farage’s event.

A final draft of revisions to the Principles of Open Scholarly Infrastructure is out for public comment. Deadline for feedback is 22 August 2025: https://openscholarlyinfrastructure.org/public-comment-v2/.

Little gems in the Temporary Congestion Charge report: * Over 90% of people visiting #Oxford City Centre don't arrive by car. * The vast majority of Westgate visitors, don’t arrive by car Car access is not important. People-friendly spaces are.

Once more for the weekend long read crowd. Or sign up to get it by email each week. 👇

What dastardly schemes will this evil council conjure up next in its mission to.... checks notes... stop people getting killed by bad drivers

The evidence for more 20mph zones ⤵️ ✔️ Cut deaths and serious injuries by 1/3 ✔️ Protect children ✔️ Reduce crashes ✔️ Lower noise ✔️ Boost walking & cycling

This, as they say, seems to be 'doing numbers'. If you like this, check out our (free) weekly roundup of curated Oxfordshire news with the occasional dose of snark. See past issues and sign up here for the Clarion in your inbox each Friday lunchtime.👇 oxfordclarion.uk

Letter of the day (in the Times)

fantastic deep dive from @oxfordclarion.bsky.social on the potential for rail commuting in and around Oxford and what can be learned from Cambridge and Copenhagen. oxfordclarion.uk/oxfords-comm...

Resharing this great review from @ianloader.bsky.social and @dannyyee.bsky.social This paragraph is so true and so frustrating. We need much higher investment in active travel so we can end half measured stop gaps. www.cyclox.org/index.php/20... bsky.app/profile/cycl...

More than 500,000 @crossref.bsky.social records now include at least one ROR ID! Do yours? Check your #metadata Participation Report at crossref.org/members/prep

Once more for the weekend long read crowd. 👇 Read online or sign up to get it in your inbox each Friday.

Speeding is violent crime and antisocial behaviour. We wrote a letter urging proper funding and enforcement to tackle speeding in the wake of the Morrell Avenue crash. To say I'm underwhelmed by @matthewbarber.co.uk 's response would be an understatement. 🧵 www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/2535971...

In addition to bus service improvements already in place, the Temporary Congestion Charge for Cars will enable Oxford Bus to run the 3 and 3A services through to Oxford Railway Station if it is approved. A big improvement for public transport. Support the charge here by Sunday: shorturl.at/FuVxo

Road pricing is inevitable if we want roads to continue to function. Better to get on with it now, not later.

A final draft of revisions to the Principles of Open Scholarly Infrastructure is out for public comment. Deadline for feedback is 22 August 2025: https://openscholarlyinfrastructure.org/public-comment-v2/.

As a general rule, regardless of the topic, the media is at least 50% of any problem. taxjustice.net/press/millio...

What a misleading headline. The casual reader might think she was killed by someone on an ebike. In fact she was knocked off her ebike by someone in a land rover. Get a grip, BBC.

Once more for the weekend long read crowd. 👇

Oxford's buses are stuck in traffic behind #TooManyCars. Help to unblock them by supporting the Congestion Charge in the consultation. Otherwise, it's another year of jams...

Business as usual in Oxford as the city thrives despite some people saying that more traffic would be better.

🚗💨 Sick of the traffic? There’s a plan 󰗇 The Council’s temporary congestion charge could cut gridlock by 20–50% — but it needs support! 🗳 Respond here:

Five new businesses open in thriving #Oxford www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/2531675... Agent says: "Historic Oxford's brand remains extraordinarily strong, stock is low, we are generating excellent rents are we are back to pre-Covid levels." @theoxfordmail.bsky.social

'Support is growing' for Oxford's temporary congestion charge, say civil society and business leaders as they sign an open letter to Oxfordshire County Council Cabinet. This follows transport leaders expressing their support recently. bsky.app/profile/oxfo...

A reminder that "Over the last 10 years, our buses have been getting slower as traffic levels in our city from private cars and vans has increased." was published 6 months before the first new LTNs were introduced in Oxford. Removing LTNs will not fix congestion. www.b4-business.com/news/why-fix...

#FutureSciPub in my opinion the call from the current panel to have funders underwrite loss making infrastructure, while at the same time wanting feature improvement, is unrealistic.

One of the reasons I like the POSI principles is that they include a requirement to push for financial sustainability that isn't reliance on grant funding!

In these times, it's a joy to find art that celebrates, elevates, expands, & challenges audiences to contemplate what it means to be humans* existing - & coexisting - with each other, in unique ways. MURDERBOT has been a sublime, & entertaining, TV adaptation of @marthawells.com's MURDERBOT DIARIES.

Oxford has the third lowest city centre high street vacancy rate, according to Centre for Cities. It was beaten by London and Cambridge. www.centreforcities.org/publication/...

So Oxford is looking very positive on High St performance, despite the narrative that our pro-active travel measures are creating a ghost town and / or driving everyone to shop in Reading and Swindon. www.centreforcities.org/publication/...

There are some TRULY idiotic "I hate net-zero" takes on yday's OBR report, which set out long-term risks to govt finances It's right there in the report, but to repeat, OBR makes it crystal clear that climate action will be far less costly than inaction www.carbonbrief.org/...

Yet another credible academic study published today, this time in the BMJ, showing that LTNs significantly cut road traffic injuries. To no one's surprise. injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/earl...

Penniless and homeless, Raynor and Moth Winn found fame with their story of their 630-mile walk to salvation. The Salt Path became a global bestseller and was adapted into a major film. But we can reveal it wasn’t the whole truth. @chloehadj.bsky.social Read more:

Westgate full. Oxford gridlocked. Nothing to do with LTNs. What can save us? The Congestion Charge is designed to do exactly this. 🗳️ Support the Consultation at: shorturl.at/FuVxo 📘 Use our guide: shorturl.at/lkgSp www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/2529189...

All the Oxford news in one weekly roundup: 🏨 A “tourist tax” for city visitors? 🎥 Cinemas galore 🚣🏻‍♀️ River & Rowing Museum to close 🗳 MPs celebrate their first year 🍻 Pub bus …and a praying mantis named after a Supreme Court judge Read it online or by email: oxfordclarion.uk/clarion-week...