Citizens’ Assembly votes for “a car-free city centre”

An assembly of Oxfordshire citizens has overwhelmingly supported making the city centre car-free and turning some existing roads over to buses, cyclists and Blue Badge holders.

Together with housing being built close to key facilities, rural greenways, and using funds from a Workplace Parking Levy to improve city transport, these were key recommendations of the Oxfordshire Citizens’ Assembly on Transport to reduce urban congestion and improve rural connectivity. The Assembly findings were reported today (17 March) in the papers for Oxfordshire County Council’s upcoming Cabinet meeting.

Key findings include:

• 97% support for improved Park & Ride
• 91% support for better community medical facilities, reducing the need to drive to major hospitals
• 88% support for “building new housing developments so that major facilities are within walking distance” (aka ‘15-minute neighbourhoods’)
• 88% support for “designated roads just for a bus system (and cyclists, emergency vehicles, Blue Badge holders and taxis during certain hours)”, using existing roads rather than new-build
• 87% support to make the city centre car-free, “creating alternatives for drivers, implementing policies in a phased way… disincentives (sticks) would be needed to encourage people out of cars”

34 Oxfordshire citizens spent 45 hours in learning and deliberation in 11 sessions spread over 6 weeks, in a process facilitated by Mutual Gain, a specialist in participative democracy. 40 citizens were chosen by the Sortition Foundation to reflect Oxfordshire’s population in its mix of age, gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status, disability, urban/rural location, car driving and views on climate change.

What is a Citizens’ Assembly?

A Citizens’ Assembly is a method increasingly used to tackle difficult decisions in a democracy. It takes a representative, randomly selected group of citizens, and helps them to learn about the issue; ask questions; deliberate; and make recommendations. The in-depth learning and the reflective discussion are the keys to the Citizens’ Assembly process, being very different to the quick responses that people might give in normal social settings.

The Oxfordshire assembly was originally set in motion by Labour councillors in their amendment to the Council's 2024/25 Budget. The citizens were set the question “What steps do we need to take so Oxfordshire's transport system enables our county's health, economy, and environment to thrive in 2050?” Following further motions from the Conservative and Labour councillors, the assembly was extended in time and to add focus on congestion around Oxford.

Assembly members were provided with input from transport experts including academic experts from the University of Oxford’s Transport Studies Unit, rail, bus and taxi operators, resident-led organisations with both ‘healthy streets’ and car-based perspectives, and active travel specialists. The Oxford Business Action Group’s three representatives talked about business and employer considerations, as did a shop owner from East Oxford and a local tradesperson. The assembly members were asked to grapple with urban congestion, rural connection, and other Oxfordshire transport problems.

Following the expert inputs and discussions facilitated by Mutual Gain, the group developed recommendations, and put them through a selection and rating process, emerging with these favourites. Some non-controversial measures such as Mobility Hubs (better places to change between types of transport, from railway stations to enhanced bus stops) gained virtually unanimous support.

But even some measures that might have previously been considered controversial by some were supported by over 80%. The Assembly wanted to go beyond the current traffic filters plan and create an inclusive but car-free city centre. They also wanted the Workplace Parking Levy and Zero Emission Zone to reduce congestion and fund other key schemes; camera enforcement of 20mph speed limits; and designated roads for buses, cyclists, emergency vehicles, Blue Badge holders and taxis.

Mutual Gain set a threshold of 80% support to indicate strong consensus among the Citizens on the Assembly. 16 recommendations exceeded this threshold, and we have organised them by category.

Traffic Management

• Reduce road fatalities and serious injuries through behaviour change, for example by ANPR enforcement of 20mph speed limits, more speed warnings, and support for community safety initiatives particularly in residential or school areas (88%)
• Designating existing roads just for buses and cyclists (and emergency vehicles, blue badge holders and taxis during certain hours) (88%)
• Make the city centre car-free “while being fair and not disadvantaging key groups”. The aim would be to reduce congestion, cut emissions, improve environmental and human health and make the city more visitor friendly (88%)

Public Transport and Active Travel

• Enhanced Park & Rides, with shuttle services to major destinations, improved cycle links and storage, and ideally free (97%)
• Standardised, simplified ticketing across all bus services (94%)
• Improve connectivity in rural areas with greenways, rural travel hubs, car sharing, community travel. Community voices must be listened to (91%)
• Implement bus franchising, where the council controls the routes and service levels, to enable better control of routes, timetables and pricing, so it is driven by needs not profits (88%)
• Introduce ‘mobility hubs’ to make cycling safer, reduce congestion, and improve rural connectivity. Banbury and Didcot should get major interchanges with more services; Chipping Norton, Abingdon, Witney, and Wantage would have ‘linking hubs’ with services such as a kiosk and toilets. (85%)
• Introduce a Workplace Parking Levy which must be paid by the employer rather than the employee, and which facilitates reductions and award 'Kite Marks' to those employers that contribute to the COTP and LTCP - exemptions to be decided in a consultation process (82%)
• Reduce driving by commuters, short trips, and school runs, through the Workplace Parking Levy (which would generate income for other travel schemes), encourage car sharing, mobility hubs at train stations (82%)

Spatial Planning

• Improve community infrastructure in the medical sector, in line with liveable neighbourhoods thinking (91%)
• Build new housing so major facilities are within walking distance, sometimes known as ‘15-minute neighbourhoods’; the group noted that this does not stop people leaving their neighbourhood (88%)

Incentives and Education

• Sell the vision to the public, inform them about transport and active travel options and benefits (94%)
• A ‘kite mark’ for businesses: employers who contribute to transport initiatives, and encourage staff to use public or active travel, would be designated Oxford Travel-Positive Employers (94%)
• Educate and inform the public about transport and active travel options and benefits, including school programmes, roadshows and information points (94%)
• Promote generational change over the next 15 years to shift the next generation to think active travel first, bus second, car third by making bus and bike travel affordable, extending bike programmes for schools, education programmes from primary school all the way through, and children travel free on public transport. This also helps change behaviour of parents (87%)

Recommendations just outside the 80% threshold included:

• Subsidised bus travel for the over-60s and children, paid for from Workplace Parking Levy and Zero Emission Zone receipts (79%)
• An Oxford Congestion Charge in addition to the Zero Emission Zone, to encourage use of the Park and Ride (74%)
• Trams on north-south and east-west lines linking the Park & Rides (74%)

A further Labour amendment to the 2025/26 budget allocated £50,000 to publicise the findings of the assembly.

The County Council says it will “consider all recommendations carefully” and intends to draw up a table with responses to each one. For now, the current Cabinet is asked only to “commit to considering and responding”, with the main response to be drawn up by the new council after May’s elections. A new council always has a bulging in-tray – but the clear direction of travel in the Citizens’ Assembly’s recommendations gives a strong mandate for them to develop better buses, cycling and walking.