Twelve easy hacks to beat Oxford’s congestion charge

Don't want to pay? We got you. Here's the tea on how you can avoid the congestion charge entirely, and still visit all your favourite places in the city centre. Here's the official website, but our hacks are better. Oxfordshire residents, you got this!

Hack 1: Use your permits

Oxford residents get 100 free day permits for the year ahead – apply here. Two people with two cars? You each get 100 permits. And they’re free. Boom! Once you've used up your permits, it's £5 a day, which you pay online.

Oxfordshire residents not residing in Oxford itself get 25 free permits a year, same rules as above.

There’s a big old list of exemptions too, so if you're a blue badge holder or a care worker, or a frequent hospital patient, the council has you covered. The list is amusingly comprehensive. Driving a hearse? You get a permit. A firefighter? So do you. Check out the list here; you might be surprised. Oh, and the permits are virtual. The cameras do the work.

Hack 2: Car share

This one's super cool. Most cars fit 4 or 5 people. If you can find 4 colleagues to share permits and a car, you save petrol money into the bargain, and you all get to leave work on time. Just don't argue too much about the radio station, hey?

Hack 3: Car club

Take it to the next level with a car club like Co Wheels, Enterprise CarClub or Zimbl. These have an automatic permit, already set up by the club. You don't need to own a car. You don't have to insure, maintain, tax or even wash it! Just log in, book, and drive. As well as in Oxford, you can find these in nine other towns across the county, and each car club car replaces over 20 private cars, meaning less metal boxes parked on our crowded streets – result!

Hack 4: Take the bus

Not been on the bus for a while? Oxford now has electric buses for a smooth ride, with automatic announcements so you won't miss your stop. Some buses have free wifi and charge points for your phone. Extra services are on their way in November, all thanks to the congestion charge.

Buy tickets on the bus or on the app. If you haven't ridden for a while, you'll be surprised by how easy it is. Just tap your debit or credit card or use coins or cash (small denominations please).

Worried where your bus has got to? The Oxford Bus Company app is free, and really good. It has live departures for every bus (including Stagecoach), not just OBC ones. There’s even a ‘Track Vehicles’ button so you can watch your bus approaching on a map. Independent site bustimes.org has animated maps too: here’s Oxford Bus Company, Thames Travel and Stagecoach.

(That’ll get you started, but for bus, train or active travel, Oxford Travel Options gives you the full run-down of choices for your specific route. These include zone tickets covering every bus: SmartZone for Oxford, MyBus for the county. Remember: it's free for pensioners after 9 in the morning.)

Hack 5: Let the train take the strain

This one won't work for everyone, of course, but the lines in from Bicester, Hanborough and Didcot are pretty good.

Here's the thing: Trains might not have worked for you previously because you still had to get from the Oxford rail station to, say, Headington on a bus... and the buses were, ahem, slow. That's all changed now, so maybe the train makes sense after all?

Travel off-peak (usually after 9.30am, or any time at weekends) for cheaper fares. Get a Network Railcard for chunky discounts if you travel at weekends or into London.

Hack 6: Use the ring road

If you like it then you should(a) put a ring (road) on it?! Oxford's version of a congestion charge is a lot different to other cities’. In London and New York, drivers are charged when they enter a perimeter area. Not so for Oxford. Here, you only get charged if you pass the red Congestion Charge line on one of six ‘through routes’. What this means is that all* destinations in Oxford are accessible without incurring a charge – although you might need to use the Ring Road to approach your destination from the right side of a congestion-charge point.

(* Almost all! Because of the Botley Road closure, you can’t get to the Westgate without passing a congestion charge point – that’s the ‘Central Permit Area’ above.)

TL,DR: Keep to a single colour in the map above and you will be fine.

Hack 7: Have a van

Vans are exempt. You're a tradesperson, you are basically King of the Road. You may go where you please, blissfully exempt. Apparently the cameras can tell if you're a van or not. Clever, huh? (BRB, just changing my family vehicle for an ice cream van.)

Hack 8: Go outside the congestion charge hours

Larks and night owls, this one is for you. If you're just nipping in to the Oxford Playhouse for a show, the chances are you don't need a permit (though if you fancy a sneaky pre-drink or seven, maybe take the bus or a taxi anyway?).

Hack 9: Walk

The OG. It's free, it burns fat, you get to see the beautiful city, maybe an easy nip in to the shop en route, and just sometimes it's faster than sitting in traffic. Granted, it's no fun when it's raining, but hey, every journey saved is money saved. Buy yourself that coffee. You earned it.

Oh and our top tip if you get amongst the dreaming spires: Look up. You will definitely see a new-to-you gargoyle or something else lovely – maybe even a rooftop Antony Gormley statue.

Hack 10: Cycle or scooter

Now, no one is making you buy lycra, or cycle every day through the winter, but replacing some journeys with a bike or scooter will save you permits and beat the congestion charge. Second-hand bikes can be found cheaply at the Broken Spoke, or hire a Lime bike for some speeeeeed. (Squealing WHEEEEEE as you zoom down the Iffley Road is entirely optional, we won't judge.) If you're bitten by the bug, e-bikes are spendy, but we believe this solution is the GOAT to help you get around town, and even up hills pretty effortlessly. If it's a cargo e-bike, you can even put kids and/or shopping in tow. We've even seen people with dogs in them.

This isn't just for city folk. Have a look at the excellent cycle.travel for ideas on the most cycle-friendly routes across our lovely county (and far, far beyond).

Hack 11: Park and Ride (the bus)

OK, maybe this is a reprise of Hack 3 but it really deserves its name in lights bold. Your trip into Oxford is free for the rest of this year when you display a paid parking slip from one of Oxford's five Park & Ride sites. Up to two adults and three children travel free to and from the P&R when you show your P&R ticket or RingGo app to the bus driver.

Hack 12: Buy a hearse like in Ghostbusters

Technically this is hack 1. But with Oxford allegedly turning in to a ghost town, we reckon there's a market for this. Go on, do it! Your city needs you! (Who you gonna call?)

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