Council lifts ban on taxis near Westgate Oxford

Andrew Gant, the county council’s cabinet member for transport management, made the decision at a meeting yesterday (5 September), granting a 24-hour exemption to taxis and private hire vehicles in and around Oxford’s Westgate shopping centre.

Mr Gant said the issue had “a lot of history”, with members of the City of Oxford Licensed Taxicab Association (COLTA) attending the meeting to show their support for the recommendation.

READ MORE: Oxford LTN cameras divide opinion amid praise for taxi group

COLTA Chairman Ahmed said: “The city of Oxford is home to around 4,950 companies employing around 128,000 people – tens of thousands of them travel to Oxford.”

Mr Ahmed speaks at the meeting. (Image: OCC.)

“Taxis are an important part of public transport

“Over 30 percent of the cabs in Oxford are now electric.

“By 2026, 100 percent should be electric.”

Mr Ahmed added that it was “very sensible” to allow taxis through the Westgate link and that drivers were “professional and well trained”.

The news comes after the taxi group praised the introduction of ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition Cameras) at LTN (Low Traffic Neighbourhood) points in June as it meant their vehicles could be allowed through residential streets as they were no longer physically blocked by bollards.

The area outside Westgate where buses are currently allowed but not private cars. (Image: Google Maps.)

Secretary Sajad Khan said at the time that the taxi industry had “suffered immensely from the introduction of the LTNs”, but said the group was pleased with the new cameras and wanted to “thank the decision-makers, including officers and Councillor Gant, who made this possible”.

An official at yesterday’s meeting said the decision to allow taxis 24-hour access was made after taxis were given access on a trial basis between 7am and 7pm and “no problems were encountered”.

He added that there had been “no accidents involving taxis” in the area and that air pollution had “decreased significantly due to the ZEZ”.

A total of 180 responses were received in a formal consultation which Mr Gant described as a “very high level response”. These included ten objections, 157 supportive comments, two partially supportive comments and 11 non-objections.

Sajad Khan stood next to a black taxi. (Image: Article.)

Among those who objected was a homeowner from Beech Road who said: “We should do everything we can to encourage the use of car-free transport around Oxford.”

“While I understand that taxis need to earn a living, Oxford city centre, particularly the area around the Westgate Centre, should be pedestrian, cyclist and bus only to encourage the use of buses and public transport.”

But Mr Gant said: “I see this as an essential part of our partnership with our taxi companies.”

Andrew Gant and Officer Jack Ahier at the meeting. (Image: OCC.)

“We are committed to pursuing the same goals, which include safe and reliable public transportation throughout our city.”

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About the author

Noor is the Local Democrat for Oxfordshire and reports on political issues from across the county.

After graduating from Oxford University, she started working as a journalist in Oxford in September 2023.

Noor trained at News Associates School of Journalism and can be found on X under the name @NoorJQurashi.