Tuesday 27th October 2026
It’s finally happened. After years of controversy with Westminster Council and others objecting, Mayor Kahn’s vision for a traffic free Oxford Street, first launched in his 2016 manifesto, finally got under way yesterday when the 900 yard middle section, between Great Portland Street and Selfridges, of the 1.2 mile long road was pedestrianised with not even cycles allowed to use the road.
I blogged about this proposal two years ago expressing concern at the impact on passengers using the busy bus stops served by the five TfL routes still using the street – routes 7, 94, 98, 139 and 390.
I pointed out the proposed alternative routing via Wigmore Street, Henrietta Place and Cavendish Place is very congested…
… inevitably delaying buses and increasing journey times thereby making them even less attractive than they already are in central London.
TfL has mitigated that problem by simply cutting back two of the routes completely – the 7 (from East Acton) and 94 (from Acton Green), which previously ran from the Marble Arch/Selfridges end to terminate at Oxford Circus (7) or continued via Regent Street to Piccadilly Circus (94) – both now terminate at Marble Arch.
As you can see from Mike Harris’s updated map below, passengers for route 7 now face a lengthy walk from/to Oxford Circus to/from the bottom of Edgware Road (the other side of Marvle Arch) making for a very unattractive proposition.
Having ditched the 7 and 94, that just leaves routes 98 (Willesden to Holborn), 139 (Golders Green to Waterloo) and 390 (Victoria to Archway) as the only three left from a road once served in its heyday by a dozen busy bus routes (eg 60 years ago, as a bus travelling teenager, I remember you could catch a bus on routes 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 15, 23, 60, 73, 88, 113 and 137 along the road. How the mighty have fallen.
I took a look at the new arrangements on their first day, yesterday, to see how things were going.
It wasn’t good.
In fact it was awful. I won’t be returning any time soon, especially if it involves travelling on routes 98, 139 or 390.
PR type people were taking photographs of the new ‘green carpet’ laid at the eastern end but, meanwhile, there were chaotic scenes in neighbouring roads as buses struggled to get through.
The pre-pedestrianised scheduled journey time between Oxford Street/Great Portland Street (just east of Oxford Circus Underground Station) and Selfridges was an average of six to seven minutes.
From yesterday that scheduled journey time has inevitably increased to an optimistic 10-11minutes. The reality yesterday morning on the three journeys I made in both directions was, ignoring an outlier, an average of 16 minutes (giving an average speed of 1.92 mph to cover what was a distance of 900 yards).
The outlier took 25 minutes mainly because over five minutes was spent stationary with the road ahead blocked as a bus was having difficulty negotiating the turn into Great Portland Street at the eastern end’s closure point where all traffic turns into and from that street. It’s not an easy turn especially if traffic from Oxford Street over shoots the traffic lights and then finds the way ahead blocked which I guess is what happened.
Having turned the corner into Great Portland Street, the next problem is negotiating buses now taking their stand time at one of the many bus stands which have been repositioned and are now dotted around the area adding to the restricted road widths available for passing traffic.
In addition to there just being too much traffic, another big problem is the number of vans parked on double yellow lines (and even in bays marked as bus stands) doing deliveries and pick ups as well as scaffolding contractors and other impediments including roadwork compounds.
Delivery vans and lorries were everywhere, even parked right bang in front of traffic lights with no thought seemingly given to their impact on passing traffic while deliveries are being made.
I would have expected some high profile enforcement of parking restrictions, especially on the first morning of the Mayor’s prized scheme. on what are now key thoroughfare roads, but instead, the endemic attitude to parking anywhere was bordering on anarchy…
… with buses and other traffic having to struggle through the blockages.
I felt sorry for the bus drivers but I suppose they’re used to such chaotic scenes in central London and just take it in their stride.
Meanwhile, in Oxford Street itself, there were no end of high viz wearing workers attending to the now defunct junctions and make them pedestrian friendly…
… as well as every bus stop no longer being served along the newly pedestrianised section having the benefit of pink tabard wearing agency staff for TfL to help any bewildered passengers wondering how far (and where) they’ve got to walk to catch a bus.
Bus stops (and some shelters) sported the usual TfL yellow notices in the timetable panels with a rather confusing map and lots of detail about which lettered bus stops are where.
On board the buses I noticed inconsistencies with what information is available on the, now legally required, next stop announcements/displays.
Some were working…
… others weren’t – which is a poor show considering how long this scheme has been in the planning.
What I hadn’t envisaged, but now I think about it, it’s obvious (for anti-terror attack reasons), is that each of the junctions where north/south traffic crosses the east/west pedestrianised Oxford Street, there are now elaborate temporary barriers and bollards in place…
…both in the road and on the pavements – which has the effect of impeding pedestrian flow making it worse than previously.
These bollards looked very much an interim arrangement and I wonder what the permanent solution will be bearing in mind the road is open during the night?
Having relayed all the above negativity about the impact on bus routes I should balance this by saying, notwithstanding that, I’m sure the pedestrianisation will be a success for retailers, shoppers and tourists wanting to enjoy a more peaceful ambiance in Oxford Street itself rather than overcrowded pavements struggling to cope.
There’s no doubt retailers like Selfridges and John Lewis will be pleased, especially in the run up to Christmas.
Once the ‘public realm’ is enhanced it will become a very pleasant and attractive area and it won’t be long before it would be unthinkable to return to having buses, taxis, cycles and the annoying ripoff rickshaws in Oxford Street. For example, no-one would dream of proposing Reading’s Broad Street or Bromley’s High Street return to having motor traffic.
But, and it’s a big BUT, it does depend on having a viable alternative arrangement for displaced buses. And in this case it doesn’t, unless there’s a serious crackdown on parking, both legitimate and illegal, on the neighbouring streets now used by buses.
There again, the Mayor and TfL have long given up on its central London bus network so I guess they won’t be worried about ruining five more bus routes, as this scheme has done. Big time.
Roger French
Blogging timetable: 06:00 TThS
In 1966 there would have been Green Line coaches too: 714, 715, 715a & 718. Ah! Just think of the posh residents of Ripley in Surrey having door to door service on a RMC for shopping at Selfridges!
LikeLike
Wigmore St and its adjacent streets need to be red routes to put a lid on delivery vehicles and other illegal parking.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Using buses to get around oxford street one gave up on years ago , stops away from key interchange points and shelters that didnt match any of the stops in later days just didnt work anymore , and we have also lost the tourist routes that would sometimes use the street too. But maybe will we get the often future gazing idea of that 2nd storey skyway actually constructed along oxford street maybe complete with some very light rail trams shuttling along it ?
while checking the bus stop audio visual is fair game on a first day of a new road scheme I feel that the delays are not going to be representative once the substantive works are complete. However I do think TfL have their priorties wrong.
While Tottenham Court Road station is step free , it is a long distance to bus stops to get locally east or west from it, and it would be nice for Goodge Street to be step free (I know it is low usage but the walk or travel south round the back streets is more pleasant than going done the still traffic covered bit of Oxford Street , likewise Warren Street for a better cut in at ground level to Euston and the Hospitals. But the big one is Oxford Circus which really does need full step free interchange with high speed lifts , using the station is torture , however there is a tip if coming from the east into the area and you are not changing station , I hadnt noticed that there is an eastern exit of the Elizabeth Line closer to Oxford Circus at Bond Street , I might try that and see if it helps me get around.
JBC Prestatyn
LikeLike
Typo alerts:
too/toLikeLike
Thanks Richard; both now corrected.
LikeLike
The retail life of Oxford Street was sucked out of it well before Covid by the Westfield shopping centres that bookend it on the Central line at Stratford and White City. More recently online shopping has killed off much of what remained. Whilst I would like to believe that pedestrianisation will reinvigorate the area I am far from convinced. It could actually make matters worse as the banishment of buses and taxis to side streets will make it less accessible to those with mobility issues who may as well follow their more able bodied brethren to out of town retail centres. Unless the pedestrianised realm is properly policed – there is a report in today’s Times that says (spoiler alert) the ban on cyclists is being totally ignored – it risks becoming a haven for e-scooter riding mobile ‘phone snatchers and other anti-social behaviour which is unlikely to encourage visitors of the sort that the mayor of London seeks.
LikeLike
It is really bad that there is obviously no good plan for ‘where will the buses go’. But that is compounded by the reduced frequencies (every 8-9 minutes is the best of the 98, 139 and 390).
Perhaps it begs the question – is Oxford Street so wonderful? Would it not be better to encourage shoppers to visit centres in the suburbs; I have a feeling that many people would if the public transport was better! E.g double Superloop frequencies, and install a lot more bus lanes.
Rick Townend
LikeLike
We stayed in Wandsworth and were shocked about the lack of routes into central London on any direct buses.
LikeLike
…apart from the 44 and 170 to Victoria, or the 87 to Westminster, Trafalgar Square and Aldwych.
Has there ever been a direct bus from Wandsworth to Oxford Street? I guess you could count the 39 to Oxford Circus, a link which last ran on this day in 1978. I’m struggling to think of others.
Malc M
LikeLike
Google says use route 22
LikeLike
Just another step in the quest to turn Central London into some sort of tourist theme park. Had this scheme come into play ten year ago, there would have been a massive outcry from Retailers once they saw their £takings plunge, but with bus services now so diminished, there will be little effect. The few people who will suffer, will be those with mobility problems who just cannot face miles of negotiating Central and Elizabeth line platforms and tunnels, nor being crushed in the process. I expect the “Mayor” has already written the “success” jargon that will inevitably be published somewhere down the line. What next? Regent Street?
Perhaps they can confine all future, almost daily, “protest” marches to Oxford Street and thus confine the chaos to one place.
Terence Uden
LikeLike
Indeed after pedestrianising the rest of Oxford St, there are plans to pedestrianise Regent St and Piccadilly Circus, but I read recently there is going to be a 3-4 year delay to those plans.
LikeLike
The Crown Estate is going to reconsult on those. But the plan isn’t to pedestrianise Regent Street at all, just to remove the median so vehicles can overtake one another again. At Piccadilly Circus it’s Haymarket that is going to be pedestrianised, so is the little bit of Coventry Street between Lower Regent Street and Haymarket. Buses would go both ways on Haymarket up the very narrow Great Windmill Street to either continue left (an absurdly tight turn) or right. I think it’s gone back into the thinking stage as I suspect lots of people (I was one of them) pointed out how unrealistic that turn was for buses and acknowledged that in their consultation report.
Matthieu
LikeLike
@bigbri107 The Crown Estate is going to reconsult on those. But the plan isn’t to pedestrianise Regent Street at all, just to remove the median so vehicles can overtake one another again. At Piccadilly Circus it’s Haymarket that is going to be pedestrianised, so is the little bit of Coventry Street between Lower Regent Street and Haymarket. Buses would go both ways on Haymarket up the very narrow Great Windmill Street to either continue left (an absurdly tight turn) or right. I think it’s gone back into the thinking stage as I suspect lots of people (I was one of them) pointed out how unrealistic that turn was for buses and acknowledged that in their consultation report.
Matthieu
LikeLike
@Terence Uden – interestingly, on previous occasions when there have been traffic-free days in Oxford Street, retailers have reported their takings went up.
Malc M
LikeLike
Wow Malc M….that is amazing! No further need for expensive government reports on how to revitalise our high streets and return them to the once bustling thoroughfares they once were. Just remove all those pesky buses and the job done!
Terence Uden
LikeLike
@Terence Uden – I was merely using published information which doesn’t support you in your rush to predict doom and gloom.
Why not consider the evidence before jumping to hasty conclusions?
I’m not a fan of making it more difficult for public transport (whether bus or rail-based) to get people from where they are to where they want to be. In Oxford Street, however, pedestrianising may increase footfall and be beneficial overall, whereas in plenty of other places it may have the opposite effect.
Malc M
LikeLike
It seems that the battle bus operators have fought to keep buses in shopping streets is now being lost. Buses have not only been removed from Oxford Street, this summer in Bristol buses were taken out of Broadmead’s main shopping streets: Union Street, The Horsefair and Penn Street and moved to alternative routes on the edge of the shopping centre. This was done in advance of a pedestrianisation scheme, but currently other vehicles are still able to use these roads! Not only do bus users now have to walk further to catch a bus, but the number of stops have been significantly reduced, resulting in more passengers and more buses using each stop, making it difficult for people to identify and board their bus. This is a significant problem for Bristol as many bus routes have been diverted as a result of this scheme.
LikeLike
When having a look on the Sunday before the change there were plenty of people coming out of the shops eg Selfridges and going straight to a bus stop. Now they cannot. Of course all these people have chosen to use the bus and not the Underground – some people say there are adequate Underground stations. Also by going past the shops passengers can see what shops are available – they cannot from Wigmore Street.
LikeLike
Go out the back door of Selfridges or John Lewis you are moments away from Wigmore Street
LikeLike
TfL will no doubt prefer customers to use the tube when within Central London/Zone 1 rather than using the bus to get around as they can make more money.
LikeLike
I totally agree with your comments on this situation. It seems that in many places buses are being banished from where they need to be for the people, especially elderly or disabled, who require to alight at convenient locations. In Stevenage there is a new bus station – moved from the most convenient location right by the shops to some distance away, same in Accrington, where buses terminated right next to the market, or Blackburn, where it was a perfect interchange with the railway station. It’s not good enough for this to keep happening. Buses are vital to so many people.
LikeLike
But the new Blackburn one is right next to the shops/market.
LikeLike
Maybe – up a long escalator, a pathetic little lift (often not working) and a proper interchange lost. And on leaving the bus station you are confronted with a tatty row of cheap shops, some closed. Not a pleasant environment at all.
LikeLike
It is just more anti-bus action, they won’t be happy until the buses are in one long queue going nowhere and tfl can save money by scrapping them completely. Shorter routes not taking people where they want to go, running less frequently, taking longer due to congestion and so much road space given up to cycle lanes, more dangerus to get on at ‘floating’ bus stops, no enforcement of parking and loading restrictions all combine to make bus use less attractive. It is a complete lack of understanding from those responsible
LikeLike
It is just more anti-bus action, they won’t be happy until the buses are in one long queue going nowhere and tfl can save money by scrapping them completely. Shorter routes not taking people where they want to go, running less frequently, taking longer due to congestion and so much road space given up to cycle lanes, more dangerus to get on at ‘floating’ bus stops, no enforcement of parking and loading restrictions all combine to make bus use less attractive. It is a complete lack of understanding from those responsible
LikeLike
I can remember when the 7 ran all the way to British Museum. I used to catch it from Eastbourne Terrace, (having arrived at Paddington Station by GWR), on my way to work in New Oxford Street, as an alternative to the Tube on hot summer days. Surprisingly it was just as quick as taking the Bakerloo Line to Oxford Circus, and Central Line to Holborn.
Pete
LikeLike
Now many buses are quiet and pollution free, why not restrict the whole of Oxford Street to EV buses? The road could be narrowed without the bus lay-bys, so the pavements could be extended and a ‘cafe culture’ promoted. Also, if all other traffic is stuck in traffic jams in the neighbouring roads, it would make the buses quicker and more attractive.
MotCO
LikeLike
Dear Roger,
Fair enough…if cars are going to be blocked from coming into a pedestrianised zone, like Oxford Street, but I don’t see the need for Public Transport to be blocked.
Public Transport is, and should be, seen as the way to get around, when you ca’t use the car.
This is a fairly similar decision, as to what Cambridge did, when the ‘bannished’ all Public Transport out of the City Centre…really I don’t know what its achieved – yes, I have made my way, comfortably, around the ‘circuit’ – i.e. getting off the bus, at the same stop I would board it again, as I can go around in a circle, but for those with less mobility, it might proove a problem, and it does not give an incentive for using the Bus, by bannishing them, as just another form of ‘traffic’ – they are not.
In a place such as Cambridge, where you don’t have Light Rail to take you from places of population, to the hospital, rail station, etc., you need the Bus!
Buses and Trains are important….they are forgotten about sometimes!!
Kind regards,
Ben Walsh,
Cambridge.
LikeLike
Cars have been banned during daytime from the section of Oxford St now pedestrianised for very many years.
LikeLike
All very well-said, Roger – how much better Oxford Street (and many others) would be if the city’s busiest bus routes had been upgraded to tram – a progression started with the introduction of articulated buses. Mayor Khan needs to get out more and visit any of fifty or more European cities where “the nation’s High Street” is served by 100% accessible, environment- and pedestrian-friendly modern trams.
LikeLike
Where are the 100s of millions for these trams coming from?
LikeLike
By cancelling all road schemes and understanding whole-life costs, which leads to the realisation that – as European cities know – that trams are cheaper then buses over fifty+ years and reallydo get people out of cars.
LikeLike
Few trams last 50 years, nor the infrastructure they run on. Indeed, some in Manchester didn’t even achieve 15 years (the 6 built in 1999, all of which have been scrapped). And no-one comes back in 50 years time to see if the original appraisal was accurate!
LikeLike
A significant number of trams has lasted 50 years and the “proof of the pudding” is in the far greater PT ridership in tram cities. You need to study the economics of tram systems in EU member states and understand the benefits they bring in terms of economic development, air quality and reduced car dependence. The UK has failed miserably to implement what it has: private finance initiatives; use of heavy rail consultants; buying unique-to-UK rolling stock; failing to integrate with other modes; maintaining deregulated bus services; lack of standardisation (only the track gauge is the same in our seven systems).
Andrew Braddock
LikeLike
There was a tentative idea for an Oxford Street tram about 20 years ago. I believe the then Mayor, Ken Livingstone, was interested. The tram would have been a shuttle running from one end of Oxford Street to the other. Buses would have been removed from Oxford Street.
The flaws in that idea were that interchanges would have been needed at either end. That would have been challenging particularly at the Tottenham Court Road end of Oxford Street, and there woud also have been the small question of where to site a depot and maintenance facilities.
That’s not the same as serving Oxford Street by trams running through from further afield. It might have made sense to add Oxford Street as a spur from Cross River Tram (Camden/King’s Cross <> Brixton/Peckham via Holborn and Waterloo), then expand further from there. The Cross River Tram scheme was killed off by Boris Johnson shortly after he became Mayor; Ken Livingstone had also promoted a tram for the Uxbridge Road corridor (now Superloop SL8), but that was shelved in 2007 in the face of opposition from the local boroughs (Ealing had previously supported, until a change in political control of the council in 2006).
We might look in awe across the channel to France, where trams have enjoyed a renaissance in recent decades. By the 1960s the number of tram systems in France had dwindled to just three. Those three have now been joined by around two dozen others. Unless I am mistaken, trams now serve every French city where the population is greater than 160,000.
Malc M
LikeLike
Just one exception, Malc – Toulon (around 180k), where a succession of Mayors have failed to make a tram plan despite the business community threatening legal action as money collected through the “Versement Transport” was not being spent. There are, of course, several French cities with lower populations than 160k which have invested in tramways. Paris now has 14 lines compared to London’s one!
Andrew Braddock
LikeLike
Of course, those affected by the cutback 7 & 94 could always hop on the Central Line, putting more revenue in TfL’s coffers!
Though, of course, I’m sure that wasn’t even a minor consideration!
LikeLike
My experience so far is that cyclists are totally ignoring the ban, and security guards hired to stop them can’t risk getting injured trying to stop them. So now walking down Oxford St is far more dangerous than it ever has been, with high speed idiotic cyclists all over the pavements and the former road expecting pedestrians to jump out of their way. As with the pedestrianisation of Camden High St, the aggressive drug dealers will now move in and make the road a very scary place in the evenings.
LikeLike
The lack of enforcement on the roads buses are now taking is probably down to them being controlled by Westminster Council who are probably quite intent on the scheme failing! The mayor dropped the ball by shrinking the MDC after pressure from Westminster Council to not encompass the streets traffic would be diverted onto and not having TfL at the very least take over the roads. The council is very unlikely to do anything to facilitate buses with any bus priority measures.
Matthieu
LikeLike
One odd aspect is that that the 159 now stands alongside John Lewis, where the 73 used to pick up, right in the heart of the main Oxford St shopping area. But can you travel there on the 159? – of course not, it now kicks people off a long way down Regent Street, nowhere near Oxford Circus, which they still show on the blinds. And you cannot board there either!
LikeLike
Yes it’s a real oddity. Just as when they stopped allowing you to alight the 73 there (but still allow boarding at that stop). I thought it was because the bus stand might move to the offside position/elsewhere altogether to allow a taxi rank or something (as in the original Westminster Council plan which didn’t involve pedestrianisation) but it seems like none of that is happening. The taxi rank is staying at the back door of John Lewis and the bus stand is staying where it is.
Matthieu
LikeLike
Do people still use buses in central London? I gave up years ago it’s almost quicker to walk (though I appreciate not everyone can) or use the tube, they are tediously slow. As to shopping well I think most Londoners long since gave up going to Oxford Street and go to Westfield or other shopping centres or towns like Kingston or Bromley, places which are much easier to get to. This is reflected in the type of shops – most in Oxford Street are clearly targeted at tourists, not residents.
LikeLike
@bigbri107 The Crown Estate is going to reconsult on those. But the plan isn’t to pedestrianise Regent Street at all, just to remove the median so vehicles can overtake one another again. At Piccadilly Circus it’s Haymarket that is going to be pedestrianised, so is the little bit of Coventry Street between Lower Regent Street and Haymarket. Buses would go both ways on Haymarket up the very narrow Great Windmill Street to either continue left (an absurdly tight turn) or right. I think it’s gone back into the thinking stage as I suspect lots of people (I was one of them) pointed out how unrealistic that turn was for buses and acknowledged that in their consultation report.
Matthieu
LikeLike
The 94 had very heavy loadings of tourists from the Piccadilly Circus and Regent St stops heading back to the prime tourist hotel areas around Bayswater. Now you can’t even get a bus from there to Marble Arch to connect with the 94. And even the tube journey involves changing trains at Oxford Circus, a far from easy interchange. Surely the 94 should have been diverted like the 98/139 ??
LikeLike
The hotels in Bayswater will only ever be a fairly short walk from bus route 23, which does connect them to Piccadilly Circus.
Malc M
LikeLike
I find it really odd in terms of night bus routes, the N113 is cutback from Trafalgar Square to Marble Arch, effectively making it the same as the day 113. The introduction of the N113 back in June 2012 was to link Mill Hill, Watford Way and Hendon Way with Central London.
Quite baffling to why it hasn’t been rerouted the same way as the 139 or at the very least divert it via Park Lane and rejoin at Piccadilly Circus. The latter could’ve been done for the 94 instead of terminating/starting at Marble Arch.
I sometimes use the 94 (until now) for the early morning shift because Mildmay line trains don’t start at either 5am or 6am (the latter if its a Sunday)
^CD
LikeLike
Totally agree about the 94. Why should West London suffer as a result of the ill-planned Oxford Street changes. No reason why it couldn’t run down Wigmore Street and Regent Street. I understand that the current terminus on Oxford Street is a temporary one and it’s already blocking access for deliveries. The new schedule only saves one bus so a lot of pain for not a lot of gain. Where was the protest from London councils and Assembly Members?
Martin W
LikeLike
The sceptic in me wonders whether, a year or two down the road, the 94 will be deemed to be underperforming and merged with the 148 with which it shares much of its route.
LikeLike
Turning that in its head, the 94 passes Shepherd’s Bush tube station, where the Central Line provides a quick and direct link to Bond Street and Oxford Circus.
Then the 94 passes Holland Park, where the Central Line again provides a quick and direct link to Bond Street and Oxford Circus.
Then it passes Notting Hill Gate – ditto.
Then Queensway – ditto.
And then Lancaster Gate – ditto.
The 94 effectively duplicated an Underground service for eight stations in a row. Is that a good use of funding and resources? (Maybe it is as, with the exception of Bond Street, none of the stations from Shepherd’s Bush to Oxford Circus provides step-free access)
And yet, there are other parts of inner London which do not have the luxury of either a tube line or a direct bus to the West End, never mind having had both! I would suggest they suffer worse connectivity than the route 94 corridor.
Malc M
LikeLike
There are many more bus stops than Tube stations on any London corridor – that’s why buses or trams are needed in addition to an Underground, Metro or heavy rail system! Aside from accessibility issues there are many people who will just not travel on the Tube.
Andrew Braddock
LikeLike
Whilst agreeing that delivery vans are causing an obstruction on the new bus routes, I have some sympathy with them. They have goods to deliver – it’s their livelihood – and it’s not their fault that no provision has been made for deliveries. Just as difficult for them too.
LikeLike
The removal of buses from Oxford Street has been going on for years. This is just the final chapter in a long story.
Interest in pedestrianising Oxford Street has been ongoing for about 20 years. I understand Liberal Democrat politicians starting calling for it in the early 2000s.
Cuts to buses serving Oxford Street started whilst Boris Johnson was Mayor. I believe he wanted an initial 10% cut is buses there. Routes 15 and 113 were removed from the now-pedestrianised western section, with routes 8 and 176 pulled from the eastern section.
By the 2016 Mayoral election, pedestrianisation of Oxford Street was in the manifesto of not only Sadiq Khan, but also the Liberal Democrat, Conservative and Green candidates. It was also supported by Westminster City Council (then under Conservative control), until they changed their minds some time later.
Further bus routes were pulled from Oxford Street in 2017, although the 113 was reinstated until 2021 when another round of cuts was implemented.
@Roger – responding to your comment about the bollards and acess for vehicles at night, a map on the TfL website shows that there will be access for delivery vehicles between midnight and 07:00, but vehicle access onto Oxford Street will be from and to side streets rather than direct: Oxford Street – Service access routes between 00:00 and 07:00
Malc M
LikeLike
Being objective, if you were going to do a shopping trip along Oxford Street, you’d probably walk from Oxford Circus to Marble Arch, and so the degree to which this causes a huge issue, is not as great as I think is being suggested, especially with access from Wigmore Street for those wanting to get to a particular spot.
The changes to the 7 and 94 are a bit worse and could so easily have been dealt with by a diversion, so as to preserve the link from Regent Street, even if I don’t think it was used as much as Brian suggests (it’s one of the few London routes I’ve used a number of times in recent years). I agree with the earlier post who suggested that the 94 may not be long for this world, to be replaced by an extension of the 148 to Acton Green, as a result.
The real tragedy is the huge reduction in those who were using a bus to get to Oxford Street, principally, I’d suggest, caused by appalling speeds, plus the numbers who now arrive at Tottenham Court Road or Bond Street from places that previously didn’t have a direct train link.
LikeLike