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Posted on the 21st September 2026 in PHTM News

TAXI AND PRIVATE HIRE DRIVERS DELIGHTED AT END TO OXFORD BOTLEY ROAD DETOUR

Taxi and private hire drivers in Oxford are celebrating the reopening of Botley Road after three and a half years of roadworks that forced cabs into a six-mile detour.

The major route reopened on Sunday, September 20, following delays and cost increases from £161m to £237m for the rail bridge replacement scheme. The closure began in April 2023.

Zulfiqur Khan, a city cabbie of 35 years, said the prolonged closure created tough moments when explaining the massive workaround to international visitors: “I had a passenger from America and he could not believe it.”

Welcoming the finish line, Mr Khan added: “It is going to make life much easier.” Another unnamed driver echoed the relief, saying: “Thank God it is open.”

Though motorists from Botley will now have a direct route into Oxford, since the closure a congestion charge has been introduced in the city, which will soon be replaced by the trial of a traffic filter scheme.

A spokesperson for the county council said: "From 28 September, car drivers will no longer be able to pay the £5 congestion charge to go through the traffic filters. 

"Cars with valid permits and all other vehicles can travel through the filters at all times."

 

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