Oxford Street finally goes car-free, and the hard part starts now

Why did it take London so long to stop pushing red buses down its most famous shopping street? On Monday, October 26, the capital finally does it, and we think visitors are the clear winners. But a street that has felt tired for years won't be fixed by taking away the traffic alone.

What changes on Monday

From October 26, 2026, Transport for London confirms that Oxford Street will be completely traffic free between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street, almost a kilometer. No cars, buses, taxis, scooters, pedicabs or bikes. Deliveries get the street between midnight and 07:00, and emergency vehicles and mobility scooters can enter at any time.

This first stage is explicitly a "test and review" phase, according to the BBC, with temporary improvements due by spring 2027. The project is expected to cost £150m. By the end of spring 2027, more than 50 new trees and more than 100 new seats are due along the pedestrianized stretch.

The case for walking it is stronger than the skeptics admit

Oxford Street has been a shopping destination since the 19th century, and its traffic by now was mostly buses and taxis. Nobody comes to London to breathe diesel beside a bus lane. Mayor Sadiq Khan wants it to compete with Paris and New York as a venue for shopping, leisure and outdoor events. That ambition is right: the great pedestrian streets of Europe are the ones travelers actually plan days around.

There is evidence, too, though it's modest. According to Bilbao Hiria, when a section closed for one festive day in September 2025, footfall was 45% higher than the week before, and almost 70% of the shops surveyed sold as much or more than on a normal Sunday. One day with a party atmosphere isn't a business model, so we'd treat it as encouragement, not proof. Still, it points the right way, and so does the consultation result: two in three respondents backed the plan.

The bus problem is where it can go wrong

The weak point isn't the pavement, it's the way people reach it. Several bus routes will be diverted to Wigmore Street, Henrietta Place and Cavendish Place, and others will terminate around Marble Arch. TfL says replacement stops will be about 200m from the traffic-free zone. That is fine for a fit commuter. For someone with a heavy shopping bag, a stroller or a limited walking range, 200m plus a very long street is, in our view, a real barrier.

That is why the accessibility promises matter more than the trees. TfL says every crossing will have tactile paving and dropped kerbs, and it is looking to raise the road to pavement level. Good. But we'd judge the scheme on benches, step-free routes and clear signs in the first winter, not on the renderings. Westminster City Council, which scrapped an earlier pedestrianization plan in 2018, still says there are many unanswered questions, and its number two, Tim Barnes, worries that traffic will spill onto smaller side streets. TfL itself expects more traffic noise on several of them. That concern is fair, and we think it will be the first thing to test the scheme.

A car-free street won't fix what made it tired

Here is the uncomfortable part. Oxford Street's problem was never only cars. In our view, its retail offer had drifted toward the generic, and that is an impression, not a statistic. The mayor's vision of flagship stores and next-generation workspaces is promising, and the Oxford Street Development Corporation says it is working on theft and antisocial behavior with the police, TfL, the council and the New West End Company. But a pedestrian street full of the same cheap storefronts is just a wider corridor with the same problems.

The best thing the plan has going for it is the event squares and the ability to program the street. If they are used for markets, food, seasonal shows and local makers, not just sponsorship and advertising, the street gets a reason to exist beyond shopping. The corporation says it is looking to raise funds from sources including advertising and sponsorship, and we'd watch that balance closely.

Our verdict

Go, but go with a plan. If you're visiting London this Christmas, use the Tube, which TfL says is running as usual in the area, check bus diversions on TfL Go, and expect some construction. Walk it at an off-peak hour, then judge for yourself in spring 2027, when the first upgraded sections are due. Pedestrianization was the easy decision. Making Oxford Street worth walking is the real test, and London hasn't passed it yet.