The zero emission zone, up to £10 a day. The congestion charge, £5 a day at six locations across the city. Miss either and the first you hear is a penalty notice.
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The app watches in the background and warns you as you reach the zone or one of the six charging locations, while there is still time to turn. The boundary, the hours and the bands are built in, so it works with no signal at all.
What is owed, what it is made of, and how long is left to pay it. Paying happens on the council's own site; the app hands you over and you tell it when it is done.
Both charges in one list, with the time, the street and the vehicle. Mark one paid, or mark it as a mistake if the app got it wrong.
Save what you drive and the app prices both charges for each one before you set off. No account, no login: the garage and the journal live on your iPhone and in your own private iCloud.
Two schemes, run separately and paid separately. Meeting one and assuming it is the other is where most of the penalty notices come from.
Cars, motorhomes and taxis only. · Council page · pay it
| Band | Per day | Which vehicles |
|---|---|---|
| Zero emission vehicle (ZEV) | £0 | 0 g/km CO2 |
| Ultra-low emission vehicle (ULEV) | £2 | Emits less than 75 g/km CO2. Any two or three-wheeled vehicle emitting more than 0 g/km CO2. |
| Low emission vehicle (LEV) | £4 | Vehicles with four or more wheels that meet the Euro 4/IV petrol or Euro 6/VI diesel standard. |
| All other vehicles | £10 | Any vehicle not meeting any of the above standards. |
| Where | Which way in | When |
|---|---|---|
| Hollow Way | East Oxford, on the way in from Cowley and the ring road. | 7am to 7pm |
| Hythe Bridge Street | The western approach to the centre, by the station and Worcester College. | 7am to 7pm |
| Marston Ferry Road | The link between North Oxford and Marston, over the Cherwell. | 7am to 7pm |
| St Clements | The eastern approach, off Magdalen Bridge towards Headington. | 7am to 7pm |
| St Cross Road | Between the science area and St Clement's, past the university parks. | 7am to 7pm |
| Thames Street | The southern approach, below Christ Church and the Westgate. | 7am to 7pm |
The daily charge covers the whole day, so a vehicle can enter and move around the zone more than once on the same day for one charge. Pay by midnight the day after you pass a charging location. Residents in some areas, blue badge holders, carers and a number of other groups can apply to the council for a permit, which means the locations cost them nothing. The council decides who qualifies; the app asks you once and remembers the answer.
Pick what you drive. The table below shows what it pays in the zone, and the line beside it what it pays at a charging location.
Charged in the zone by emissions, and £5 at any of the six locations - electric included.
At a charging location £5 a day
| Vehicle | In the zone |
|---|---|
| Electric car | No charge |
| Plug-in hybrid | Usually £2 a day |
| Hybrid car | £2 or £4 a day |
| Petrol car | £4 or £10 a day |
| Diesel car | £4 or £10 a day |
| Van | £0 to £10 a day |
| Motorcycle | £2 a day, or free if electric |
| Motorhome | £4 or £10 a day |
| Hackney carriage | Exempt if licensed by Oxford City Council |
| Private hire vehicle | Discount available for selected vehicles |
| Historic vehicle | Exempt |
| Local bus | Exempt if a registered local bus |
| Minibus | £4 or £10 a day, discount possible |
| Lorry or HGV | £4 or £10 a day |
Charges as published on 19 August 2026. The council is the authority on all of it: zone charges and the congestion charge.
The zone that is live today is a pilot. It covers a small number of streets in Oxford city centre. The scheme does not ban any vehicle from the zone. It charges according to emissions. Charges do not apply to a vehicle that is parked inside the zone and does not move. The charge is temporary. The council introduced it while bus gates were delayed, and has said it will be reviewed.
The Oxford Zero Emission Zone charges a daily amount set by your vehicle's emissions. A zero emission vehicle pays £0. An ultra-low emission vehicle, under 75 g/km CO2, pays £2, as does any petrol two or three-wheeler. A low emission vehicle with four or more wheels meeting Euro 4 petrol or Euro 6 diesel pays £4. Everything else pays £10.
Charges apply from 7am to 7pm, seven days a week, all year round. There is no weekend exception and no seasonal break. Outside those hours the zone does not charge.
Yes. The council's wording is that charges apply from 7am to 7pm, seven days a week, all year round. Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays are all charging days.
The pilot zone covers New Road between Bonn Square and Castle Street, Bonn Square, Queen Street, Cornmarket Street, New Inn Hall Street, Shoe Lane, Market Street for 40 metres east of Cornmarket, Ship Street and St Michael's Street.
You pay the council online. The payment window runs from up to six days in advance, through the day you drive in the zone, and on for the six days that follow.
You get a penalty charge notice for £60. Pay within 14 days of the date of service and the council accepts 50 per cent of it, which is £30. If you neither pay nor formally challenge within 28 days, a charge certificate is issued and the penalty rises by 50 per cent to £90.
Yes. You have 28 days from the date of service either to pay or to make a formal challenge. The council runs the first stage and publishes the process on its appeals page.
The council lists these vehicles as exempt from the daily charge: Hackney carriages licensed by Oxford City Council, registered local buses, emergency service vehicles, historic vehicles, military vehicles, agricultural and similar vehicles such as tractors and gritters, special vehicles such as mobile cranes and forklift trucks, hearses, and certain recovery vehicles.
The council offers discounts to Blue Badge holders, disabled tax class vehicles, selected low emission hybrid private hire and Hackney carriage vehicles, residents in the zone, health or care workers, community transport vehicles, businesses in the zone, and students in financial hardship moving in or out of the zone.
Residents in the zero emission zone appear on the council's list of discounts, not its list of exemptions. That means the relief has to be applied for and processed before you use it.
Fully electric cars, vans and motorcycles emit 0 g/km CO2 and are in the zero emission band, which is charged £0. The council states that you do not need to apply for a discount or exemption if your vehicle is zero emission.
Yes. A plug-in hybrid is not a zero emission vehicle for the purposes of the zone. Most emit under 75 g/km CO2, which puts them in the ultra-low emission band at £2 a day. One emitting 75 g/km or more falls to £4 if it meets Euro 4 petrol or Euro 6 diesel, and £10 if it does not.
Yes, since 2026 there is, and it is a separate scheme from the Zero Emission Zone. The temporary congestion charge is £5 a day for cars, motorhomes and taxis passing any of six charging locations around the city between 7am and 7pm. One payment covers the whole day however many you pass. It is charged on where you drive rather than on emissions, so an electric car pays it in full even though it is free in the zero emission zone.
You can. They are separate schemes with separate payments. Driving into the city past one of the six congestion charging locations and then into the zero emission zone means one £5 congestion charge and one zone charge of up to £10, paid to two different places. Neither one covers the other.
Yes. The congestion charge takes no account of emissions, so an electric car pays the full £5 like any other car. This catches people out, because the same car is free in the zero emission zone.
Hollow Way, Hythe Bridge Street, Marston Ferry Road, St Clement's, St Cross Road and Thames Street. They are individual roads spread across the city rather than a ring or a boundary, so you can be well away from the city centre and still pass one.
Cars, motorhomes and taxis. Vans, lorries, buses, coaches and motorcycles do not pay it. Residents of some areas, blue badge holders, carers and a number of other groups can apply to the council for a permit, which makes the locations free for that vehicle.
Until midnight on the day after you pass a charging location. Miss it and the penalty charge notice is £70, halved to £35 if you pay within 14 days, and raised by half to £105 if you neither pay nor challenge within 28 days.
The zone operating today is a pilot covering a small number of city centre streets. A wider city centre zero emission zone has been proposed, but it has not been approved. The council's published timeline runs further assessments and modelling through to spring 2026, with a revised programme of engagement and public consultation being prepared.
No. The council is explicit that charges do not apply to vehicles that are parked within the zone and do not move. The daily charge is triggered by using the vehicle in the zone.
No. The council states that the scheme does not ban any vehicles from being used in the zone. A vehicle in the highest band can drive through the zone; it pays £10 for the day.
The zone is nine short city centre streets, two of which are only partly included, in an area most drivers pass through rather than aim for. You will not always notice the boundary. The reliable options are to check the council's map before you drive, or to have something running that notices for you.
No. The app does not take payment and it is not connected to the council's payment system. It notices the crossing, notifies you and keeps the record. Paying is something you do on the council's site.
No. Oxford ZEZ is an independent app made by App Bakery OÜ. It is not made by, endorsed by or affiliated with Oxfordshire County Council or Oxford City Council.
