What if…By 2050 Oxford had developed a world leading and exportable, small scale metro system allowing the re-allocation of space above ground for a people-focused “place” approach across the whole of the centre of Oxford and reaching out beyond the city boundary - making Oxford an unrivalled historical city to live and work in? Should Oxfordshire be ambitious and aim to deliver a metro system by 2050? What are the barriers to achieving this?

‍A bit like...Trackless trams, Zhuzhou in south China’s Hunan Province. Tram systems needn’t be limited to tracks and could provide greater flexibility in accessibility to places and dramatically reduce the cost in implementation. Autonomous Rail Transit (ART) is a transformative transit technology which combine the best features of bus and rail with optical guidance provided by GPS and LIDAR technology. With capacity of up to 500 passengers use of such technology could join up transport corridors that lack rail lines.

What if…We placed transport interchanges next to new developments emerging under existing plans to allow for them to also have viable facilities and services and be natural interchange points? Would they be able to support “Transit orientated development” across the whole of Oxfordshire, not just Oxford, thus radically reducing the reliance on the car for new and existing developments? Should Oxfordshire make developments show how they would integrate, support or build viable public transport and cycling and walking routes as their prime mode for new homeowners rather than expand the network for private motor vehicles? 

‍A bit like...Utrecht, Holland. The world’s largest high-density, car-free residential district for more than 12,000 people is being developed. Everything residents need will be available within walking distance, or reachable by bicycle along a network of cycle routes linking different parts of the district with the city centre or to good public transport connections, allowing residents to travel long distances. Garage parking will be available for private vehicles, but there will only be about three spaces for every 10 households, 300 of which will be for shared cars.