Metro System

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.

Automated vehicles and interchanges

What if…Rural residents in Oxfordshire were served by on-demand autonomous vehicles with interchanges at the edge of Oxford to transfer to the metro or on-demand shared e-bikes and bikes depending on the final destination? How would we accommodate those with mobility impairment or local access requirements? Could the model be replicated for Oxfordshire’s market towns and other urban centres? How do we ensure we do not allow those living in more remote areas to be isolated?

‍A bit like...Connecting Oxfordshire. Its vision of transport for the future shows how technology could be used to introduce highly efficient and personalised transport options: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4koosxZMmo

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Transit Oriented Development

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.

Share your ideas!

As the project progresses we'll be sharing some ideas here on the website to further stimulate the discussion. We'll keep your name and email address confidential and we'll add you to the mailing list but you can unsubscribe any time.
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We're looking forward to hearing positive, game changing ideas that will shape our county! Use the form below to share your ideas with us and the community. You can send us a video, upload a document or just write some text, whatever works for you.