One week after being unveiled as a “greener, safer, world-class destination,” Sadiq Khan’s pedestrianised Oxford Street has become a lawless shortcut for cyclists, critics claim.
Shoppers, employees and even Transport for London (TfL) enforcement officers say they have been left struggling to stop cyclists who speed through the area before issuing them with a £160 fine.
Bicycles, cars, buses and taxis were barred from half a mile of Britain’s best-known shopping street on October 26. The £150million regeneration project is also expected to bring new benches and trees to the route.
Lord Khan, who has not yet confirmed whether he will seek a fourth term as London Mayor in 2028, said the changes would “revitalise Oxford Street” and help remove its tacky image and links to “dross” American candy stores.
However, cyclists continue to undermine the Mayor’s efforts to transform the street, while buses and taxis diverted onto surrounding roads face severe congestion.
Shoppers, residents and campaigners are demanding an urgent review of the scheme after just one week, warning that cyclists appear willing to ignore signs instructing them to dismount.
The issue was highlighted on Friday night when hundreds of cyclists descended on Oxford Street at the invitation of the guerrilla cycling group Critical Mass.
TfL traffic cameras recorded the mass of bicycles travelling along the route, despite the ban. The group reportedly included dockless hire e-bikes operated by companies such as Forest and Lime, even though both had pledged to stop their bikes functioning on the street.
The gathering also attracted London phone snatchers, who allegedly used the crowd as cover. Witnesses said at least one person had their phone stolen while recording the passing cyclists.
Hundreds of cyclists travelled along Oxford Street on Friday in defiance of the ban on wheeled vehicles
Some riders used dockless hire e-bikes, despite pledges from firms including Lime and Forest that their vehicles would not operate on the street
Transport for London traffic camera footage showed dozens of bicycles inside the bollards intended to keep traffic out
Organisers said enforcement officers did not challenge them, while officers have privately acknowledged that they are largely powerless when cyclists refuse to stop.
Social media has also filled with footage of groups of young cyclists riding along Oxford Street apparently without consequence, forcing pedestrians to stop abruptly to avoid being struck.
In one video filmed last week, cyclists pass through the bollards while a hi-vis enforcement officer looks on. A witness can be heard laughing and saying: “He’s given up.”
One enforcement officer told the Standard that cyclists had responded aggressively, claiming a group of teenagers pushed him while directing racial abuse at him. Another officer said about seven in ten cyclists refused requests to dismount.
Although the Metropolitan Police maintained a highly visible presence on the scheme’s opening day, responsibility for dealing with cyclists ultimately rests with Transport for London.
The Met said it was conducting “visible patrols… regularly throughout the area” to provide support. In the meantime, shoppers and residents have urged TfL to take stronger action.
Local resident Michael Bolt told the Standard: “Pedestrians should not have to dodge cyclists or feel intimidated into moving out of their way.
“Nor should enforcement officers be left powerless to tackle dangerous behaviour. But all of this should have been considered beforehand.
‘Without constant vigilance, a properly funded management plan and effective, enforceable restrictions, the scheme risks becoming a free-for-all.’
One shopper, 55-year-old Damon, added: ‘At the end of the day, if you want to control it, you’ll have to fine people if they don’t abide. I don’t want to see anything bad happen.’
The pedestrianised area of Oxford Street was launched to great fanfare by Lord Khan last week – but cyclists have made a mockery of it day in, day out since
Locals had warned of congestion on the roads around Oxford Street, and their fears were realised (pictured: traffic last week)
New signs were installed overnight that asked cyclists to dismount from their bikes and walk them through the pedestrianised zone
While attempts at civil enforcement against anyone riding their own bikes – or TfL’s own Santander Cycles – appear to be fruitless, cyclists using dockless e-bikes like should be blocked from riding them at full speed in Oxford Street.
CHECK THIS OUT: Vast untouched island half the size of Hong Kong up for sale – and it’s at the ‘end of the world’ – NewsFinale
Lime, Voi and Forest had pledged to ‘geofence’ the area so the electric motors on their bikes deactivate in the bike-free zone – but some are still making it through.
Lime previously said it was ‘continuing to refine’ its geofencing, while Voi has insisted that its ‘no ride zones are working as intended’.
Professional hire firm Port, whose customers are largely delivery riders dropping off takeaways, is yet to say whether its vehicles are geo-fenced. Its customers pay £50 a week to hire a bike as they work shifts for the likes of Deliveroo and Just Eat.
The Daily Mail has contacted Lime, Voi, Forest and Port for comment.
The Mayor of London had been warned well in advance that enforcing a ban on cycling would be all-but-impossible.
More than 600 people and groups who responded to TfL’s consultation on the plans said they were concerned about cyclists ignoring the ban.
But transport bosses insisted that alternate routes, and the sheer number of pedestrians, would ‘significant(ly)… deter cyclists from using Oxford Street’.
That has not happened – and has come at a cost.
Disability campaigner Mik Scarlett said the anti-terror bollards installed to prevent cars from driving into the pedestrianised zone made navigating Oxford Street in his wheelchair difficult.
He branded the bollards ‘inactive discrimination’, telling the Telegraph: ‘It’s almost like we don’t matter because it’s much more important that everyone remains safe. But we can’t get in there.’
And Bahrain ‘Baha’ Mujagata, thought to be London’s youngest black cab driver, says the streets in the immediate vicinity of Oxford Street are now snarled up with traffic.
Cyclists have refused to obey the new rules, with footage showing them continuing to ride down Oxford Street
Bahrain ‘Baha’ Mujagata, 21, thought to be London’s youngest black cab driver, is not a fan of Lord Khan’s scheme
The utopian artists’ impressions of the fully renewed Oxford Street – at a cost of £150million – are a far cry from the reality
Mr Mujagata told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: ‘There (is) so much traffic on Regent Street with nowhere else to go. Sitting through traffic that I used to bypass makes life much harder.
‘Regent Street going northbound is very crowded, with a cycle lane on the left and a central reservation. If a bus picks up passengers, you have to stay behind it. If it’s like that at night, I can only imagine what it’s like during the day.’
The driver said he was not against the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street in principle, but that Lord Khan’s effort was not the way forward.
Mr Mujagata added: ‘We will evolve and get used to it, like whenever they change a road or turn. But drivers who knew how it was before will always remember.’
Susan Hall, leader of the City Hall Conservatives group in the London Assembly, accused the Mayor of ‘pushing through’ the Oxford Street plan with little regard for those who had warned of the consequences.
‘I have said all along that my biggest concern is safety,’ she told the Daily Mail.
‘I went to Oxford Street the other day and around it is gridlock traffic, which is what we said would happen.
‘And while it is easy for able-bodied people to get around, those with disabilities who need to get a bus to where they’re going (on Oxford Street) now can’t.
‘This has been pushed through by Sadiq Khan because, in my view, he won’t stand again and wants a legacy to leave behind.
‘I hope he doesn’t leave the pride of our high streets crime-ridden by the time he leaves in the next 18 months.’
The Mayor of London and Transport for London were contacted for comment.