Cleaner Air, Clearer Roads: Oxfordshire County Council uses Unity5 to Power New Traffic Filters and Congestion Charges

The relentless tide of traffic and congestion in Oxford had become simply unsustainable, damaging the environment and hindering local life. Stepping up to solve this systemic problem, Oxfordshire County Council has taken action to improve air quality and traffic flow. They are undertaking one of the most ambitious transport transformation programmes in the UK. As part of its wider strategy to reduce congestion, improve air quality, and prioritise sustainable travel, the council introduced a new Traffic Filter scheme supported by a temporary congestion charge.

To make this possible, the council required a highly configurable permit management system capable of integrating seamlessly with ANPR enforcement technology, while being operationally robust and adaptable to evolving policy needs. The Council is relying on the power of Zatpermit, Unity5’s digital permitting software.

However, this wasn’t a simple installation for the Unity5 team. It was a high-stakes moment, a pressure cooker. We knew that for this ambitious plan to succeed, to really get traffic moving, speed up bus journeys, and make streets safer, the system had to be flawless from day one.

The solution had to support the central Oxfordshire travel plan and Oxfordshire’s local transport and connectivity plan and the congestion charge scheme and Traffic Filters are designed to work together with other measures to:

• Reduce traffic
• Make bus journeys faster
• Allow for new and improved bus routes
• Make walking and cycling safer
• Reduce local air pollution
• Improve the health and wellbeing of our communities

 

 

ANPR Integration

When an ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) camera captures a number plate, the ANPR system requests Zatpermit to check:

• Whether the vehicle has a valid permit or charge
• Whether the driver has remaining usage allowance
• Whether a pre‑purchased travel pack applies
• Whether a congestion charge has been paid

ZatPermit returns this decision to the ANPR system, enabling accurate and reliable enforcement without manual intervention.

What are Traffic Filters?

A traffic filter limits through-traffic along a small section of a road when travelling by certain modes of transport. Oxford traffic filters are camera-enforced points on six roads and only apply to cars.  There are no physical barriers, and everywhere in Oxford is accessible. Those using a car have to take a different route or change their mode of transport if they don’t have a permit to drive through the filter.

Cllr Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, said:
“Oxford needs a more sustainable, reliable and inclusive transport system for everyone. People have told us they want quicker journeys, more reliable bus services, and safer cycling and walking. In order to achieve that we need to reduce the number of cars on our roads. That is what the temporary congestion charge is set to achieve.”

Temporary Congestion Charge

The scheme uses Unity5’s Zatpermit software and is designed to be a temporary measure to reduce traffic congestion and improve bus reliability while a key through road is closed for railway station upgrades. When the road reopens, the congestion charge will be replaced by a trial of Traffic Filters.

The Council set a charge of £5 per day for private cars and motorhomes (M1 vehicles) without a permit. The fee allows for unlimited journeys through all six charge locations on that day.

 

Enforcement using ANPR Cameras

Contraventions will be monitored using ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) Cameras and Unity5’s Zatpermit supports the use of ANPR cameras, which are used to enforce the charge. Not paying the daily fee will result in a £70 fine, which is reduced to £35 if paid within 14 days.

 

 

Automated Usage Allowance Management

Residents with annual allowances or pre‑buy travel packs can pass through Traffic Filters or Congestion Charging area knowing that Zatpermit will automatically deduct each journey. No manual action is required from motorists post registration, and the system maintains a complete audit trail of every deduction.

Configurable Discounts, Exemptions & Permit Types

The scheme required a wide range of permit types and exemptions, including:

• Blue Badge holders
• NHS and key workers
• Residents with annual allowances
• Visitor and commuter pre‑buy packs
• Digital “scratch card” day passes
• Temporary congestion charge logic
• Vehicles requiring frequent medical access

Zatpermit’s configurable rule engine allowed Unity5 to model these complex hierarchies, ensuring the council could adjust rules as policy evolved.

Getting the Best Value for Local Tax Payers

Unity5’s Zapermit combines with our ANPR camera providers for the latest analytics and technology to automate the capture of vehicles that actually commit offences. Evidence packs are also automatically created for review before being sent to back office penalty charge notice processing systems. This delivers significant productivity gains and cost savings by eliminating the high manpower costs associated with manually monitoring the cameras. This ensures best value for local tax payers while maintaining more effective compliance.

 

Revenue from Charges can be Reinvested 

In conjunction with the congestion charge, the council has announced other transport improvements, including a three-month trial of free bus travel on Oxford’s Park & Ride network for those with a valid parking ticket. The revenue from the charge is intended to be reinvested in transport improvements.

Pre-registration has allowed residents to apply for residents’ congestion charge permits for free, with 20,000 people applying in the first 2 weeks.

 

 

Improving Bus Journeys while Reducing Emissions

• Bus services in Oxford will benefit from improved reliability, reducing journey times.
• As part of their ‘Bus Service Improvement Plan’, they are working with bus companies to improve and deliver better bus services throughout Oxfordshire.
• At least 4 new services will be introduced

They are working with bus companies to deliver 159 new electric buses.

The Key to Success: Collaboration and Testing

Unity5’s Technical Support Team established a close partnership with the Oxfordshire County Council Customer Service Team – from the crucial User Acceptance Testing (UAT) phase right through to the official go-live. Our joint objective was to ensure the team was fully equipped with the tools, knowledge, and confidence to manage the new traffic filtering and congestion charge schemes effectively. Our development team’s robust, well-tested solution provided the foundation for a successful, long-term collaboration.

Feedback helped us identify and refine a range of features, ensuring the system was intuitive and addressed real-world scenarios. We also ensured that the system was designed to handle the anticipated volume of enquiries, applications, and appeals for the traffic filters zone.

 

 

Dedicated Points of Contact

Unity5 established a robust support structure with dedicated points of contact. This ensures that the council’s team receives timely support and that any potential service interruptions are resolved quickly, minimising disruption for both council staff and the public.

 

Lasting Results and Future-Proofing

Within the first two weeks of launch, more than 20,000 residents successfully applied for permits. This rapid uptake demonstrated both the accessibility of the system and the public’s ability to self‑serve without requiring council support.

After the first month digital ‘scratch card’ style permits were the best fit for the community in Oxfordshire, with half of all permits purchased as pre-buy packs of 25 or 50. These especially suit visitors to the region who aren’t daily commuters through the Congestion Zone or those that have found alternative routes for their daily commute. 36% of permit users are those motorists paying the ad hoc £5 charge when entering the Congestion Zone.

 

 

Outcome and Strategic Impact

The result was a robust, compliant, and highly accessible web portal capable of handling intense public demand. Within the first fortnight of the launch, the system successfully processed over 20,000 resident permit applications without system degradation.

Councillor Gareth Epps, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport, said:
“The temporary congestion charge is giving residents and visitors to the city faster journeys, cleaner air, reduced traffic and safer streets. We now have an opportunity, with the funding from the scheme, to support some measures with lasting impact that will improve convenience and road safety for the most vulnerable road users. The measures we have agreed to fund today go some way towards tackling some of the persistent traffic problems we’ve seen, and also help to spread the benefits of the scheme as widely as possible, ensuring workers in our schools and hospitals, too, see the benefits.”

Mark Wilson, CEO at Unity5 commented:
“By designing the solution to be flexible and scalable, Unity5 has positioned the Zatpermit system as a long-term tool for Oxfordshire County Council. This project is just the beginning of what we believe will be a fruitful, multi-year partnership, supporting the council’s future traffic management and clean air initiatives.”

Discover why 1 in 3 Councils across the UK use Unity5’s software

We are very experienced in closely working with Council teams to achieve strong collaboration with minimal impact to the day to day running of council parking enforcement and moving traffic schemes. Our high levels of support ensures ongoing success for council officers and teams. 

 

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