Oxford Street is about to change forever — and Londoners planning a shopping trip, a shift at work or a journey across the West End should check their route before the weekend.
Traffic diversions begin on Sunday evening, 25 October, ahead of the first pedestrianised section opening on Monday 26 October 2026. The key detail is the boundary: this phase covers Orchard Street to Great Portland Street, rather than the whole shopping street.
Sunday evening first, Monday morning next
TfL says traffic will be diverted between Portman Street and Winsley Street from 8pm on Sunday 25 October. By Monday morning, the traffic-free area will narrow to the permanent first-phase boundaries at Orchard Street and Great Portland Street.
Anyone meeting friends on Sunday should agree a specific shop entrance or station exit, rather than assuming a familiar bus stop will still be in use.
Which buses are changing?
From 1am on Saturday 24 October, routes 7, N7, 94, N113 and N137 will terminate at Marble Arch. From 8pm on Sunday, routes 98, 139, 390, N98 and N207 will use alternative roads, serving stops on Wigmore Street, Henrietta Place and Cavendish Place. TfL places alternative stops approximately 200 metres from the pedestrian area.
Other services also have stop or route adjustments. Check your exact service in TfL Go or Journey Planner, including the return journey. A familiar route number does not necessarily mean the same boarding point.
The overnight diversions are a separate change
Between 8pm on Sunday and 6am on Monday, additional temporary changes apply. Routes 55, 73, N55 and N73 will terminate at Tottenham Court Road; 159, N109 and N136 at Piccadilly Circus; and N8 and N25 at Holborn. The Residents’ Society of Mayfair and St James’s also lists 12 and N15 ending at Trafalgar Square, and 22 and N22 at Hyde Park Corner during that overnight period.
These overnight arrangements accompany preparations for the traffic-free scheme and installation of festive lights on Regent Street, and should not be confused with the longer-term changes.
The Mayor of London, who has faced pressure over other transport schemes this week, has championed the Oxford Street pedestrianisation as a once-in-a-generation transformation of Europe’s busiest shopping street.
