Today's the first  day, and no doubt media other than the BBC will be covering it. Earlier on the BBC website had a short clip of some cyclists being  extremely reluctant to observe the ban on them using it and remonstrating with the Yellow Vests. Here's the Standard's take.

 
Having walked up Oxford Street myself earlier and spent the day in the area I can confirm it's chaotic.....buses roaring around side streets which were never designed for them, smaller shops which rely on daily deliveries struggling (no problem for the likes of John Lewis with warehouses) and traffic backing up everywhere.

Mayor Lord Sir Khan has excelled himself on this one. Solved one problem by creating a dozen others.

One thing I did find quite amusing walking back to the Tube station tonight, despite pedestrianisation everyone still walking on the pavements!

 
Roger French also did some walking -
https://busandtrainuser.com/2026/10/27/how-to-ruin-five-more-central-london-bus-routes/
It’s finally happened. After years of controversy with Westminster Council and others objecting, Mayor Kahn’s vision for a traffic free Oxford Street, first launched in his 2016 manifesto, finally got under way yesterday when the 900 yard middle section, between Great Portland Street and Selfridges, of the 1.2 mile long road was pedestrianised with not even cycles allowed to use the road.

I blogged about this proposal two years ago expressing concern at the impact on passengers using the busy bus stops served by the five TfL routes still using the street – routes 7, 94, 98, 139 and 390.

............continues...........

 
Almost inevitably, cyclists are ignoring the new rules................

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/other/moment-cyclist-ignores-oxford-street-ban-as-officer-tries-to-stop-him/ar-AA2gfoq2?ocid=socialshare

 

Reading - and not finding an answer yet - to how and whether this stretch can be accessed using powered (and unpowered) wheelchairs / wheeled mobility aids?

 

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2026/oct/26/what-will-a-pedestrianised-oxford-street-mean-for-transport

You will need to scroll down a bit through the article but you will see that mobility scooters will still be allowed.

 
Just as an aside from this: as a very keen ex-rider who often defended cyclists when their worst "offence" was just being on the road, I deplore the two-wheels antics I see whenever I visit my town centre - and found that it doesn't pay to remonstrate when I feel threatened.

Near me there is a street through a 1960s' housing development that retained historic rights-of-way. Two of these are legally footpaths, with "No cycling" signs at either end; yet they are wide enough for pedestrians and responsible cyclists to co-exist well enough.  Another is legally a bridleway, but so narrow that many pedestrians wait before entering it if someone's already on it.

Yesterday I was about to enter the narrow stretch when a cyclist behind me on an electric bike requested, politely enough, if he could go ahead of me. Somewhat ungraciously, I stood aside, and he continued up the 10 per cent gradient, with a "thanks and have a nice day". So not a problem.

But I've seen schoolchildren on bikes whizzing towards the bridleway and wondered what would happen if  they encountered someone walking up it.

Back to Oxford Street:  I have wondered if provision might have been made for cyclists, such as a dedicated lane, but that would still leave  the problem of riders joining it from side streets - and of pedestrians using it. My grumpiness is even-handed, and I've scowled when I've seen people walking in cycle lanes.

One final bilious rant:  on Sunday I was driving in a right-hand lane through a T-junction with traffic lights and was horrified to see speeding towards me a masked rider on one of those oversized e-bikes; he was overtaking two lanes of stationary traffic; somehow he managed to squeeze in before we met head-on.

 

I think if you look at the longer term plan for Oxford Street that dedicated lanes wouldn't work, that said, if the rules aren't properly enforced (and they aren't at the moment), some cyclists will continue to create a hazard, I've seen footage of the usual clowns cycling up and down pulling wheelies in the midst of pedestrians.

Crossed Henrietta Place yesterday on way to office, buses thundering around there and apparently bus drivers are already expressing concern that there are going to be accidents - those roads and junctions just aren't designed for it.

The large community of homeless people who generally slept at the front of John Lewis on Oxford Street have been relocated to the back - not sure if they had any choice in this, but they are now forced to occupy a much narrower space.

 
“Only a matter of time” until more cyclists crash into pedestrians on Oxford Street, planning chief warns.