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Ambulance is held up at Oxford Street barriers in Sadiq Khan's car-free zone as councillor warns a minute was 'wasted'

Critical Mass riders on Oxford Street, London, where TfL's own traffic cameras recorded penny-farthing riders, cargo bikes and wheelchair users joining Friday night's mass incursion.
Critical Mass riders on Oxford Street, London, where TfL's own traffic cameras recorded penny-farthing riders, cargo bikes and wheelchair users joining Friday night's mass incursion.
A London Ambulance Service vehicle on Oxford Street, where the £150m pedestrianisation scheme introduced on 26 October bans all traffic except emergency vehicles.
A London Ambulance Service vehicle on Oxford Street, where the £150m pedestrianisation scheme introduced on 26 October bans all traffic except emergency vehicles.

Video footage shared by Westminster City Council deputy leader Tim Barnes shows the ambulance pausing behind red barriers at the pedestrianised zone's entrance before marshals approach and direct it away. Transport for London insists the crew had simply stopped to ask for directions to Old Cavendish Street, and that barriers were lowered before the vehicle arrived. Barnes warns that a precious minute may have been "wasted" and has demanded an urgent solution from transport bosses.

The £150m Oxford Street pedestrianisation scheme, introduced on 26 October, bans all traffic except emergency vehicles.

Cyclists have been brazenly flouting the ban, racing through the zone on e-scooters and hired bikes while security staff look on.

Shoppers are calling for fines as Sadiq Khan remains defiant, insisting the scheme will rival Barcelona's La Rambla and New York's Times Square.

MoreEvening StandardMoment ambulance is held up at new Oxford Street barriersThe SunCar-free Oxford Street plunged into chaos as yobs terrorise shoppersDaily MailBeware of the cyclists: Oxford Street's £150million 'pedestrian-only' zone lauded by Sadiq Khan as a 'greener, safer, world-class destination' is now swamped with reckless riders one week on - as shoppers call for fines
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