Taxis could still be barred from most bus lanes despite a call from city councillors to scrap the idea.

Oxford City Council's highways and traffic committee voted yesterday against banning black cabs for bus lanes in Banbury Road, Woodstock Road and London Road, Oxford.

But Oxfordshire County Council, which put forward the idea, still has the final say.

City councillors are urging their county council counterparts to change their mind - or else hold a 'disputes meeting' with them in an attempt to come to an agreement.

Highways committee chairman Alex Hollingsworth said: "Hackney carriages are an essential part of the public transport network, particularly for people who cannot travel by bus.

"The issue now is whether county council members will change their mind - and I hope they will."

The City of Oxford Licensed Taxicab Association, Colta, says wheelchair users will be denied access to public transport and its members' profits severely hit if the move goes ahead.

The association's own survey found Hackney Carriages account for only 2.7 per cent of all vehicles using bus lanes in Oxford. Cabs are already barred from using the bus lane in Botley Road.

The secretary of the association, Alan Woodward, said: "We are happy that the city council has supported us and the four million people who used cabs every year.

"I am hopeful that the county council will now see reason."

Mr Keith Welham, chief engineer at Oxfordshire County Council, said county councillors will discuss the matter on November 5.

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