A better journey with a Thames Valley mayor?

Five new railway stations in Oxfordshire with bus hubs outside each one, a third River Thames crossing and a network of European-style cycle lanes and pathways free from cars.

This is the vision for active travel being talked about at this week's Liberal Democrat conference in Brighton.

The party runs or partly controls the county council and four of the five districts in Oxfordshire, as well as three unitary authorities in Berkshire.

And a recurring theme of conversation is how devolution and the potential Thames Valley mayor could help improve journeys and help tackle climate change.

Olly Glover, the MP for Didcot and Wantage, is the party's transport spokesperson.

He is campaigning for a station at Grove. The town has the Great Western Rail line running just north of it but without a stop.

The population of Wantage and Grove is due to increase 25% by 2031 according to county council predictions.

And Glover said: "Devolution has the potential to make a massive difference for transport as long as the geography is right, especially if mayors of neighbouring authorities work together."

He added he believed bigger devolution areas would work better as proven by regional government in France, Spain and Germany.

"You get economies of scale and you get a concentrated set of ideas," he said.

The county council's OxRail 2040 plan was adopted in November 2025.

And in June the first quiet lane route was agreed in Oxfordshire, closing rural roads to vehicles to encourage cycling, horse riding and walking but it was not without controversy.

Josie Procter, an active travel campaigner from Oxford East said she wants the party to be even braver: "We need to make it a little bit more inconvenient to drive, and more joyous and easy to walk, cycle, get the bus, use the train to encourage people to make the active travel choice."

She said simplifying local government was key adding "it's too fragmented in Oxfordshire and Berkshire at the moment to deliver truly integrated transport, we have turf wars between councils and who is responsible for what".

The Thames Valley mayor would also be responsible for Berkshire, which has six councils at the moment.

Councillor Adrian Betteridge, the lead for transport at Wokingham Borough Council, said he was often frustrated by "cross boundary issues".

"There is a need for an extra Thames crossing where views differ either side of the river. A mayor could take a broader view than the current council structure allows us to do," he added.

He also said finance pressures in councils meant investment in active-travel measures was often restricted and if devolution brought extra funding that would be welcome.

Support for the devolved authority and mayor does not just come from the Liberal Democrats.

Oxford City Council's leader, Labour's Susan Brown, has said repeatedly a mayor-led authority is a "no-brainer" and would bring "major infrastructure improvements".

Labour led authorities and MPs in Berkshire have also been campaigning for years for the western rail link to Heathrow airport.

Last week, leaders in the Thames Valley wrote to Andy Burnham asking for plans for a mayor in the region to be fast-tracked.

But there is still debate raging about which areas would be included alongside Berkshire and Oxfordshire as adding Swindon and Buckinghamshire divides opinions.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local government said it is always "listening to areas which wish to progress devolution sooner".