The former Bristol Road tram route and its depots were replaced by buses in 1952.^[53] The original tram sheds were demolished in about 2005 for flats, whilst Selly Oak bus garage was closed as an operating garage in 1986 but continued to be used as a vehicle store by West Midlands Travel. It was converted into a self-storage depot in about 1990.^[53]

The majority of bus services are operated by National Express West Midlands including the 11A/11C Outer Circle. First Midland Red operate service 144 between Birmingham and Worcester via Bromsgrove but this service doesn't serve all stops.

2015 was the bi-centenary of the opening of the Worcester and Birmingham canal (1815–2015). This connected Birmingham to Worcester and the River Severn, and then to Gloucester with its International trade routes. The speed with which the canal system was constructed is phenomenal, perhaps due to the war with France that began in 1793, and the need to transport the heavy minerals – coal, iron-ore, and limestone from the Black Country. Selly Port was the centre of activity. The Worcester and Birmingham Canal Act of 1791 approved the construction and with two further Acts authorised the raising of £379,609 to pay for it. Barracks to accommodate the navvies at were established Bournbrook for 120 men, and Gallows Brook, Stirchley for 100 men. Between Selly Oak and Ley End to the south of the Wast Hill Tunnel six brick kilns were in operation. The network included three canals: the Worcester-Birmingham, the Netherton, or Dudley Canal line No. 2, and the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal.

The construction work involved: cuttings, bridges, tunnels, aqueducts, and embankments that were all built using manual labour from 'navvies'. Some of the bridges were initially constructed from wood with accommodation drawbridges, or roving bridges, inserted where the canal cut across farms or estates. Initially few locks were needed other than stop-locks or the guillotine Lock at King’s Norton. There were three tunnels: Lapal (3,795 yds), Brandwood (352 yds), and Wast Hills Tunnel (2,726 yds).

The section of the Worcester-Birmingham canal to Selly Oak was opened in 1795. In May 1798 the Netherton to Selly Oak canal was opened to great festivities. By 1802 a route was opened from Dudley to London. To appease mill owners, reservoirs were constructed at Harborne, Lifford Reservoir and Wychall Reservoir. In 1815 issues regarding the Worcester Bar in Gas Street, Birmingham were resolved and the final section through Tardibigge to Worcester was completed.^[54]

Arrangements have been negotiated for reinstating part of the Dudley No. 2 Canal through the former Birmingham Battery and Metal Company site, as part of a long-term plan to re-establish the canal route to Halesowen and the Black Country.^[55]

The Birmingham West Suburban Railway agreed a land rental deal with the Worcester and Birmingham Canal to allow construction which was authorised in 1871, and opened as a single line track in 1876 from Granville Street to Lifford. The Birmingham West Suburban Railway was bought out by the Midland Railway to allow their trains to pass through Birmingham without turning having used the Camp Hill Line, they extended the tracks south to a junction south with the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway at Kings Norton, and double-tracked the entire line length. The line was slightly realigned in the early 1930s. The stub of the old alignment has recently been demolished. Five stations were opened including Selly Oak. The terminus was changed to New Street. The line was doubled in 1883, and by 1885, it had become the Midland Railway’s main line to Gloucester. During World War I casualties were transported into Selly Oak and transferred to the First Southern and General Military Hospital which was housed in the new University of Birmingham buildings. The convoys often ran at night to avoid noise and traffic, and to limit the demoralising sight of the considerable number of people wounded during the conflict. In the 1920s the central part of the viaduct over the Bristol Road was replaced with the current steel bridge to enable higher trams to pass beneath it. The station complex was rebuilt in 1978 and again in 2003.^[56] Selly Oak is currently served by Selly Oak railway station on the Cross-City Line, providing services to the Birmingham New Street, Lichfield Trent Valley and Redditch stations.