Oxford launches all-electric bus fleet

Oxford now has one of the UK's biggest electric fleets outside of London. A total of 159 battery-electric busses will serve the city, the first of which have now been put on the road.

The fleet is funded as part of an 82.5 million pound project by the county council and Oxford Bus Company, owned by The Go-Ahead Group, and Stagecoach. 32.8 million pounds come from the UK’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme. The transport operators invested a total of 45 million pounds.

Oxford Bus Company will commission 104 electric buses from Wrightbus, including 99 double deck electric buses and five GB Kite Electroliner single decks. Stagecoach will put 55 electric buses from ADL into service.

Moreover, partnering with Zenobe, Oxford Bus Company has installed 104 charging points at its Cowley House depot, while Stagecoach is installing 55 charging points at its Network Oxford site. According to Go Ahead, the Cowley House depot will be “one of the biggest electric bus charging stations in Britain – with each charging point providing enough electricity for buses to drive up to 200 miles per day.”

“This is a historic moment in our journey towards transforming our city services to electric. Our first tranche of electric buses is now in service and is already starting to improve air quality and make bus travel an even more attractive option for people to travel around Oxford,” says Luke Marion, Oxford Bus Company Managing Director.

Matt Carney, CEO of The Go-Ahead Group’s bus division adds: “These new buses in Oxford will form Go-Ahead’s biggest fleet of zero emission buses outside London. The project is an example of bus operators working closely with local authorities to deliver for communities.”

oxfordshire.gov.uk, oxfordbus.co.uk, go-ahead.com, wrightbus.com