Oxford Bus Company completes electric roll out

The final zero-emission vehicle in Oxford Bus Company’s new electric fleet has gone into service, representing a significant milestone for the city.

It means Oxford Bus Company has rolled out 104 electric vehicles onto the road as part of its groundbreaking commitment to sustainability and its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint in Oxford. The vehicles are used on its city fleets, BROOKESbus service and City Sightseeing Oxford open-top tours.

Oxford Bus Company phased in its electric vehicles across a nine-month period, after the first of the fleet went into service in November last year. Oxford Bus Company also installed an electricity substation at its Cowley depot to support the rapid charging of the electric buses. EV fleet specialist Zenobe installed 104 chargers into the depot. A full charge takes three to four hours and each vehicle can travel for up to 200 miles on a charge.

The Go-Ahead Group, the parent company of Oxford Bus Company has a target to reduce emissions by 75% by 2035 and become a net-zero company by 2045. The 104 electric buses will save more than 4,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year in Oxford and are currently travelling an average of 70,000 zero-emission miles every week around the county, preventing more than 35,000 litres of diesel from being burned each week.

To mark the electrification milestone Oxford Bus Company held a public engagement event at Bonn Square, Oxford, to showcase the vehicles, share information and answer questions. 

Luke Marion, Managing Director of Oxford Bus Company, said: “This groundbreaking investment and rollout of our all-electric city fleet is already delivering lower emissions, quieter and smoother journeys, and better air quality for our city.

“It has been a tremendous achievement to roll out so many buses over such a short space of time, along with all the charging infrastructure to support this, and I’m very proud of everyone who helped deliver this ambitious infrastructure project on schedule.”

Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, said: “I’m so thrilled to see these beautiful vehicles gliding noiselessly around our city instead of the diesel vehicles they have replaced, making the air we all breathe significantly better. Their presence demonstrates how the county council is backing its ambitions with political and financial capital, alongside our partners, to deliver a safer, cleaner, greener, better county for residents and visitors. Together with policies such as traffic filters to hugely increase bus efficiency, we are delivering on our vision of a better future.”

Last year Oxford Bus Company, owned by the Go-Ahead Group, in partnership with Oxfordshire County Council, Oxford City Council and Stagecoach signed a deal to collectively introduce 159 electric buses into service. The County Council was awarded £32.8M from the government’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme and contributed £6M directly, while bus operators invested £43.7M.

The charging hub at Cowley House was installed by Zenobē, the UK’s leading fleet electrification specialist, and is powered by EDF Energy’s Oxford Superhub network. In addition to designing and installing the charging infrastructure, Zenobē signed a 15-year Battery-as-a-Service Agreement with Oxford Bus Company to cover the initial, up-front cost of the bus batteries as well as any battery replacements required over the lifetime of the contract, long after construction is completed.

Steven Meersman, Co-Founder Director of Zenobē, said: “Our work with Oxford Bus demonstrates with the right approach to financing and partnership between the public and private sector, bus fleet electrification can be achieved at speed and scale to deliver a more sustainable public transport system and improved air quality.” 

In 2020, Oxford Bus Company introduced the first electric bus to Oxford via its City Sightseeing Oxford fleet. It now has three retrofitted electric vehicles in its fleet, which were delivered in partnership with Oxford City Council.

An Oxford City Council air quality report recently revealed that NOx emissions from buses have decreased by half since 2013. Buses now contribute less pollution than cars in Oxford city centre.

Each electric bus delivers significant environmental benefits, primarily through zero tailpipe emissions. It means they do not emit harmful pollutants like nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, which are common in diesel buses. By reducing these emissions, electric buses contribute to cleaner air and a healthier environment.