Oxford has launched what will be the largest UK fleet of electric buses outside of London.

The £82.5m project will deliver 159 new battery run buses into Oxford and has also funded two associate electric charging hubs at the city’s bus depots.

The project has been funded by a collaboration between Oxfordshire County Council and bus operators Oxford Bus Company, owned by the Go-Ahead Group and Stagecoach. The council won £32.8m from the Government’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme as part of £330m already provided since 2020 and also contributed £6m directly, while bus operators have invested £43.7m.

The buses will be provided by two operators with Oxford Bus Company putting 104 electric buses into service and Stagecoach delivering 55. EDF Energy’s Oxford Superhub networks will provide the electricity to charging points with enough being built to power each bus to drive up to 200 miles per day.

Roads Minister Guy Opperman said: “Zero emission buses are vital for cleaner local travel, with 159 new UK-built electric buses coming to Oxford thanks to Government funding – supporting skilled UK manufacturing jobs.

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