Stagecoach West announced the first route to benefit from the upcoming rollout of its 55 new electric vehicles yesterday (October 28).
Service 10, which runs from Oxford city centre to the John Radcliffe Hospital via Cowley is the first of Stagecoach’s routes to fully transition to using EV buses.
Work has been ongoing over the last 12 months to prepare the required infrastructure, including the recent completion of a newly built electric bus charging site in Oxford, able to accommodate the whole Stagecoach EV fleet.
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All remaining Stagecoach Oxford SmartZone routes will go live during the lead up to Christmas.
In advance of that, there will be increasing numbers of Stagecoach EVs across the Oxford SmartZone network.
Stagecoach forecasts estimated savings of 9,200 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year which is the equivalent of removing more than 6,000 cars from the road.
Oxford’s electric bus scheme is funded, in part, by a £32.8million bid by Oxfordshire County Council to the government’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme.
This, together with £6million from the council and a combined £43.7million from Stagecoach and Oxford Bus Company will deliver 159 new electric buses on to Oxford’s streets and the infrastructure to support them in a package worth a total £82.5million.
It will be one of the biggest UK fleets of electric buses outside London.
A new electric city bus route has been launched (Image: Photo: Ed Nix) Chris Hanson, managing director of Stagecoach West said: “Today is a huge step forward in our pledge to operate a zero-emission Stagecoach West bus fleet by 2035.
“Switching Service 10 to electric marks an important and exciting milestone for all involved in this project.
“The introduction of electric buses in Oxford is a vital move towards improving air quality in our cities, reducing CO2 emissions and making bus travel an even more attractive option for everyone.”
Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet member for Transport Management, said: “It has been a pleasure to see this fleet of electric buses grow month by month and passengers will soon be benefitting from all 159 of these new vehicles which this collaboration has enabled.
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“I’m proud that the county council backed 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.
“Watching the project come to fruition is an exciting and important moment for us all.”
Oxford East MP Anneliese Dodds added: “I’m delighted to see Stagecoach’s new electric bus fleet now on Oxford’s streets.
“This partnership should bring about significant environmental progress for Oxford, positioning our city as one of the leading adopters of zero-emission buses.
“Importantly, the new buses will improve the travel experience for local bus users, at a crucial time of year.”