Bid to bring 159 electric buses to Oxford submitted

A £32.8m bid has been submitted to help bring 159 electric buses to Oxford.

Oxfordshire County Council applied to the from the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (Zebra) scheme.

The authority said it was proof of its ambition "to be a global leader in transport decarbonisation through the radical transformation of Oxford's transport system".

The project will also benefit from £6m from the council and £43.7m from bus companies Go-Ahead and Stagecoach.

The Zebra scheme is part of the government's aim to transition to zero emission transport by 2050.

A Zero Emission Zone pilot begins in Oxford city centre on Monday and will see non-zero emission vehicles charged for using certain roads between 07:00 and 19:00. The council aims to have a zero carbon bus network by 2030.

The plan is to operate the electric buses from Kidlington in the north to Sandford in the south, and from Cumnor in the west to Wheatley in the east.

The council believes it will save 9,200 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year, the equivalent of 6,000 cars.

Phil Southall, managing director of Oxford Bus Company, said: "A scheme of this scale of course comes with challenges and the significant bus operator investment required to support the transition to electric will require public policies to reduce congestion, speed up bus journey times by 10%, and encourage active travel such as cycling and walking."

Rachel Geliamassi, managing director at Stagecoach West, said a successful bid would be a "monumental step forward towards decarbonising public transport in Oxford".

The government decision is expected in March and, if successful, the new buses could arrive between the summer of 2023 and the spring of 2024.