A £5.1 million investment will deliver 13 additional electric buses across Oxfordshire, expanding the county’s zero-emission public transport network and extending cleaner vehicles onto more regional routes.
The funding includes £3.9 million from The Go-Ahead Group, parent company of Oxford Bus Company, alongside £1.2 million provided by Oxfordshire County Council through its Vehicle Improvement Fund grant scheme.
The council said the grant uses part of the £10 million allocated to Oxfordshire by central government to improve local bus services.
Oxford Bus Company is introducing nine large electric single-decker buses and four smaller electric single-deckers, with the first vehicles entering service last week.
Built by UK manufacturers Wrightbus and Alexander Dennis, the buses will operate on routes including the 35 to Abingdon, the 46 to Great Milton, the ST2 to Wytham, and the 21 service between Bicester and Chesterton.
Luke Marion, Managing Director of Oxford Bus Company, said the investment marked another major step in the operator’s sustainability strategy.
“This is another major sustainability milestone in our continued strategy to help deliver a significant contribution to improving air quality in the communities we serve.
“The exciting news is it will enable us to operate electric vehicles more widely across the county, rather than mainly on routes within Oxford.”
Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, said: “This is really good news and an excellent example of partnership working delivering real benefit and value to our residents.
“The purchase of these new electric vehicles, with more improvements to follow, has been made possible by the council’s continued close working relationship with our bus operators through our Enhanced Partnership, soon to be strengthened further.
“We have awarded an element of this year’s bus grant from the government to this project which, alongside a substantial investment from Oxford Bus Company, will see an increase of vehicles on our local network which are zero emission from the tailpipe. Over one third of the services operating in Oxfordshire are now operated by these cleaner and greener buses, contributing to a better climate for all.”
Oxford Bus Company first introduced an electric bus in 2020, before completing a full electric rollout in Oxford four years later in partnership with Oxfordshire County Council, Oxford City Council and Stagecoach.
By the end of 2025, the operator’s electric fleet had completed 10 million kilometres, equivalent to more than 26 trips to the moon.
The company said electric buses help improve air quality by eliminating tailpipe emissions such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, pollutants linked to serious health risks.
