The Go-Ahead Group, the parent company of the Oxford Bus Company, has made its largest zero-emission purchase to date with an order of 104 battery-electric buses from Wrightbus.
The order consists of 99 StreetDeck Electroliner double-deckers and five GB Kite Electroliner single-deckers, with eight of the double-deckers being open-top for City Sightseeing in Oxford.
The purchase, which costs over £30 million and is part-funded by the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme and the Oxfordshire County Council, will result in all local routes in Oxford’s urban area being zero-emission when a separate order of 55 Alexander Dennis Envir400EV battery-electric double-deckers from Stagecoach is factored in.
Oxford Bus Company Managing Director Luke Marion says: “This is a fantastic day for bus passengers in Oxford. We are proud to be ordering a fleet of state-of-the-art, UK-made electric buses that will be cleaner and healthier for local residents and offer a quieter, more comfortable ride for customers.”
The addition of the Wrightbus fleet in Oxford brings Go-Ahead’s total number of zero-emission buses to 456, according to Group Chief Executive Christian Schreyer. This represents progress towards their aim of achieving a fully zero-emission bus fleet nationwide by 2035.
“It is important to remember that decarbonising vehicles is only part of the challenge. We also need to encourage more people out of their cars and onto public transport. It is great to see Oxford taking progressive measures to prioritise buses over private cars,” adds Mr Schreyer.
Wrightbus Chief Commercial Officer Ben Werth adds: “We are, through this significant order, delighted to be working with Go-Ahead to further demonstrate its commitment to offering zero-emission public transport.
“It has been a real team effort between Wrightbus and Oxford Bus Company to deliver this exciting project. All of the buses will be manufactured and assembled at out Ballymena factory, which means support for jobs in Northern Ireland, and more widely across the UK through our domestic supply chain.”
The Oxford Bus Company will become the second known operator to buy the open-top StreetDeck Electroliner. West Coast Motors ordered 10 of these buses for the City Sightseeing Glasgow tour in 2022.
