Work has begun on installing 104 electric charging points at Go-Ahead’s Oxford Bus Company depot in Cowley
The Go-Ahead Group has commenced work to install a major new electric charging hub at the depot of its Oxford Bus Company operation. Fleet electrification specialist Zenobē has begun work to install extensive charging infrastructure at the firm’s Cowley House depot, consisting of 104 charging points, each offering 150kW of DC power. The project lays the foundations for the first delivery of electric buses to the operator later this year. The hub will be supplied by an 8mW electrical connection, which Go-Ahead says is enough for more than 16,000 average family homes, or to boil 2,700 kettles continuously.
With co-funding from Go Ahead Group, Oxfordshire County Council and the Department for Transport’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme, Oxford Bus Company has ordered 104 new electric buses, which are expected to begin delivery from late 2023. A consortium of operators including the Oxford Bus Company pledged £43.7m towards the scheme, the Government committed £32.8m and Oxfordshire County Council £6m. In total the combined investment will result in 159 new battery electric buses serving Oxford; Oxfordshire was one of only 12 local authorities to successfully apply for ZEBRA funding and is one of the biggest such schemes in the country.
Luke Marion, Oxford Bus Company Managing Director, said: “This is another exciting step forward in our extensive infrastructure scope of works in preparation for transforming our city services to electric. Partnering with Zenobē ensures we will receive the best-in-class advice and technology to fully equip us with a market leading charging solution that meets our needs.
“We’re looking forward to introducing the first tranche of electric buses later in the year, which will help improve air quality and make bus travel an even more attractive option for people to travel around Oxford.”
Go-Ahead Group Group Chief Executive Christian Schreyer added: “Customers in Oxford can look forward to clean, green, comfortable buses when this work is complete. This is a great example of bus operators working in partnership with local and national government to deliver zero-emission transport.”
The work is the latest stage in the Energy Superhub Oxford four-year urban decarbonisation project, which has also included the creation of a new battery storage system, a high-power private wire charging network and an electric vehicle charging hub at the city’s Redbridge park & ride site. To enable the buses to charge overnight, depot charging infrastructure being installed by Zenobē will be powered by an EDF Renewables UK substation at the operator’s Watlington Road site.
Steven Meersman, co-founder and Director of Zenobē, said: “This is a flagship project for Zenobē. It is an example of what an ambitious operator can do with a strong vision and local support. We have worked on more than 50 electrification projects globally and this one stands out for its scale and for the level of collaboration with other operators and government. It has been great collaborating with Luke Marion and his team: we are happy to have started work and are looking forward to seeing the first buses on the road later this year.”
The operator has been running electric buses in its City Sightseeing Oxford fleet since 2020, and now has three retrofitted electric vehicles in its fleet, which were delivered in partnership with Oxford City Council.
