Bus operators hit significant sustainability milestone

Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel are celebrating after reaching the sustainability milestone last month. The solar installations surpassed 1,000,000 kwh – or 1 gigawatt – of electricity generated since they installed in 2013. The green energy generated is enough to power around 345 homes for a year, or to boil 11 million kettles.

Subsidiaries of the Go-Ahead Group, Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel have a long-standing partnership with the Oxfordshire Social Enterprise Low Carbon Hub. In 2013 Oxford Bus Company became the first local business to partner with them to install solar panels onto the depot site in Cowley. In 2019 the partnership was extended further, with solar panels installed on Thames Travel’s depot in Didcot.

The solar panels help power the two depots but have also generated wider benefit for the local community, as the surpluses generated are used by the Low Carbon Hub to fund community energy projects.

Luke Marion, Finance and Commercial Director at Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel said: “We’re really proud of this significant sustainability milestone in our group of companies’ continued journey to become as low carbon as possible.

“We are constantly striving to embrace market leading environmental best practices, not just via our bus fleets which has one of the best environmental records in the UK, but also via our buildings. This holistic approach is enabling us to return increased carbon savings across our business.

“Our partnership with the Low Carbon Hub is based on shared sustainability and community values and has gone from strength to strength. I’d encourage other businesses to partner with the Low Carbon Hub to help our community become carbon neutral.”

Barbara Hammond, CEO, Low Carbon Hub said: “This is a fantastic milestone for clean energy generation in Oxfordshire. Nine years ago we worked with Oxford Bus Company to install our first rooftop solar array, and now we have 47 renewable energy projects active across Oxfordshire. As the county has ambitions to hit net zero carbon emissions by 2050, it’s heartening to see businesses like Oxford Bus Company working hard to cut their environmental impact and take their emissions seriously. We’re always open to hearing from other businesses keen on following suit.”

More than two-thirds of the Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel fleet of vehicles meets Euro VI emissions standards, helping to improve air quality in Oxfordshire. In 2020 Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel collectively invested £1.2M in nine new ultra-low emission vehicles. City Sightseeing Oxford, owned by Oxford Bus Company, introduced the first electric bus to Oxford in 2020 and has since introduced two more to its fleet. One bus can carry around 70 car drivers and the average large family car is 4.8 metres long, meaning one bus could potentially save 300 metres of traffic queues. An Oxford City Council air quality report revealed the investment in ultra-low emission buses has resulted in a 50% decrease in NOx emissions from buses since 2013 and prior to the introduction of a Zero Emission Zone. Buses now contribute less pollution than private vehicles in Oxford city centre. Oxford Bus Company has also submitted a joint bid with Oxfordshire County Council and Stagecoach for £32.8M from the government’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas scheme. Go-Ahead and Stagecoach have committed to invest £43.7M and Oxfordshire County Council £6M, in a package worth £82.5M that if successful could deliver up to 159 electric buses for the city, and the associated infrastructure to charge them.