Oxford operators illustrate CO2 emission savings on World Earth Day
To mark World Earth Day, Oxford Bus Company and City Sightseeing Oxford have calculated the combined carbon emissions their fleet of 104 electric buses would emit if powered using diesel fuel instead of electricity. Combined, they are saving enough CO2 emissions to fill the University of Oxford’s Radcliffe Camera each day, equating to 227,518 cubic feet of carbon emissions.
The daily savings are also equal to carbon emissions produced by a typical family car that has covered 32,500 miles, or the energy required to charge more than 1.5 million smartphones.
Oxford Bus Company, owned by the Go-Ahead Group, in partnership with Oxfordshire County Council, Oxford City Council and Stagecoach, worked in partnership to introduce 159 electric buses into service in total last year.
The County Council was awarded £32.8m from the government’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme and contributed £6M directly, while bus operators invested £43.7m.
“It represents another key milestone following our ground-breaking project last year to deliver our all-electric city fleet” – Luke Marion, Managing Director of Oxford Bus Company and City Sightseeing Oxford
Luke Marion, Managing Director of Oxford Bus Company and City Sightseeing Oxford, said: “It can be hard to visualise the impact of carbon savings from our electric bus fleet, which is at the heart of our work to improve air quality.
“The Radcliffe Camera is one of the must-see destinations on our City Sightseeing Oxford tour. To know that our daily carbon savings equate to the volume of this iconic building is something our team can be incredibly proud of.
“It represents another key milestone following our ground-breaking project last year to deliver our all-electric city fleet, which is enhancing the communities our vehicles serve.”
Go-Ahead Group, parent company of Oxford Bus Company and City Sightseeing Oxford, set itself the target of reducing emissions by 75% by 2035 and becoming a net-zero company by 2045.