Oxford Bus Company - all-electric bus city fleet
In March 2022, Oxfordshire County Council was awarded £32.8m from the Government’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme to accelerate the transition of local bus transport to electric. The project involves the electrification of two bus charging hubs in the city – Oxford Bus Company’s Cowley House depot and Stagecoach’s Network Oxford site.
Introduction
Oxfordshire was one of only 12 local authorities to successfully secure ZEBRA 1 funding, for what is now one of the largest UK electric bus schemes. In addition to ZEBRA funding, Oxford Bus Company and Stagecoach invested £45m into the projects with Oxfordshire Council contributing £6m to the overall fund.
With funding secured, Oxford Bus Company (OBC) engaged with Zenobē to redevelop its Cowley House depot and support the delivery of a 104-strong fleet of new electric vehicles to the city of Oxford.
Challenges
Getting the design and financing right to electrify at speed and scale:
Oxford Bus Company’s ambition for its Cowley Depot was to transition its fleet to electric at speed. The integration of 104 brand new, fully electric buses into its fleet required a depot redesign and installation of charging infrastructure, all while remaining fully operational.
Zenobē joined the project at Cowley Depot to not only design and deliver the charging infrastructure but also to act as the operator’s long-term battery management partner.
We signed a 15-year Battery-as-a-Service Agreement with Oxford Bus Company to cover the initial, up-front cost of the bus batteries as well as any battery replacements required over the lifetime of the contract. By smoothing the upfront costs of batteries into a monthly fee, Oxford Bus Company were able to direct more grant funding towards the purchase of zero-emission vehicles. The agreement also reduces operational risk through a performance guarantee and the comfort that the batteries will continue to be managed by Zenobē long after depot construction is completed.
Continuation of depot operations during redevelopment work:
It was vital that live bus operations and movements were able to continue during the redevelopment of the depot. We took a phased approach to the delivery, installing the electrical infrastructure and chargers in agreed zones within the site.
This enabled Oxford Bus Company to maximise the number of operational buses parked in the depot during the build period, ensuring no impact to the continued delivery of services to customers, and maximising the available circulation space at all times.
During this time, we worked with multiple stakeholders including the operator, Oxfordshire County Council and the vehicle manufacturer, to ensure we delivered the project to the design’s requirement and to the agreed timeline.
Integration of private high voltage (HV) connection into the site:
To provide sufficient power to the depot to charge the vehicles, a new 8MW high voltage (HV) private wire connection was integrated into the site. To cut down on further construction, we utilised space within the depot to install three HV/LV substations and switch rooms.
The HV/LV substation lowers the high voltage connection down to a safe level to be distributed to the chargers. To further improve the security and resilience of the electrical network in the depot, we installed three circuits of smaller transformers and low voltage (LV) switchboards rather than a single large circuit.. In a depot of this size, this approach supports the consistent and safe delivery of electricity to the chargers and vehicles, while also helping to optimise costs.
Results
We installed 52 dual-gun Zerova chargers into Cowley depot, powered by a 8MW private wire high voltage connection. The integration of our smart charging software into the infrastructure, provides Oxford Bus Company with live fleet data, giving them the insight to manage their fleet and ensure they continue to run reliable services for their passengers.
In November 2023, Oxford Bus Company launched its first tranche of fully electric buses, with the full roll out of vehicles complete by August 2024. Each vehicle has the ability to drive up to 200 miles per day on a single charge.
In addition to the project at Oxford Bus Company Cowley House depot, we also installed 52 chargers at Stagecoach’s Network Oxford site – also a beneficiary of Council and ZEBRA funding. Combined, the projects will enable 159 fully electric buses to operate in Oxford and the local area, delivering a significant contribution to a more sustainable public transport system and improved air quality for the local community. We will be working with Oxford Bus Company to ensure that they minimise the lifetime costs of their vehicles and infrastructure.
“Zenobē were very proactive in engaging with us right at the start of our electric bus journey.
They worked with us over several months to ensure the designs and layout of our electric charging infrastructure worked for our business, and during the construction period they collaborated really well with our engineering and operations teams to ensure we could continue running a busy, 24/7 bus and coach operation while at the same time constructing a very large charging facility.
What’s more, the innovative financing products offered by Zenobē help businesses like ours to manage the risks involved in making the transition to zero emission vehicles.
We see Zenobē as a key partner, both in making the transition to electric and in supporting us going forward with the operation of these exciting new vehicles.”
– Luke Marion, Managing Director, Oxford Bus Company
In numbers
Wrightbus Electroliners supported
dual-gun Zerova 150kW chargers installed
private wire HV connection
