The electric bus fleet, which will be one of the biggest in the UK outside London, was funded through £32.8m from the Government’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme, £6m directly from the council, and £45m from operators Oxford Bus Company, which is owned by The Go-Ahead Group, and Stagecoach.

Oxford Bus Company will deliver 104 electric buses to operate in Oxford, and Stagecoach 55.

Working with fleet electrification firm Zenobe, Oxford Bus Company has also installed 104 charging points at its Cowley House depot, while Stagecoach has also installed charging points at its Network Oxford site.

The charging hubs, powered by EDF Energy’s Oxford Superhub network, will provide enough electricity for each of the 159 buses to drive up to 200 miles per day, the council said.

Oxfordshire’s cabinet member for transport management, Andrew Gant, said: ‘I'm proud and thrilled that the county council is backing its ambitions with political and financial capital, alongside our partners, to deliver a safer, cleaner, greener, better county for residents and visitors.’

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