Go-Ahead wins 'Transport Project of the Year' at the UK Green Business Awards

Go-Ahead’s status as one of the world’s largest operators of electric vehicles was officially crowned recently at the 2024 UK Green Business Awards with the company winning the ‘Transport Project of the Year’ award for creating an all-electric bus city in Oxford.

The UK Green Business Awards highlights the most exciting, inspiring, and innovative companies, projects, and campaigns operating in the UK today, while rewarding the many organisations that are striving to build an economy that is sustainable, healthier, and more prosperous for all.

The company’s award-winning nomination focused on the innovative project led by Go-Ahead’s subsidiary, Oxford Bus Company.

As part of a multi-organisational approach, Oxford Bus Company is deploying a total of 104 zero-emission buses across the streets of Oxford by the end of 2024, the project being funded by local and national government and over £30m of investment from Go-Ahead. Over 80 of these vehicles are already in service in the city. To date, Go-Ahead now has over 1,000 zero-emission buses, in operation or on order in the UK, and remains on target to achieve its target of decarbonising its bus fleet by 2035.

The project has also seen the full electrification of Oxford Bus Company’s Cowley Depot where 104 bus charging points have been installed, with each start-of-the-art charging hub delivering 150kw of power, providing enough electricity for every bus to drive around 200 miles per day. Cowley House is now one of Britain’s biggest electric vehicle charging hubs – capable of delivering enough electricity to charge 17,000 family homes.

Miguel Parras, Group Chief Executive of Go-Ahead Group said “I am proud of our team in Oxford who have successfully delivered this industry leading project. Through the expertise of Go-Ahead’s zero-emission Centre of Excellence, we will continue to lead the way in the transition to zero-emission buses, building on best practice, and investing more to ensure we deliver an outstanding service that serves the needs of our communities”.  

Luke Marion, Managing Director of Oxford Bus Company said “This project is ground breaking, not only have we created an all-electric bus city, together with our partners from the public and private sector, we’ve achieved so much more. We’re not just improving the environment with this project but crucially will also be improving bus journey times too with the imminent introduction of additional traffic filters in the city. This award is a testament to the dedication of our people at Oxford Bus Company and the wider Go-Ahead Group team”.