The UK's most environmentally friendly bus company has teamed up with Oxford Brookes to launch a new fleet of low emission Brookes Buses.

Eleven buses are now running between Wheatley, Headington and Harcourt Hill campuses as part of the new five-year £2.2 million pound partnership between Oxford Bus Company and Brookes.

One of the first passengers to use their new 'Brookes Key' smartcard was Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Rex Knight, who said: "This new partnership will bring enormous benefits for both university staff and students and the people of Oxford."

"As one of the UK's top green universities, Brookes wanted to work with a bus company with an outstanding environmental record.

Our travel survey shows the Brookes Bus is already the most popular way for students to travel to campus - with 37% using the bus compared with 8% using a car. As part of our sustainable travel plan we expect the number of journeys taken on the Brookes Bus to increase from 1.7 million a year to 2 million and this will have a positive impact on carbon emissions."

All the buses boast leather seats, onboard information screens and free WiFi access. Services include a real-time information system while the smartcards can be topped up over the internet.

An independent study carried out by transport consultancy the TAS Partnership ranks Oxford Bus Company as having the most environmentally friendly fleet in Britain.