A FLEET of eco buses costing £7.5m hits the streets of Oxford today as the city enters a new era in public transport.

The 26 double decker buses are the first in the UK to use pioneering green hybrid technology on a large scale outside London.

And they are being viewed as the first fruit of Oxfordshire County Council’s deal with bus companies to cut pollution levels and reduce the number of buses in the city centre by a quarter.

The 78-seaters, each costing £300,000, are being unveiled by Stagecoach at Oxford Castle today.

The company says they represent Britain’s biggest single investment in hybrid bus technology. The Government has contributed £2.3m towards the cost.

There have been repeated calls to reduce the number of buses in the city centre, with colleges and traders complaining about noise and pollution resulting from 2,500 buses a day travelling up and down the High.

The hybrid buses produce 30 per cent less carbon emission than standard vehicles, according to Stagecoach.

A battery-powered electric motor provides traction, with a small diesel engine charging the batteries.

The new buses will begin running on some of the busiest city routes, starting today with route 1 to Cowley Road and Blackbird Leys.

Next month they will be used on routes to Summertown and Kidlington, and later introduced to the 7C route to Headington and Barton.

Martin Sutton, managing director for Stagecoach in Oxfordshire, said: “We believe the introduction of these ground-breaking new buses on the busiest routes in Oxford will make a major contribution to reducing carbon and other emissions, and will encourage more people to travel into the city by bus.”

Mr Sutton said the new fleet formed part of a package of improvements brought about by the partnership between Stagecoach, Oxford Bus Company and the county council.

The deal, the first of its kind in the UK, uses new powers allowing councils and bus operators to provide co-ordinated services.

In the autumn, joint time-tabling will be introduced, along with a new multi-operator integrated smartcard ticketing system, to allow passengers to use either Oxford Bus Company or Stagecoach buses.

Mr Sutton said 12 hybrid buses had already been delivered. The remaining 14 come into service in August.

Stagecoach said it would consider adding to its hybrid fleet as other buses needed replacing. There were no plans to add any hybrid vehicles to its Oxford Tube fleet.

Jeremy Mogford, chairman of the High Street Association, said: “Anything that reduces the noise, pollution and the number of buses in the city centre is to be welcomed.

“We see this as a step in the right direction, although we will want to see evidence that bus numbers are being reduced.”

He will continue to press for London buses to be taken out of central Oxford.