Details of the city's new fleet of fully-electric buses have been revealed, which passengers will be travelling on by spring next year.
Around 15 new single-deck First Eastern Counties buses will be navigating the streets of Norwich no later than March next year, after a £6.9m boost for green travel.
The zero-emission vehicles, costing £5.3m, will replace older buses and infrastructure to get them on the road is costing £1.6m, with work on the charging technology to start this year.
David Jordan, senior marketing manager for First, said: “The delivery of this first batch of fully electric buses is a key part of the national strategy towards reducing carbon emissions and will herald the start of a new era of zero-emission road-based public transport in the city.
"Electric buses are quiet in operation and provide a smooth and more comfortable ride than is usually possible with buses powered using traditional technologies.
"All of this, when combined with the improvements to traffic priorities for public transport already being put in place, will make the bus an increasingly attractive form of travel across the city, reducing congestion and carbon emissions from other road vehicles.”
As well as extra space for wheelchairs, the new buses will be quieter than older vehicles and overnight charging will be done at the First depot.
Asher Minns, executive director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, based at the University of East Anglia, said: "Transitioning vehicles to electric has to be welcomed."
He added the older buses which "thundered past" people created noise pollution.
As well as changing to electric, he suggested a 20mph speed limit for all vehicles in the city would cut down carbon emissions by a quarter and noise pollution by 20pc.
Alex Catt, Green Party city councillor for the Sewell ward, said: "Air pollution is a big problem in the city. It is good to have public transport going to zero emissions. It is a good start."
Despite praising the changes he said they were "not quick enough" if they did not impact the whole fleet.
The government's Department for Transport is investing £3.2m and £3.6m is being put forward by First.
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