Reading bus with climate change design hits the road

The climate stripes were created by an academic at the University of Reading

A bus with a stripe design representing increasing average global temperatures will travel across Reading over the next 12 months.

The natural gas-powered vehicle will be used across different routes to raise awareness about climate change.

It also aims to remind people that using public transport "is one of the easiest ways" to help cut emissions, Reading Buses said.

The company and University of Reading are behind the project.

The bus features the so-called climate stripes, first created by Professor Ed Hawkins, a University of Reading academic, in 2018.

Each stripe shows a year's average temperature since the 1860s.

Blue stripes represent cooler than average years while the red ones are for when it was hotter.

Robert Williams, CEO of Reading Buses, said the company was "very excited" about the project.

"We have worked with our suppliers to develop a new way to recycle the vinyl after it has been removed to keep the carbon impact of this project as low as possible," he added.

The design is being used across the world as a symbol of climate change concerns. It was part of Greta Thunberg's speech at Glastonbury and features on Reading FC's new home kit.