Reading Buses' 'Climate Stripes' design makes its point on the town's roads

By TBM Team

18 August 2022

Share

The Business Magazine article image for: Reading Buses' 'Climate Stripes' design makes its point on the town's roads

Over the course of the next year, a bus adorned with stripes that reflect rising global temperatures will serve the people of Reading. The vehicle will run on natural gas and be utilised on various routes to spread awareness about the issue of climate change.

Reading Buses said that the campaign also attempts to remind people that taking public transportation "is one of the easiest ways" to reduce pollution.

The 'Climate Stripes' design was first developed by professor Ed Hawkins of the University of Reading in 2018 and can also be seen on the shirts of Reading Football Club's 2022/23 home and away kits.

All aboard! 🚍 @hancloke with @alexisgreenTV on BBC South Today at 6.30pm explains why climate stripes are appearing on @reading_buses and @readingfc kits! pic.twitter.com/ik15vxeckE
— Ed Hawkins (@ed_hawkins) August 3, 2022

The "warming stripes" have already been seen on displays around the country and abroad as a way of visually communicating rising temperatures and the danger that global warming poses to all of our futures.

Going back to the 1860s, each stripe represents the annual average temperature: red stripes indicate years that were hotter, while blue stripes indicate years that were cooler than average.

Additionally, a message highlighting the significance of the stripes image and of initiatives creating solutions to climate challenges will be shown inside the bus.

The CEO of Reading Buses, Robert Williams, said that the company was 'very excited' about the project, adding: "We are delighted to partner with the University of Reading to help highlight climate change."

“By covering a bus powered by biomethane gas with the climate stripes, we are able to offer an extremely low-carbon reminder of the climate emergency, and remind people that using public transport is one of the easiest ways that they can help to cut emissions."

"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."