A COP26-branded pure electric bus, jointly made by Chinese and UK manufacturers, started an eleven-day trip from London to Glasgow on Monday. The "Road to Renewables" bus tour set off from Northumberland Park bus garage in north London, one of Europe's largest overnight charging garages for electric buses. 

The tour bus is a fully electric double-decker built in Britain by Chinese new energy carmaker BYD and the UK's largest bus and coach manufacturer Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL). It has a range of 257 kilometers, meaning it could get from London to Sheffield on a single charge. It is the UK's best-selling electric double-decker bus and one of 1,000 BYD ADL electric buses already on order or the road. 

The bus will reach Glasgow three days before the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference begins in the Scottish city. Tour participants will meet green engineers at a 500-megawatt offshore wind farm at Greater Gabbard, the UK's most easterly point, and the businesses and local authorities driving the decarbonization of cities like Oxford and Peterborough. 

A fleet of ADL-BYD's electric single-deck vehicles will serve as shuttles for delegates at the COP26 conference. Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport Trudy Harrison said the bus tour launch on Monday was "a wonderful example of the collaboration and innovation" required to reach emissions targets that came just before COP26. 

The British government recently pledged further investment to support the switch to cleaner vehicles. ADL's President and Managing Director Paul Davies said by working with BYD, one of the biggest battery companies in the world, ADL has been able to bring world-leading technology to the UK and fast-track the zero-emissions agenda for clean energy buses. 

"Before BYD the bus battery technology in the UK was very immature," he said. "China has been the starting point for new energy vehicles. We're very proud to partner with them here in the UK for electric buses." 

He added that the cooperation has been very successful, noting that the two companies have delivered 500 electric buses since 2016. He estimated that by the end of this year, the number will reach 1,000, which is "incredibly fast."