24 electric Solaris Urbino 12 buses strengthen Barcelona’s zero-emission fleet

Public transport operator for the Barcelona metropolitan area opts once again for electric Solaris buses. 24 Urbino 12 electric vehicles will make their way to the capital of Catalonia by the end of 2022. The value of the contract, concluded as a result of a tender, stands at over €12m.

The Solaris Urbino electric buses are extremely quiet, locally emission-free and ensure low operating costs. With the appropriate configuration of batteries and infrastructure, they can operate for up to 24 hours a day. Their low noise emissions and vibration level make them particularly suited for use in the centres of large cities. The residents of Barcelona have already had the opportunity to see for themselves thanks to 19 articulated Urbino 18 electric buses that have joined the public transport fleet so far. Now, this bus family will grow by 24 standard-length units, i. e. Urbino 12 electric buses.

The vehicles to be delivered to the capital city of Catalonia will be powered by Solaris High Energy batteries with a total capacity of over 400 kWh. They will be recharged both by means of a pantograph and plug-in technology. The buses will be powered by an electric central motor.

Their additional equipment will include automatic driver assistance systems such as the Mobileye Shield+ and the MirrorEye systems. The former allows risks related to the vehicle’s blind spot to be eliminated. Thanks to the cameras placed on both its sides, the driver receives warnings of pedestrians and cyclists located nearby. The MirrorEye is, in turn, a system of cameras that replace the rear- and side-view mirrors. Apart from ensuring optimal visibility regardless of weather conditions, as well as at night, they also reduce the total width of the bus, which is particularly important on narrow streets or with increased road traffic. Moreover, the buses will feature a passenger counting device that will allow the carrier to collect data on passenger flows in buses.

“We are very much looking forward to the next chapter in our collaboration with TMB in Barcelona. For us, this is a token of trust and the best proof of the high quality of our products. The capital of Catalonia is another city in a long list of European cities to implement sustainable development and we are proud that Solaris’s vehicles can be part of this process”, underscores Petros Spinaris, member of the Management Board of Solaris Bus & Coach for Sales, Marketing and Customer Service.

It was in 2015 that Solaris vehicles first made their way to the fleet of the operator Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB). All of the Solaris vehicles the carrier has ever ordered boast hybrid or electric drives. The last order carried out for the client was the delivery of 14 Urbino 18 electric buses in 2020 and 2021.

Solaris is a European leader in the production and sales of low- and zero-emission buses. Almost 3000 zero-emission Solaris vehicles, including over 1000 electric buses, have already rolled out onto the streets of various European countries.