An electric ferry port bus from Solaris in operation in Ystad

Solaris Bus & Coach has a lot of experience in producing specialist buses. The product assortment of the near-Poznań-based manufacturer includes among others a mobile beauty parlour, a mobile blood donation centre, a film centre, firefighting command centre and even an airport buses. Apart from terminals at airports, Solaris vehicles also serve as means of passenger transport in ferry ports.

In 2015 Solaris produced 8 buses dedicated to operate passenger traffic in the port of Piraeus in Greece. Only recently the company delivered another vehicle of the latter kind, built in Bolechowo, to the Swedish port of Ystad. The purpose of the bus is to carry passengers between the terminal and the ferries and it is unique not only on account of its quite specific purpose. It is also the first ever bus of this kind made in Bolechowo to feature an electric driveline.

The Solaris Urbino 12 electric which has already started regular operation in the port of Ystad is powered via an electric portal axle with in-built traction motors with a power of 2 x 125 kW. The energy storage units are Solaris High Power batteries with a capacity of 58 kWh which, as per customer request, are recharged using an on-board charger enabling overnight recharging of the vehicle with a power of up to 20 kW.

Apart from typical equipment for modern low-floor buses, such as air conditioning, lighting based on energy-saving LED technology and a video surveillance system, the Bolechowo-made electric bus for port transportation boasts also a series of unique features that are definitely not customary in standard city buses. These features include a different arrangement of the passenger compartment, as the priority of the designers was to create more standing capacity and room for luggage; it was created on the front wheel arches and in place of the so-called rear bench. The bus also encompasses a system of visual signals in the form of additional emergency lighting installed in the front part of the bus roof; the use of that lighting triggers also upper rear direction indicators.

The zero-emission bus has also been equipped with a special “Scandinavian thermal insulation package” which improves the thermal comfort of passengers and reduces the energy use in the harsh Scandinavian weather. This package includes such additions as a non-standard side wall and roof insulation, additional insulation of the chassis around the wheel arches and double-glazed side windows. The port Urbino 12 electric also features a very interesting solution in terms of thermal management of the vehicle. During overnight charging of the battery, every day at 5.00 a.m. the parking heater of the bus will switch on automatically ensuring that, by the time the bus is due to start operation at 6.00, the vehicle’s interior will have reached the programmed temperature, depending on the season of the year. This allows to minimise the use of battery-derived energy needed to either heat up or cool down the bus during its daily operation.

Among the deliveries of special buses produced to date, Solaris can pride itself with a mobile cosmetics center, a mobile movie center, buses serving as mobile fire departments and mobile blood centers for the Regional Blood Donation and Blood Treatment Centers in Bydgoszcz, Gdańsk, Katowice, Poznań and Warsaw. Two of the 'bloodsuckers' vehicles ordered by RCKiK from Katowice are unique on a global scale - these are the first buses of this type in the world with an electric drive. On the other hand, the airport buses of the Polish manufacturer transport passengers to airports in Poznań, Warsaw, Paris, Hamburg, Oslo, Madrid, Barcelona and sunny Majorca. The vehicle to Ystad, although unique in terms of its propulsion, refers to the 8 port vehicles delivered in 2015 to the port of Piraeus.