Five days, five cities: summing up the presentation of the Solaris 12 hydrogen in Poland [VIDEO]

In the last days of January, several Polish cities hosted official presentations of the hydrogen bus made by Solaris. At the event, the invited representatives of municipal authorities and public transport operators of Jaworzno, Cracow, Konin, Włocławek and Poznań were given the opportunity to take a closer look at the state-of-the-art vehicle.

Hydrogen buses mark one of the chief directions of development of zero-emission public transport in the Polish cities of Jaworzno, Cracow, Konin, Włocławek and Poznań. The presentation of the Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen was an opportunity for them to gain an insight into the novel hydrogen technology. The guests invited to the events were able to familiarise themselves with the capabilities of the vehicle, talk with company representatives and to even take the bus for a spin. The presentations were hugely popular among the municipal authorities with officials often stressing the impact of emission-free transport of the future on the life of city dwellers. The representatives of public transport operators pointed out the excellent operating parameters of hydrogen buses and they also outlined plans concerning the development of their fleets in the next few years.

The series of presentations of the Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen bus kicked off on 27 January, at the bus depot of PKM in Jaworzno. Jaworzno is a city which has been consistently following through with its plan of applying zero-emission technologies to its public transport fleet. Thanks to its co-operation with Solaris, this year, the operator will see 80 percent of the fleet serving this Silesian city become emission-free.

“An electric bus that runs on power generated by a hydrogen fuel cell is the future of public transport. Presently, this type of bus constitutes an excellent supplement to the fleet of electric buses. The vehicle has great operating parameters. At present, we are waiting for the green light to test such a bus in passenger traffic. I think that these tests will yield very good results and that we will soon start planning new purchases.” remarked Zbigniew Nosal, the CEO of operator PKM Jaworzno.

On the following day, 28 January, the hydrogen bus made it to the bus depot Wola Duchacka in Cracow.

“We are definitely interested in those buses, and we certainly want to try them out on the road. MPK has currently some 600 buses deployed in Cracow, of which 150 vehicles are used on suburban routes; I think that is primarily where such hydrogen buses could be dispatched to,” noted Mariusz Szałkowski, Vice-CEO of operator MPK in Cracow.

On Friday, 29 January, the assets of the Urbino 12 hydrogen were revealed to the representatives of local authorities and the public transport operator in Konin. Magdalena Przybyła, the CEO of operator MZK in Konin, spoke about the way the city wants to develop.

“We are now greatly interested in making hydrogen buses the new additions to our fleet. The comfort level is completely different, as is the quality of travel, which the residents of Konin and its suburbs definitely deserve,” she said.

Next, the tour was going to take the hydrogen fuel-fitted bus to Włocławek. On 30 January, the vehicle was unveiled at the bus depot of the operator MPK, at Rysia street. On Sunday, 31 January, the hydrogen bus made it to the bus depot at Warszawska street in Poznań.

“Electric buses mark the beginning of a sustainable and eco-friendly management policy. However, hydrogen buses are the next step. The review of our application, submitted to the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, for 84 hydrogen buses, to be delivered between 2022 and 2024 and in a breakdown of 38 buses of 12 metres and 46 buses of 18 metres, has come to a - hopefully positive - end”, explained Wojciech Tulibacki, the CEO of MPK Poznań.

More and more local governments, public transport operators and institutions are noticing the advantages of hydrogen as a completely clean energy source. The short time refuelling of these buses takes, their wide driving range, lack of by-products released during the operation of the vehicle, a modern CO₂ heat pump, a high level of comfort for travellers and its noiseless, resident-friendly operation mode - these are only a few of the advantages of the Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen.

See the test summary video.