Solaris Bus & Coach has supplied Martin Geldhauser GmbH & Co. KG with four innovative Urbino 12. The company’s owner, Martin Geldhauser Jr., collected the new generation buses personally in the Solaris plant near Poznań, Poland. All units will operate within the regional bus network of the Munich Transport and Tariff Association (MVV).
The Urbino 12 for Geldhauser are modern city buses with cutting-edge design which provides robust rigidity while being unusually light in weight. Innovative skin-on-skin assembly ensures lower maintenance and running costs as well as highly distinguished aesthetics. All vehicles are fitted with DAF/PACCAR MX 11 engines that meet the restrictive Euro 6 limits and automatic gear boxes Voith Diwa 6.
Passengers of new 12-metre Solaris buses will enjoy the same advantages as they are used to by travelling with Geldhauser. High standards of comfort are achieved not only through air-conditioning which is separate in the passenger compartment and in the driver’s cab, but also thanks to energy-efficient LED lighting inside the bus. The same environmentally friendly technology is used for all exterior day lamps. In a spacious and bright interior there are 19 pedestal-free seats. Such a high number has been possible to obtain by positioning fuel tanks on the front wheel arches. Thanks to that change there is a fully low floor between the first and the second axle.
The new Urbino 12 guarantees smooth and comfortable journeys as well as significantly lower fuel consumption, but also easier maintenance. Service accessibility of the new Urbino 12 is improved with screwed body paneling, allowing quick replacement and repair in case of damage. Hatches now open to 170°, 40° more than before, to facilitate easy access to components.
Axle loads are better distributed by shifting some of the weight from the drive axle to the front of the bus, including a centralized assembly of all compressed air tanks at the front. These advanced engineering changes deliver a higher passenger carrying capacity, better drive dynamics and improved servicing. Improved insulation will lower operating costs and raise comfort levels.
Solaris has been cooperating with the private operator Martin Geldhauser for over ten years. In the period of 2004-2015 the customer ordered forty-eight Solaris buses in total.
The number of contracts for new Solaris coming from German market has been continually increasing. Most recently Solaris signed agreements with Munich City Transport (Münchner Verkehrsgesellschaft) who have ordered six 18-metre Urbino, and also with municipal operators from Freiburg (Freiburger Verkehrs-AG) and Passau (Stadtwerke Passau), who each purchased three standard length units. Apart from Martin Geldhauser GmbH, new Solaris buses have been already delivered to independent bus operators Josef Ettenhuber GmbH, Kessels-Reisen GmbH and Wies Faszinatour. At its final stage is also supply process of fourteen new Urbino 18 to BOGESTRA, the municipal operator of Bochum, Gelsenkirchen and Witten in the Ruhr area.
Picture: Rolf Oneis, Solaris Bus & Coach, presenting a symbolic key to Martin Geldhauser jun.
Information Solaris
Additional information
Mateusz Figaszewski
E-mobility Development & Market Intelligence Director
mateusz.figaszewski@solarisbus.com