Opole invests in electric Solaris buses

Today, the Mayor of the city of Opole and the Deputy CEO of Solaris Bus & Coach signed a contract for the delivery of five electric buses, including charging infrastructure. The contract amounts to nearly PLN 19 million gross, and the new vehicles will be supplied to public transport operator Miejski Zakład Komunikacyjny (MZK) in Opole within 420 days of signing the contract. The commissioned Urbino 12 electric buses will kick off the electrification of the city’s public transport.

On 26 March representatives of Solaris and the city authorities in Opole signed a contract for the delivery of five Urbino 12 electric buses. This is the city’s first ever investment in battery-powered buses. As part of the contract, Solaris is also responsible for the delivery of all necessary charging infrastructure and for the related construction work. Besides the buses, the city will receive one pantograph charging station and three plug-in chargers for the bus depot. The contract is worth nearly PLN 19 million gross. In accordance with the agreement, the order is scheduled to be completed in the first half of 2022.

“We continue to invest in public transport in Opole and this benefits not only (MZK) passengers, but us all. It’s a key element of our care for cleaner air. New electric vehicles will definitely strongly contribute to lowering emissions even more”, said Arkadiusz Wiśniewski, President of Opole.

“It is impressive to see the network of zero-emission transport in Poland developing so dynamically. Opole is meeting the needs of its residents by investing not only in modern, safe and comfortable municipal transport, but, above all, by investing in clean air and thus improved quality of life. I am happy that the city of Opole has again opted for our vehicles. The trust placed in Solaris by city authorities and public transport operators motivates us even more to develop further”, says Petros Spinaris, Deputy CEO of Solaris Bus & Coach sp. z o.o., responsible for Sales, Marketing and After Sales.

All the ordered buses will feature state-of-the-art Solaris High Energy batteries and be propelled by an air-cooled 160 kW central motor. During the day, they will be recharged by means of an inverted pantograph, i.e. a device lowered from the charging mast onto the bus roof. At night in turn, the recharging will take place conventionally via a standard plug-in connector in the bus depot of operator MZK.

Three sets of double doors will facilitate the swift boarding and alighting of passengers in the Urbino 12 electric buses. What is more, the vehicles will offer 28 seats on board, including 10 accessible from a low floor. The buses will also boast a large bay for passengers in wheelchairs or those travelling with prams or pushchairs. The air-conditioned buses will offer Wi-Fi access and a few USB charging ports where travellers will be able to recharge their mobile devices. The vehicles will also feature a comprehensive passenger information system as well as a digital surveillance system to enhance driving safety.

Moreover, the buses will be equipped with a thermal pre-conditioning function during the bus charging process to enhance the comfort of passengers and to optimise electrical energy consumption for driving. This will allow the driving range to be increased and shorten the time needed between starting each bus and reaching the optimal temperature for passenger transport inside it.

The vehicles commissioned today will not be the first Solaris units to operate in Opole. However, they will be the first electric buses made by Solaris for the local operator Miejski Zakład Komunikacyjny Sp. z o.o. Sales of zero-emission buses have been rising in Poland very dynamically month after month. This is consistent with a more general European trend to pivot towards people- and environmentally-friendly public transport.

Photo: UM Opole

In the picture (from the left): Waldemar Wlazło (Solaris Bus & Coach Sp. z o.o.), Mateusz Nalewajski (Solaris Bus & Coach Sp. z o.o.), Petros Spinaris (Solaris Bus & Coach Sp. z o.o.), Arkadiusz Wiśniewski (Mayor of Opole), Małgorzata Stelnicka (Deputy Mayor of Opole), Tomasz Zawadzki (Head of the Transport Department of the City Hall in Opole).