Solaris at Global Public Transport Summit UITP 2019 in Stockholm

• Solaris to present two vehicles at Global Public Transport Summit UITP in Stockholm • World première of new generation hydrogen bus Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen • Second vehicle to be unveiled is the latest version of the Solaris Urbino 12 electric • Solaris a leader in e-mobility solutions

From 9 to 12 June Stockholm will be the host to the Global Public Transport Summit organised every two years by UITP (French L'Union internationale des transports publics). The biggest and oldest (existing since 1885) international public transport organisation in existence, it assembles representatives of the whole sector in different locations worldwide bi-annually. This time around, the event will take place in the capital of Sweden. The organisers expect a few thousand participants to attend the conferences and over ten thousand visitors who will have the opportunity to acquaint themselves with the offer of over half a thousand companies from all around the world.

One of these firms will be Solaris Bus & Coach S.A. This year, the European leader in e-mobility will present two vehicles.

The first of those is a world-wide première. The new generation hydrogen bus, the Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen, is completely emission-free. The energy needed to propel the bus is derived from hydrogen stored in bus roof-mounted tanks. By means of a fuel cell, the hydrogen gas is turned into electricity. In turn, that power is feeding directly the bus driveline which consists of an axle with electric engines. The bus is also fitted with a Solaris High Power battery which acts as an additional electric power storage facility. The sole “by-product” generated during the operation of the Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen is heat and steam.

The second vehicle to be unveiled at the Solaris stand in Stockholm will be the “post-facelift” Solaris Urbino 12 electric. The Solaris city bus generation currently on offer was displayed for the first time in 2014. In four years of its presence on the market, the bus has garnered a lot of praise. As evidenced by the prestigious Bus of the Year 2017 title awarded to the Solaris Urbino 12 electric.

“Ceaseless changes on the automotive market, in particular in the bus segment, require the continuous development of products. However, progress is also motivated by growing expectations of our customers, in other words of drivers, passengers and buyers of the vehicles designed and assembled by us. That is precisely why, four years after the market launch of the existing bus generation, we have introduced a range of improvements in the design of the Solaris city buses. This lifting is of an evolutionary nature, optimising existing solutions, and it has become a standard in all our new buses produced since the beginning of 2019, explains Eng. D. Dariusz Michalak, deputy CEO of Solaris for Research and Development, Production and Logistics, and for Quality Management.

Apart from designer-related conditions, the changes to the external look of the Urbino also have a pragmatic rationale, and, to the users of the buses, they mean:

• a new front lighting system, fully based on LED technology. The existing five headlights (main-beam headlamp, dipped-beam (passing) headlamp, fog lamp, direction indicators and position lamps) have been replaced by three headlights;
• the new design of the bus front improves the driver’s field of vision;
• the new shape of the front wall means a more optimal aerodynamics of the bus;
• the changed shape of the roof guards means a more effective assembly and simpler maintenance as well as better disposal of water from the bus roof;
• enhanced visibility of the front destination display for passengers.

Apart from the presentation of product novelties, the representatives of Solaris will also take the floor in the capacity of experts during conferences. They will share their experience with participants of the Global Summit, regarding, among others, the second life of batteries of electric vehicles, information on how to efficaciously start the use of large electric bus fleets, and last but not least, they will present the remote system, dubbed eSConnect, for the monitoring and maintenance of electric buses.

Solaris presented its first electric bus in 2011. Since then, after orders for over 400 vehicles of that type, the electric Solaris have made it to 61 cities in 17 countries, where the vehicles have already covered over 13 million kilometres in total. Solaris is one of the leading European firms dealing in the design and production of buses, in particular low and zero-emission ones.