Solaris e-buses to debut in Łódź soon

Representatives from the city of Łódź have signed a contract with Solaris to supply 8 e-buses along with the charging infrastructure. The zero-emission Urbino 18 electric vehicles will hit the streets of the city in 2023. This is the first contract for electric buses to be carried out for Łódź by the manufacturer from Bolechowo. The contract is worth nearly PLN 32 million gross.

Łódź has taken decisive steps towards embracing e-mobility. The eight Solaris Urbino 18 electric buses ordered by the city stand out due to their quietness and lack of local emissions. Apart from the vehicles, the contract also covers the provision of charging infrastructure. Thanks to the appropriate configuration of batteries and charging infrastructure, the Urbino electric buses in question will be able to operate up to 24 hours a day. The buses will roll out onto the streets of Łódź in the second half of 2023.

“The signing of the contract for 8 state-of-the-art electric buses, taking place today, is an event of enormous importance for us. We are pleased that Łódź will be yet another city on the electric map of zero-emission Solaris buses. We are also very proud to be able to support the city in the implementation of such ambitious undertakings. These determined efforts to electrify public transport in Łódź will set an excellent example for numerous European towns and cities”, underlined Krzysztof Musiał, Regional Sales Manager for Poland South-East at Solaris.

“It’s great news for the bus fleet in Łódź, which will be enriched by the addition of these new e-buses. Today, we are signing a contract for the purchase of our first articulated e-buses manufactured by Solaris. I am extremely happy about it and strongly believe that this is only the beginning of our long-term collaboration”, said Adam Pustelnik, First Deputy Mayor of the city of Łódź.

The new e-buses will be powered by state-of-the-art High Energy batteries with a total nominal capacity of over 400 kWh. They will be charged both via a plug-in connection, with a socket placed on the front bonnet panel of the vehicle, and by means of an inverted pantograph, lowered from the charging mast onto special rails mounted on the bus roof. Smooth operation of the 18-metre e-buses will be ensured by an electric central traction motor.

The comfortable interior of the Urbino 18 electric vehicles, equipped with fully automated air-conditioning for the whole vehicle, will offer space for at least 110 people, including 35 seated. The buses will also feature a variety of amenities and modern solutions, such as an electronic ticketing system that allows payment by credit card, a ticket vending machine, and a passenger information system with a self-adaptive volume feature that allows the volume of the announcements played inside the vehicle to adapt to the ambient noise level.

In order to make the most of the potential of the electric fleet, the vehicles will also be delivered with eSConnect, a modern remote diagnostic system developed by Solaris experts. With such information as the battery charging status, data on the bus’s expected range, or on the current or total electricity demand, the operator can optimise the operation of its fleet. Thus, eSConnect makes it possible to increase vehicle availability, reduce bus downtime and avoid unnecessary return drives to the depot.

The very first Solaris buses made it to Łódź in 2000. Since then, the city’s public transport has been consistently heading towards green mobility. The vehicles ordered today will be the first Solaris electric buses to be put into operation in Łódź. However, this is not the city’s first investment in Solaris vehicles with alternative drive systems. This year, the manufacturer has already delivered 29 low-emission Urbino 12 mild hybrid buses to the city. Soon, another 20 units of the same type will make their way to Łódź. With every passing year, low- and zero-emission vehicles are accounting for an increasingly significant share of European bus fleets, and the city of Łodź is clearly following this trend.