Two Urbino 12 electric will boost a fleet of Unibuss, one of the largest Norwegian public transport operators. Being the first battery-powered vehicles purchased by Unibuss, Solaris zero-emission buses mark a new electric era for Unibuss. According to the delivery contract which was signed on 30th March 2017, both buses will be put into operation in Autumn this year.
The 12-metre Urbino electric for Unibuss operator will be fitted with a ZF AVE 130 electrically driven portal axle. The innovative electric buses have been equipped with 75 kWh High Power batteries. The vehicles will use a roof-mounted charging system by Siemens that will enable a line to run for a full day. The pantograph will automatically lower from the charging station onto the bus roof at the end stops. The whole charging process will last up to eight minutes. Solaris has already implemented and tested this technology in Hamburg in the same models of Urbino family. It is worth mentioning that the new Urbino 12 electric has been named the best city bus of the year 2017.
Solaris and Unibuss signed a delivery contract for two Urbino 12 electric on 30.03.2017. The buses are to be handed over by the manufacturer in Autumn. Both zero-emission vehicles will be operating on heavily trafficked line 74 in Oslo which leads between Vika and Mortensrud districts in the capital of Norway.
“This model was named “Bus of the Year” in 2017. Solaris electric buses have already been proven in Northern Europe, and now we want to show that they can work well also in Oslo”, says Sverre Skaar, Managing Director of Solaris Norge. “Innovative opportunity charging concept which has been implemented in the vehicles enables to equip the bus with a smaller battery pack, which provides additional seating”, he adds.
Being one of the largest public transport operators in Norway with no fewer than 750 vehicles, carrying passengers in eastern Norway, Unibuss has also one of the nation's most environmentally friendly bus fleet consisting of hydrogen buses, biogas buses, biodiesel buses and hybrid buses. Solaris Urbino electric will be the first battery-powered buses used by the operator.
“We have the ambition for our buses to operate in ever more of Norwegian cities than they have been so far. Within the next four years we will extend our presence outside the Eastern region. To be successful with it, we are focusing our activities primarily on new cleaner and environmentally friendly technologies as electric and CNG buses. We believe that this should be our top priority for implementing our ambitious growth strategy”, says Øystein Svendsen, CEO of Unibuss.
Solaris electric buses have taken part in tests drives performed by Unibuss and Router last year. The goal was to gather experience in operating battery-powered buses under normal driving conditions in the city before the 2020. The city of Oslo is one of the world metropolies that have been investing heavily to promote e-mobility and is planning a great deployment of electric buses in the nearest future. The city’s target assumes that there will be 100 electric buses running on Oslo streets in 2020. And that is not all, as from 2025 at least 60 percent of the bus fleet will be electrically-powered.
Environmental-friendly municipal transport has been one of the key interests of Solaris ever since it began operation. As early as in the first years of its existence, the firm invested in research in e-mobility. Solaris has been implementing innovative technologies for vehicles that were increasingly environmental-friendly, starting with trolleybuses, hybrid buses, trams and ending with completely electric buses. The “Bus of the Year 2017” award won by the new Urbino 12 electric last year was the crowning result of these efforts; for the first time in the history of this contest, the winner was none other than an electric bus. Today the sale of Solaris buses has exceeded 100. Electric Urbinos run in Austria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Spain, Germany, Sweden and Poland.
In the picture:
1) In the picture from left: Lars-Einar Petterson, PR-Manager, Siemens, Øystein Svendsen, CEO of Unibuss, Sverre Skaar, Managing Director, Solaris Norge AS
2) New Solaris Urbino 12 in Oslo, fot. Sebastian Grellus
Information Solaris
Solaris Bus & Coach sp. z o.o. is one of the leading producers of city and intercity buses in Europe. It focuses in particular on the development of zero-emission vehicles, i. e. electric and hydrogen buses as well as trolleybuses. This has resulted in the widest zero-emission product range in the European market and a leading position in this segment with a market share of 15.2%. Nearly 25,000 Solaris vehicles have been delivered so far and they ply the streets in 850 towns and cities across 33 countries located throughout Europe as well as beyond it. Solaris is part of the Spanish CAF Group (Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles) S.A. From conception, to the design and manufacturing phases, all Solaris buses are produced in Poland. Moreover, all activities undertaken by the manufacturer are in line with the brand’s mission, which is reflected in the motto “We are changing the image of public transport”. Solaris also actively partners with public transport operators and provides them with comprehensive support in their transition to zero-emission mobility.
Additional information
Mateusz Figaszewski
E-mobility Development & Market Intelligence Director
mateusz.figaszewski@solarisbus.com
