Solaris and the Romanian city of Craiova have signed a contract for the delivery of 16 electric buses Urbino 18 electric. The articulated vehicles will make it to Craiova in the first half of 2021. The city authorities opted for battery buses for the first time in their history, therefore under the contract Solaris will also deliver charging devices, both for overnight and fast pantograph charging.
The authorities of Craiova, a city located in the south of Romania, purchased sixteen 18-metre buses made by Solaris. According to the contract signed on 28 April Craiova will have all the electric buses delivered in July 2021 at the latest. The contract value amounts to about EUR 12 million. Large part of that money will come from European funds. The investment in state-of-the-art emission free buses will improve the air quality in the city and increase the life comfort of the city residents.
The driveline in the articulated electric buses will consist of a 240 kW central motor. Each vehicle will be fitted with Solaris High Energy batteries. They will be recharged by means of an inverted pantograph, i.e. a device lowered from the charging mast directly onto the bus.
This is the first investment ever in battery buses made by the city. Under the contract Solaris is also responsible for the delivery of necessary charging infrastructure. Along with the buses, the city will also welcome 20 charging devices. Throughout the day the Urbino electric buses will recharge their batteries by means of 4 pantograph chargers, whereas at night the recharging will be conducted using sixteen plug connectors.
Air-conditioned Solaris buses will offer WiFi access and a few USB charging ports where travellers will be able to recharge their mobile phones. The vehicles will also encompass a passenger information system and a monitoring system consisting of seven cameras improving safety and travel comfort. They will also feature passenger counting gates.
Solaris is one of the leading electric bus producers in Europe. At the moment, our order volume comprises about 1000 emission-free vehicles that the producer has already sold to 18 countries. Craiova has become the next Romanian city after Cluj-Napoca to opt for electric buses made by Solaris. The latter has received from the producer 41 Urbino 12 electric.
