Krakow tests the Solaris electric bus

The City Transport department of Krakow has signed up to a one-year trial of the Solaris Urbino from the end of April this year. The fleet of 12 buses will undergo a number of fatigue tests during the trial, which will help determine whether the city invests in a larger fleet of this type.

The Solaris electric bus is equipped with a 210 kWh capacity battery is known as being quiet and emission free. The buses are charged at night on a daily basis at the bus depot so that they are ready for use in the morning.

One of the technological innovations associated with this model is the use of electrical axis ZF AVE 130, in which two electric motors are installed close to the wheels. This makes the bus much lighter and means it can take a greater number of passengers.  It also means that there are more accessible seats available compared with the raised seats associated with the conventional diesel buses currently serving Krakow.

The Solaris bus will be tested out on the 154 route which goes from the main train station on the east side to Prądnik Bialy. Normal ticket rates will apply.

Julian Pilszczek , Chairman of the Municipal Transport Company Krakow said: "In the coming years, investment in zero-emission public transport vehicles will be inevitable. Krakow also plans to follow the trend seen in other European cities of banning conventional vehicles using internal combustion from the city centers."

Since it was first introduced Solaris has sold buses to  lagenfurt ( Austria ), Braunschweig, Dusseldorf and Hamburg ( Germany ) and Västerås (Sweden).

At the beginning of April the city of Belgrade, took the BYD electric bus E-12 to its streets to test whether it lived up to its ‘silent and efficient reputation’. This is the first time the model has been tested in the region and this initial trial-run proved it to be a real contender.    

Over a three day period, the E-12 was tested on routes No26 and No41, which run through the city of Belgrade, in addition to a suburban route. City Line No26 is known to have the most difficult exploitation conditions in Belgrade (low speeds, multiple traffic lights, large passenger-flow and steep topography). To simulate real driving conditions, the e-bus was filled with a weight equivalent to a full load of passengers and adopted normal practice stopping at every station along these routes.

Results from this initial test showed that electric consumption of the e-bus on the suburban route was on average 1,05 KWh/km while on line No26 it was 1,49 kWh/km. Compared with diesel and CNG buses, which are currently operating along these routes, the results were, according to Slobodan Misanovic , Head of Operations and analytics service at GSP-Beograd: “Very good. Under the same operating conditions, the relative energy consumption of diesel and CNG buses is several times higher than the e-bus, this is particularly important when taking into account current fuel prices in the region.”

Following this initial test, the next stage for Belgrade’s transport procurers will be to trial the e-bus for a longer period of time (2-3 months). This will help to provide detailed analysis of how the bus operates under varying conditions e.g. the impact of the use of air conditioning in the vehicle, reliability, full- time, the actual flow of passengers.

On completion of this second test stage, a comprehensive review of the BYD E-12 will be carried out to inform the future development and direction of bus transport in Belgrade.

For more information about test, contact [email protected]