PKM Katowice orders five Solaris Urbino 12 electric city buses

A contract was signed in the headquarters of a local transport operator Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacji Miejskiej (PKM) in Katowice between the carrier and representatives of Solaris Bus & Coach S.A. including the delivery of five Solaris Urbino 12 electric electrobuses. This contract is also the jubilee, 100th one for the supply of battery vehicles from the manufacturer from Bolechowo.

These electric buses ordered will not be the first vehicles of this type in Katowice. At the beginning of the year, Solaris supplied five articulated Urbino 18 electric to the PKM operator. Earlier, two Urbino 8.9 LE electric blood collection buses ordered by the Regional Blood Donation and Blood Treatment Centre arrived in Katowice. According to the terms of the latest contract, the ecological Solaris Urbino 12 electric will be delivered to the customer within 350 days from the date of its signing, and the total value of the contract exceeded PLN15 million ($3.9 million).

The electric buses for Katowice will be driven by a centrally mounted 160 kW traction motor. A set of Solaris High Energy batteries with a total capacity of 250 kWh will be responsible for storing energy needed to drive the vehicles. Charging of the batteries will take place via a plug-in connector and the so-called inverted pantograph - there will be power collectors installed on the roof of vehicles, to which the pantograph, permanently mounted on the mast of the stationary charger, will be lowered to initiate the energy replenishment process.

The buses will provide a journey for at least 80 passengers at one time, 26 of them seated. The 2+2+2 door layout will ensure an effective passenger exchange. The interior of the vehicles has been designed with as to ensure a high level of safety and comfort. The equipment of Urbino 12 electric ordered by PKM Katowice will include, among others: efficient air conditioning, an extensive passenger information system and CCTV including passenger compartment cameras and reversing camera. A separate camera was placed in the driver's cabin. The equipment will be complemented by a set of ŚKUP devices (Silesian Public Service Card), allowing, among others a purchase of a ticket in a vehicle.

This contract is the 100th contract signed by the manufacturer from Bolechowo for the supply of electric buses. To date, since the delivery of the first electric bus to a customer from the Austrian Klagenfurt in 2013, the European leader in electromobility has delivered or acquired orders for over 700 vehicles from the Urbino electric family. They can be found on the streets of 17 European countries, in dozens of cities.