Barcelona ordering more electric Solaris buses

The biggest public transport operator in Spain’s capital city, Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), has ordered 14 Solaris Urbino 18 electric buses.

Barcelona is one of the first cities where the Urbino electric buses in the 18 metre version rolled out on the streets. The Polish producer has supplied five articulated electric buses to that city since 2015. Once again the operator TMB opted for Solaris vehicles, having commissioned 14 Urbino 18 electric buses.

The vehicles will be equipped with Solaris High Power batteries with a nominal capacity of 145 kWh in total that will be charged using a pantograph of 500 kW enabling fast charging. The buses will be propelled by a 240 kW central traction motor.

An efficient air conditioning system will ensure a comfortable ride for the driver and passengers on hot days. The vehicle will not lack USB ports on board enabling the recharging of mobile devices during a bus ride. Meanwhile, drivers will benefit from a series of solutions supporting their work and improving the road safety, e. g. from the MirrorEye system that replaces conventional side mirrors with cameras. It ensures improved visibility not only in bright sunlight, but also when it rains or at night.

All ordered vehicles will also be equipped with the Mobileye Shield+ device minimising the risk of colliding with pedestrians or cyclists. The system of intelligent cameras monitors the close surroundings of the vehicle and the driver is alerted to potential dangers with sound and visual signals. At the special request of the client, the Mobileye Shield+ will be additionally fitted with the Geotab system recognising, archiving information about and informing the operator TMB about potholes.

The first Solaris buses made it to Barcelona in 2014. At present over 80 electric and hybrid buses are driving around the capital city of Catalonia. Solaris is a European leader in the production and sales of electric buses. So far, nearly 900 e-buses made by the Polish producer have been commissioned by clients from 18 countries.