Solaris and the Romanian city of Craiova have just signed a contract for the delivery of 16 e-buses Urbino 18 electric. The articulated vehicles will make it to Craiova in the first half of 2021, Solaris announces. 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.

Craiova then becomes the second Romanian city to receive Solaris electric buses after Cluj-Napoca, which has 41 Solaris Urbino 12 Electric in operation.

solaris craiova

Solaris in Craiova, 12 million euros contract

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.

Craiova invests in battery-electric buses for the first time

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.

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.

Highlights

Related articles

Vicenza chooses Hess LightTram: first deliveries in 2027

Vicenza has made its choice: Hess. It will be the Swiss manufacturer to will supply SVT Vicenza 16 electric buses, which will be purchased thanks to a 19 million e contribution granted by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport. Deliveries will begin in October 2027 and presumably be completed ...

Electric bus, main fleets and projects around the world

Electric bus adoption in public transport urban fleet is growing all over the world. It started in China, and it has taken a few years for other regions to start the transition. But now Europe is booming: the year 2019 will be remembered as the year when the electric bus sales volumes definitiv...