Polish manufacturer Solaris has won a tender for the delivery of three articulated electric buses for SWB in Bonn. It will be the first time the manufacturer has supplied SWB. The buses will be Urbino 18 electrics featuring the new generation of Solaris High Energy+ batteries, and are expected to hit the streets of Bonn in 2020.
Electrification of bus transport is part of a complex plan by SWB for climate protection in the city. The electric buses will be fuelled only by so-called ‘green’ energy, and are expected to have a range of 200 km on a single charge, regardless of weather and road conditions, over a period of 12 years. They will feature seven packs of batteries with 553 kWh of total nominal capacity, and are covered by an ongoing warranty package. The new vehicles will be plug-in charged, with a connector dedicated above all to overnight charging at the depot.
The driveline of the Urbino 18 electric consists of an electric axle with two integrated motors boasting a power of 125 kW each. The fully emission-free vehicles will be purely electrically heated, and temperature in the buses will be controlled by efficient air-conditioning with a heat pump which uses heat from outside to reach an adequate temperature within the vehicle.
Safety systems will include Solaris’ MobilEye Shield+, which uses cameras to detect pedestrians and cyclists in the blind spot of the vehicle. In one of the buses SWB has opted to trial cameras in lieu of side mirrors. The 44-seat buses will be fitted with 21 double USB ports for the recharging of mobile devices, and a separate port will be available to the driver.
