This is the second contract that the company based near Poznań has recently fulfilled for MPK in Poznań. At the end of last year, Solaris delivered 25 buses to the capital of the Greater Poland region. In total, between 2009 and 2011, the Poznań carrier’s fleet will be enriched by as many as one hundred low-floor vehicles of this brand. Furthermore, by March 2012, Solaris will deliver forty low-floor Solaris Tramino trams to Poznań.
– We are proud that our company’s vehicles will be a showcase for Poznań’s public transport during the upcoming European Football Championship. Above all, however, we are pleased that the residents of Poznań will be able to travel daily on city buses that represent the highest European standards of quality and comfort – said Solange Olszewska, CEO of Solaris Bus & Coach S.A.
The Solaris buses were purchased by the Municipal Transport Company in Poznań with support from European Union funds.
– The opportunity for an EU grant was provided by a competition announced by the Marshal’s Office of the Greater Poland Voivodeship. We decided to take advantage of the possibility of obtaining co-financing amounting to 80 percent of the project’s eligible costs, and on May 8, 2009, we submitted an application for a grant from the European Regional Development Fund for the purchase of modern, environmentally friendly low-floor buses. The Department for the Implementation of the Regional Development Program of the Marshal’s Office conducted the formal and substantive assessment very efficiently, and our application was included on the list of projects slated for co-financing under measure 2.5 (development of urban transport). The total value of the investment was estimated at 73.6 million PLN, and the grant amount will cover 58.8 million PLN – said Wojciech Tulibacki, President of the Municipal Transport Company in Poznań.
All buses will be powered by modern and ecological engines meeting the most stringent EEV exhaust emission standard. Furthermore, the Solaris buses for Poznań will be fully air-conditioned and equipped with a monitoring system and an automatic fire extinguishing system. A new feature is the installation of ticket vending machines in the buses. This solution was tested in the previous batch of Solaris buses delivered to Poznań. The ticket machine on the bus gained recognition from passengers who appreciated the convenience of this solution. Now, tickets can be purchased conveniently and quickly in each of the 75 new Solaris buses. A low floor along the entire length of the vehicle and the so-called kneeling function, which allows the bus entrance to be lowered at stops, are standard in all Solaris Urbino buses.