Representatives of the board of MPK Poznań and the company Solaris Bus & Coach S.A. have signed a contract for the purchase of 37 low-floor, eco-friendly buses for the capital of Greater Poland. This is another element of the strategy being implemented to renew the public transport fleet in Poznań.
The contract signed by the CEO of Solaris Bus & Coach S.A., Solange Olszewska, and the CEO of MPK Poznań Sp. z o.o., Wojciech Tulibacki, concerns the purchase of 19 vehicles with a length of 12 meters and 18 articulated, 18-meter buses.
– We want to withdraw the most worn-out vehicles from our bus fleet – says Wojciech Tulibacki, CEO of MPK Poznań. – In return, we will provide our city with 37 state-of-the-art, latest-generation buses that will be friendly to its residents. The engines of the new buses will meet the very strict Euro6 emission standard. It is hard to believe that in the few decades separating the good old Jelcz, popularly known as the “cucumber”, from this latest vehicle, the design and equipment of a city bus, and consequently the comfort of travel, have changed so much.
– Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacyjne in Poznań was our first client, and therefore it holds a special place in the history of our company. I am extremely pleased that we have once again been trusted by MPK Poznań, and we can assure passengers that they will have vehicles of the highest standard and travel comfort at their disposal – said Solange Olszewska, owner and CEO of Solaris.
The new vehicles will also meet the highest European safety standards. They will be low-floor buses, friendly to the disabled and people with baby strollers, with internal and external monitoring systems that improve driving safety, air conditioning, an automatic fire extinguishing system in the engine compartment, and sliding-plug doors that guarantee faster and easier entry and exit for passengers.
– There are many solutions in these buses that have become a standard in our subsequent tenders for some time now – points out Wojciech Tulibacki – air conditioning and a monitoring system, energy-saving LED lighting, an additional space for a baby stroller, a space for the safe transport of bicycles, a set of external LED information boards for better visibility, and an internal LCD information board are just some of them. The ordered vehicles will also include absolute novelties that we have not had in our buses before: a recuperation system that makes the buses energy-efficient, as well as information in Braille. This is important information for the blind and visually impaired and another convenience encouraging the disabled to travel by public transport.
According to the contract, the new Solaris Urbino buses will arrive at MPK next summer. An additional obligation for the supplier will be to conduct training for at least 20 MPK Poznań employees in terms of operation and all types of repairs.
– As one of the Polish leaders in the use of new, eco-friendly solutions – notes CEO Wojciech Tulibacki – we are directing our interest towards e-mobility and have decided to conduct tests of a new generation zero-emission electric bus.
The ceremonial signing of the contract was also an opportunity to present an electric bus, which will appear in the MPK Poznań fleet for testing in the coming days. The new Solaris Urbino 18 electric is a completely emission-free bus powered by electricity. The extremely quiet vehicle is equipped with Solaris High Energy batteries, and the drive consists of an axle with integrated electric motors. The bus can be charged via a plug-in connector or a pantograph. The electric Solaris will run on the streets of Poznań in the colors of MZA Warszawa because, immediately after the presentation, it will be leased to the capital for a period of 3 years. The eco-bus will serve lines 74, 51, and 63 in the coming days.