Eight Solaris Urbino 12 electric buses have entered service in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
The units are the first Solaris electric buses to be delivered in the Czech Republic as part of a contract to supply 24 Urbino 12 electric buses and related charging infrastructure to operator Dopravní podnik Ostrava (DPO). The vehicles are equipped with Solaris High Power batteries that have a total capacity of over 90kWh.
Roman Zdráhal, Director of Solaris Czech said:We have been working with DPO for more than 20 years. It was to Ostrava that we delivered our first vehicle for the export market. I am extremely proud that our company can be part of the history of public transport in this city, especially because it is quite an impressive history! The authorities have been consistently implementing the fleet transformation plan, in line with the motto: 'Diesel-free public transport!' Electromobility is certainly the future of transportation, and zero-emission solutions provide indisputable benefits for residents – less noise and reduced pollution.
To enable the Solaris Urbino 12 electric vehicles to commence operations in Ostrava, the first of four pantograph charging stations has been installed at the Hranečník terminal. In addition, DPO has ordered four service chargers and 24 mobile chargers, eight of which have already been delivered.
Daniel Morys, Chairman of the Board and CEO of DPO said:We are changing bus transport in Ostrava. The new charging infrastructure at the Hranečník terminal is the next phase of our strategy and complements the existing charger for electric buses in Ostrava-Svinov. The next part of the plan is to build a charging station also on ul. Valchařská in the city centre. Ostrava will thus have three strategic points where the electric buses will top up their batteries and from where they will leave to serve the surrounding areas. This will significantly reduce CO2 production at these locations.
The Solaris electric buses will offer quiet and comfortable zero-emission transportation services within Ostrava. All models are equipped with external and internal LED lighting and a camera monitoring system.
