Polish electric bus ousts Mercedes to become “Bus of the Year” 2017

Designed and produced in Poland the Solaris Urbino 12 electric bus has received the prestigious international title “Bus of the Year”. The decision was made by a jury of experts from 20 countries.

Polish electric bus with a pantograph left machines of Mercedes (they presented a vehicle powered by compressed natural gas (CNG)) and Ebusco, Irizar and Van Hool (these producers put on electrical drive) behind. The title was awarded for the year 2017.

“Bus of the Year” has been organised since 1989 by ACE (Association of Commercial Vehicle Editors). This year the presentation of the “Bus of the Year” awards will be held on 21 September 2016 at the IAA Commercial Vehicles in Hanover. Specialist comparative tests of the vehicles ended in June 2016, however, the manufacturers had to wait two months for the results.

Field tests for the vehicles were carried out in Brussels. Acceleration, braking distance, vibration and noise levels, among others, were tested thoroughly. The general evaluation was also influenced by subjective impressions of the individual jurors. A closer look was taken at the buses not only from the driver’s perspective, passengers and their comfort were also taken into consideration.

The winner – Solaris Urbino 12 electric

The winner – Solaris Urbino 12 electric, is an electric city bus featuring two independent charging systems. The bus can be charged by plugging it into a traditional energy socket or by using a pantograph (typical for trolley buses), so that the bus can be connected to the network suspended over the streets.

Solaris Urbino 12 electric is equipped with batteries of a total capacity of 240 kWh. During the tests, the energy was replenished by an innovative charger boasting the capacity of 80 kW developed by Ekoenergetyka – Polska (Polish supplier of customised charging stations for electric vehicles and charging infrastructure management systems). During the tests the bus was also charged using a pantograph.