Hydrogen Buses for Austria
Solaris, a subsidiary of the CAF Group, has entered into a framework agreement for the exclusive supply of as many as 182 buses which will provide service on Austrian roads. Specifically, the operator Österreichische Postbus AG chose Solaris as a prospective supplier for a total of up to 40 hydrogen buses and 142 diesel vehicles between 2021 and 2023.
On the one hand, Österreichische Postbus AG, Austria’s biggest and leading regional bus operator, is ordering as many as 40 Urbino 12 hydrogen buses – one of the most innovative vehicles in the Solaris range, which boasts very low noise levels, less vibration and, most importantly, zero emissions. And the other vehicles in the contract will be equipped with engines that meet the strict Euro 6 emission standards. Specifically, the framework contract will cover up to 45 Urbino 18 buses, up to 60 Urbino 12 buses, and up to 17 Urbino 8.9 LE buses.
Solaris has been operating in Austria since 2003 and has since delivered almost 400 buses to 40 different Austrian cities, including over 53 buses which are currently providing services in the country’s capital city, Vienna.
Hydrogen Buses for the Netherlands
Additionally, Solaris and the Dutch airline Arriva Netherlands have entered into a contract for the supply of 10 Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen buses. As per the terms of the contract, these vehicles will be delivered later this year in the province of Gelderland, as the operator’s intention is to set them into service in December.
Gelderland, situated in central-eastern Holland, is the largest province in the country with a population of 2 million. At the end of last year, the Gelderland authorities announced their involvement in the JIVE2 programme (Joint Initiative for Hydrogen Vehicles across Europe), which is focused towards promoting emission-free public transport and increasing the number of hydrogen buses providing public transport via subsidies. The ten hydrogen- powered buses Solaris will supply will be used to replace existing diesel vehicles and are expected to provide more than 1 million kilometres of service each year.
The first Solaris buses were delivered in the Netherlands in 2017 and, since then, Solaris has supplied a significant volume of vehicles equipped with cutting-edge, environmentally- friendly transport solutions to the country’s different regions. Having said this, the Netherlands is not the only country where the CAF Group’s hydrogen buses have secured new customers as Solaris has received orders from Germany, Italy and Sweden since the Urbino 12 hydrogen model was launched in June last year.