Image: Stimer
The electric bus from the market leader Solaris from Poland has a battery with 520 kilowatt hours under the hood. That should be enough for the 250 to 280 kilometer circuit up and down the hills of the Steyr city area, which a city bus has to cover every day.
Test run on “strong” lines
From today until March 3, an “Urbino” electric bus from the Solaris company will depart from the bus stop at the train station and serve lines “2B” (hospital), “2A” (resthof) and “5” (Gleink-Stadtgut). Georg Stimeder from Stadtbetriebe is confident that this type will now meet the expectations for emission-free public transport in Steyr. Previous test runs with buses from MAN to Mercedes did not do this. During daytime operation, the batteries in the buses ran out of electricity, and conventional diesel-powered buses had to step in. Or the engine performance weakened on the inclines of the Steyr road network. “Of course we need a bus that is reliably available for the entire operating time from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.,” says Stimeder. The battery of the “Urbino” should have enough charging capacity for this. “The main focus is on the maximum daily range,” explains Stimimer.
The management of the city’s operations has the goal clearly in mind: public transport in the city should become climate-friendly, and the fleet of 26 vehicles should no longer emit exhaust gases. Provided one finally finds the right electric vehicle that meets the special requirements in Steyr with its valleys and hills, the conversion should take place as soon as possible.
“We currently have a fleet with very modern technology, such as hybrid vehicles,” says Stimeder, “of course it still has a few years of operation ahead of it due to economic necessity.” However, if the “Urbino” electric bus now proves itself in the one-week test run at the manufacturer’s expense, one could think of putting the first electric bus in Steyr into regular service in 2025.
Source: Nachrichten
