The Solaris Urbino 12 Electric bus – leaving the depot hall

Sounds of the electric bus Solaris Urbino 12 E leaving the repair hall at Wola Duchacka bus depot. As the vehicle has an electric engine, it is very quiet. This may be heard in the recording, where noises from the hall are louder than the sound produced by the bus engine. In traffic, quiet engine operation contributes to lower noise pollution. On the other hand, a quiet bus may be harder to spot by other road users.

Electric buses have been in use in Krakow since 2014 and there are 26 such vehicles at present. The recorded Solaris Urbino 12 Electric is a low-floor bus with a length of 12 meters, fitted with a 4-pole Asynchronous Vossloh Kiepe engine and 210 kWh lithium-ion batteries. The total range of the vehicle is about 150 km. Bus batteries can be charged in two ways: at some terminals using a pantograph mounted on the roof or at the depot by plugging in.


Sound recording: Monika Widzicka
Photo: Piotr Żabicki