Two more Solaris Urbino 18 buses for Leipzig

Two further Urbino buses have been delivered by Solaris Bus and Coach to Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe (LVB) GmbH, joining the 14 buses it received at the end of 2016.

The Urbino is designed to teach future bus drivers how to drive a bus and features a removable platform with the instructor’s seat, meaning the buses can also be used in every day traffic after training is completed.

To secure the trainee’s and other road users’ safety, the instructor’s platform is equipped with acceleration and brake pedals, indicator control lights and additional rear view mirrors to ensure the instructor has similar visibility of the surroundings as the student driver. These measures are complemented by a monitoring system consisting of external cameras mounted in the top corners of the vehicle and two 7” monitors displaying both sides of the bus.

The Solaris Urbino 18

The Solaris Urbino 18 buses are low-floor and offer even more space and comfort to their passengers. The safety and convenience of everyone on board is ensured by the monitoring system, air conditioning, LED lightening used in the interior of the bus, as well as large 18.5” passenger information displays.

The driver’s area is equipped with a number of cutting-edge technical solutions which aim to help drivers drive a bus for several hours daily. These include driver-dedicated Konvekta KL20 KDE air conditioning, ventilated and heated seats and a personal belongings cabinet.

Furthermore, a state-of-the-art 240 kW DAF/Paccar MX-11 240, Euro 6 compliable engine is used to drive the 18 metre Solaris and it also has a ‘cold start’ system, which enables the start-up of the engine during very low external temperatures. A Voith Diwa six-gearbox complements the drive system and the axles have been made by ZF.

The partnership between Solaris and LVB began in 2003, with 123 buses in total being delivered to-date.