The electric bus fleet in cluj-napoca expands: the city orders another 22 solaris articulated e-buses

The municipality of Cluj-Napoca has purchased an additional 22 battery-powered articulated buses from the Polish company Solaris. The acquisition is part of a framework agreement concluded in the spring of 2023, which provides for the procurement of a total of 40 vehicles, with the first 18 units already ordered by the city the year before last. With the option now activated, the entire fleet will be called up, bringing the total investment to 28.2 million euros.

The first 18 Solaris Urbino 18 electric buses arrived with EU support as part of a joint project between Cluj-Napoca and the neighboring commune of Florești. Although the delivery was completed in spring 2024, only a few vehicles from the entire contingent have been put into service since then, with the remaining buses still awaiting operation.

The newly ordered 22 electric articulated buses will also serve to strengthen public transport between Cluj-Napoca and Florești. Delivery of the vehicles is expected at the end of 2025 and early 2026, with their deployment primarily on routes towards Florești – on the main road where road section widening is currently underway to establish dedicated bus lanes. The aim of the investment is to create a dedicated corridor that prioritizes public transport on the affected routes. As part of this, the city leadership is working to establish exclusive bus lanes up to one of the most critical points of the main road leading from Florești, known as the IRA junction. According to the mayor’s office, the infrastructural developments could significantly reduce congestion experienced during peak hours, while contributing to the reduction of emissions and the expansion of zero-emission transport. The newly ordered series, like the previous batch, is also expected to enter service with European Union co-financing.

The first three units of the initially ordered 18-bus series arrived in the city in February 2024, but the fleet’s deployment has been stalling ever since. The operator only partially accepted the vehicles, as the delivered buses did not fully meet the technical requirements specified in the procurement documentation.

The main issue was the range. The tender specified a range of at least 200 kilometers on a single charge, but some delivered vehicles did not reach this minimum in practice – with measured values around 190 kilometers at most. Solaris has attempted to rectify the problem and has carried out several technical interventions to ensure the vehicles meet the contractual requirements.

Despite the various software adjustments and subsequent modifications, it was still not possible to fully meet the procurement specifications in all cases. Therefore, after months of attempts, the manufacturer and the municipality jointly decided to transport the affected buses to Solaris’ workshop in Bucharest. Here, additional batteries will be installed to increase the range. The modified vehicles will then be examined by the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca before being officially handed over to the operator CTP. The deployment has been ongoing since spring 2025, but only a smaller portion of the 18-bus series has been put into passenger service so far.

In 2017, Cluj-Napoca was the first city in Romania to opt for Solaris’ battery bus type. At that time, the city purchased 11 initially, then an additional 30 solo, fully electric Solaris Urbino 12 electric buses as part of a framework agreement for 41 vehicles. These vehicles arrived in Cluj-Napoca during 2018 and 2019. In addition to the fully battery-powered models, Cluj-Napoca also ordered 50 articulated Solaris Trollino 18 trolleybuses equipped with Škoda drive systems and autonomous capability based on a contract concluded in the summer of 2018. The deployment of the trolleybuses began after 2020.