Warsaw Orders 79 New Electric Buses is ramping up its shift to zero-emission public transport: Miejskie Zakłady Autobusowe (MZA), the city’s municipal bus operator, has signed a contract with Solaris Bus & Coach for 79 new electric buses that will join the capital’s fleet over the coming months.
What’s in the Order
The contract covers two vehicle lengths: 50 articulated 18-metre Solaris Urbino 18 Electrics and 29 standard 12-metre Solaris Urbino 12 Electrics. The deal includes depot (plug-in) charging and Solaris’ recent high-energy battery packs and modular roof-mounted drive components that help maximise interior passenger space.
Timeline and Price Tag
Deliveries are planned to be completed by the end of 2026, and the purchase is part of a wider procurement push that could see the number of incoming electric buses doubled in the near term. Reported contract value is in the hundreds of millions of zloty (local coverage cites about 316 million PLN for this lot), reflecting a major municipal investment in electrification.
Why it Matters for Warsaw
This order is a continuation of a multi-year effort: Solaris vehicles already make up a large share of Warsaw’s electric fleet, and the 79 new buses will further reduce tailpipe emissions, lower local noise, and help the city meet its air-quality and climate goals.
Local officials have noted that, with recent and planned purchases combined, Warsaw could receive well over 200 electric buses within months — a rapid scale-up for a dense, high-demand urban network.
Operational Benefits and Passenger Experience
Articulated Urbino 18s increase capacity on busy corridors (each vehicle can carry 100+ passengers depending on configuration), while the 12-metre buses are better suited to narrower streets and less crowded lines.
Modern safety and convenience features — such as low-floor access for easier boarding, USB charging points, and driver assistance systems — are included in the specification, improving accessibility and day-to-day comfort for riders. Depot charging suits overnight top-ups and tightly scheduled rotation of vehicles on high-frequency routes.
Wider Context: Industry and Supplier Notes
Solaris, now part of the CAF group, has been a major supplier to Polish cities and across Europe; the contract with Warsaw follows other recent Solaris orders and broader industry momentum toward battery-electric buses.
Local procurement choices also reflect a balance between vehicle type (articulated vs standard), charging strategy (depot vs opportunity charging), and lifecycle cost considerations — battery and charging infrastructure investments are typically offset over time by lower energy and maintenance costs compared with diesel fleets.
What to Watch Next
Key follow-ups will be the exact delivery schedule for individual vehicles, roll-out plans for charging infrastructure at depots, and how routes are reallocated to maximise the advantages of higher-capacity electric articulated buses. The possibility of doubling the initial order suggests the city is keeping procurement flexible to respond to ridership patterns and funding availability.
Summary
This 79-bus order is a concrete, near-term step that strengthens Warsaw’s electric-bus fleet, improves capacity on busy routes, and signals continued municipal commitment to cleaner urban mobility.