The Warsaw Municipal Transport Authority (ZTM) is expanding its order for new 18-metre articulated buses. In addition to the previously contracted 120 Solaris vehicles, a further 50 units have been added, increasing the total number of contracted examples to 170. Relobus has confirmed that it will deploy a fleet of MAN Lion’s City 18 hybrid buses to operate city lines. These changes are intended to improve the quality and comfort of public transport in the capital, as well as increase its resilience to crisis situations.
Expansion of the Solaris contract
The basic contract for the delivery of 120 articulated buses was signed by ZTM with Solaris Bus & Coach in December 2025. The tender allowed for the possibility of expanding the order by an additional 100 vehicles, split into two lots of 50 units each. The Authority exercised this option, and the agreement for the first additional lot of 50 buses was signed on 14 October 2026.
The value of this order expansion is estimated at approximately PLN 145 million. For comparison, the cost of the base pool of 120 buses is PLN 324 million. The delivery schedule for the new 50 vehicles assumes they will be brought to Warsaw in lots of 10 units, with the first ones expected to appear on 22 October 2027.
Deliveries and specification of the new Solaris buses
The first lot of 10 Solaris Urbino 18 buses from the base order is to be delivered in the first week of December 2026. The completion of all deliveries of the 120 vehicles under this contract is planned for July 2027. All new buses meet the standards of Warsaw Public Transport.
The passenger comfort level is high. Each 18-metre articulated bus offers 133 places, including 39 seats. The vehicles are low-floor, equipped with air conditioning, a passenger information system, and alcohol interlocks for drivers. With passengers with disabilities in mind, buttons described in Braille have been installed. The driver also receives a signal about the need to deploy the ramp and use the kneeling function, which tilts the bus to the right side, facilitating entry for people using wheelchairs.
The buses are powered by diesel engines meeting the Euro 6 emission standard. Photovoltaic panels installed on the vehicle roofs are used to limit electrical energy consumption. Besides daily passenger service, the new Urbino 18 models are to perform evacuation functions. Each bus has provision for securing four stretchers, allowing for the transport of lying persons in the event of natural disasters. The manufacturer will also provide this equipment. The vehicles will be handed over for operation to the City Bus Company (Miejskie Zakłady Autobusowe). Solaris has delivered more than 1,750 buses of various drive types to Poland so far.
Hybrid MAN buses from Relobus
In addition to its own purchases, vehicles from line operation contracts will enter Warsaw's transport network. Relobus will assign MAN Lion’s City 18 EfficientHybrid buses to fulfill its contract. These will be hybrid vehicles meeting WTP standards, equipped with a start-stop system that switches off the engine while stopped at stops, reducing exhaust emissions and noise.
50 such buses, along with 4 reserve vehicles, have been introduced to operation. Their entry into service is planned gradually from 1 December 2026. The agreement with Relobus provides for services to be provided for 10 years. The contract assumes that vehicles may travel a maximum of 4.2 million vehicle-kilometers annually. The value of this contract is PLN 601 million gross.