In the first half of September 2020, the first solo bus arrived in Paks. According to a contract between Solaris and the Municipality of Paks, the manufacturer must complete the delivery of the entire fleet by November. To have the first swallow of the season here was important for us for several reasons.

As the COVID-19 pandemic did not allow us to inspect the vehicle on the manufacturer’s premises, it was decided that “in-process” inspections would be carried out in Paks. Accordingly, the Polish manufacturer delivered the first vehicle in order to allow the Hungarian specialists appointed by the Mayor’s Office to check and document that the bus complies in all respects with the technical specifications set out in the order. And, that’s exactly what happened in mid-September.

In addition to the above, it is also necessary for a prototype of the vehicles to be here in Paks, because proper specification of the IT system components and equipment to be integrated on board is only possible with an accurate knowledge of the vehicle. Once the vehicle is inspected by professionals, the traffic management and passenger information system can be ordered with all important information being available to the supplier for the design of the system, offering an opportunity to perform pre-installation tests.

Besides producing (according to our requests) the rest of the fleet vehicles, the manufacturer still has a lot to do by the contractual completion date. For example, they must also obtain the appropriate type-approvals, the necessary technical approvals and registration certificates, as they will have to hand over all licensed vehicles ready for operation as agreed. In the meantime, the manufacturer will store at its own expense the vehicles that they still own.