For the Hanau bus company, safety and sustainability are highly prioritized. Solar panels on the roof of its buses ensure extra energy and fuel savings

In Hanau, east of Frankfurt am Main, the municipal public transportation company, Hanauer Strassenbahn GmbH (HSB), daily ensures punctual transportation of passengers from A to B. Public transportation is one of the key lifelines in our cities, based on an optimal planning concept and modern and safe equipment.   

HSB begins each day with the promise of a “10-minute guarantee”, i.e., if the busses are more than 10 minutes delayed, the ticket price is refunded at the destination. Solar panels on the roof are an advantage because they contribute to a reliable and problem-free operation.  

More than a hundred years of experience 

The first streetcar in the region was already up and running by 1908. A year later, several others followed, and in the spring of 1928, the first couple of buses too. Since then, the timetables and bus fleets have been continuously expanding and today, HSB is a company of 64 buses and 190 employees. Its latest service has been in use since July 2022: The so-called “on-demand shuttle” or “the mainer.” The electric minibusses are an ideal supplement to regular bus routes, which have fewer departures at night and during the weekend. This on-demand service offers rides outside the fixed schedule with approximately 200 stops.   

Safety is prioritized 

Qualified drivers are a given, just as meticulous compliance with all safety requirements. However, passenger safety does not only concern the technical aspects of the buses they are transported in. A brilliant example of this is the following initiative from HSB, for example, with regards to pandemics like the Coronavirus: 85% of the buses are equipped with UV-C disinfection devices from Heraeus to keep the air virtually free of viruses and bacteria. However, the UV lights increase the energy consumption of the buses by 0.62-0.85 gallons of extra gas per 100 miles. Solar panels are highly important here as they will compensate for this additional fuel consumption.     

Collaborating for sustainable solutions 

Mathias Richter of Green Energy/MIPV.pro assisted in installing a 640 Wp solar panel set on one of HSB’s buses – a 2020 Solaris-Urbino 12. He spoke with technical manager Manfred Senger on the decision to install solar panels:

“We heard about your solar panels from one of your employees and no other solution is known for its sustainability as the one from Green Energy/MIPV.pro. That makes us capable of saving fuel by compensating for the additional consumption of UV lights. After consulting our CEO Thomas Schulte and master mechanic Christian Janka we decided to install a solar panel on one of our vehicles. If the solar panel system reaches the expected fuel savings, we plan to equip other vehicles in our fleet as well,” Manfred Senger explains. 

We congratulate HSB on its first installation. 

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You can read more about the company here: www.hsb.de

All Green Energy/MIPV.pro solar panels are available at EUROPART. Reach out to your regional EUROPART representative for a personalized solution benefitting your finances as well as the environment. Visit: www.europart.net 

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