The Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis (GZM) in southern Poland has completed delivery of 73 battery-electric buses and 45 chargers. The vehicles, supplied by Solaris and Irizar, will serve four cities under a fleet renewal program worth PLN 305 million (around €70.5 million).
Fleet distribution and charging infrastructure
The buses were assigned to four municipal transport operators. PKM Świerklaniec received 49 buses and 30 chargers, the largest share. PKM Katowice, PKM Sosnowiec, and PKM Gliwice obtained nine, eight, and seven buses respectively, along with proportional charging equipment.
Most chargers sit at depots, though one public charging point now operates at the Kościuszki Street bus terminus in Będzin. The setup includes standard depot chargers and faster, higher-power units.
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Solaris delivered 42 of the new buses, ordered last October. Irizar provided the remaining 31, including 16 articulated 18-meter buses and 15 standard 12-meter models. The company stated the vehicles will soon enter service in Sosnowiec, Świerklaniec, Katowice, and Gliwice, offering a quieter and more efficient transit system.
Funding and long-term goals
The procurement received most of its funding through Poland’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan, covering over 94% of eligible costs. The total value of the procurement amounts to almost PLN 305 million, with the vast majority financed through the KPO. The project is part of three broader initiatives—Hydrogen GZM, Green Transport GZM, and its second stage—which together secured more than PLN 257 million (around €59.5 million).
Leszek Pietraszek, chairman of GZM’s management board, described the delivery as a major improvement for residents. “This purchase demonstrates what we can achieve through metropolitan cooperation,” he said. “We’re helping operators replace older fleets while developing modern, eco-friendly public transport.”
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For some operators, the new buses mark a key move toward cleaner fleets. PKM Gliwice now runs 219 buses, including 28 battery-electric and 47 hybrid vehicles. Katarzyna Kuczyńska-Budka, mayor of Gliwice, called the additions a positive development for passengers and another advance toward sustainable transit.
The investment aligns with a wider push in Polish cities to meet EU climate targets while enhancing urban mobility. The region’s industrial past has made air quality a long-standing issue, and electric buses offer a solution that avoids disrupting existing transit networks.