“Arctic Bus” to Undergo Winter Trials

Photo: Shablovskii Alexander/GeoPhoto.ru

“Arctic Bus” to Undergo Winter Trials

A sustainable urban environment fit for the 21st century is crucial for development in the Arctic, with comfort being a major factor contributing to better productivity and quality of life of those who live in the High North. In this light, both comfortable and reliable public transport is a necessity. To meet the growing demand in such transport and transportation services, the Urals Interregional Research and Education Center (UIREC) has launched “Arctic Bus”, an initiative to design “a perfect bus” for high latitudes.

According to a statement released on 24 November by the Urals State University, which is part of this initiative, researchers are currently working to design a comprehensive winter field trial program for the prototype. The latter will have to undergo a series of tests in extreme Arctic weather conditions.

Apart from this, the design team is extensively studying the existing solutions implemented in the automotive industry ensuring that all bus components function correctly at outside temperatures down to minus 50 degrees Celsius and thinking of new ones. To meet the objective, proper materials are to be selected and a habitable module capable of keeping 20 people warm and safe for 24 hours is to be designed.

The “Arctic Bus” project will be funded under a Public-Private Partnership arrangement. The UIREC expects to obtain a grant of some 0.5 billion rubles to be partially covered by the Science and Higher Education Ministry and the Urals Automotive Plant. The new bus should be ready for production by 2023, with production kicking off in 2024 at the Urals Automotive Plant.

Arctic Today is a column by PORA CEO Alexander Stotskiy analyzing major international, national and regional events and trends in the Arctic.
Alexander Stotskiy
26 November 2021
Arctic Today