Urban Bus Network Electrification

Abstract

Electric busses are spreading in cities in hope of mitigating local air pollution. Currently, battery electric busses are more expensive and require novel operational methods to optimize their use (e.g., applying daytime charging, and operating trolleybuses). Despite these, the electrification of urban busses is usually ad-hoc, preliminary planning is superficial, and does not consider the relationships among bus lines. This chapter introduces a method regarding charging infrastructure planning, electric bus type selection, and cost estimation. Based on the characteristics of the vehicle, charging infrastructure, bus service (lines, timetable, etc.), and energy consumption, a line-group optimization is introduced, which is the main novelty. The method was applied in a case study considering static terminal and dynamic catenary charging. The results help operators to boost the electrification of the urban bus network.