Joint Optimal Design of Electric Bus Service and Charging Facilities

Abstract

With the development of new energy technologies, fuel buses with internal combustion engines are gradually being replaced by electric buses. In order to save on system costs, an optimization model is proposed to jointly design the bus service and charging facilities. Considering the complexity of the original problem, the problem is decomposed into two subproblems, i.e., bus service design and charging facilities design. The bus service design is solved by a genetic algorithm with an embedded enumeration method. The non-linear charging facilities design problem is firstly converted to a linear problem and then solved by existing solving software. Sensitivity analysis of parameters such as passenger flow demand, charging power, and bus stopping time is also conducted to reveal their impact on the optimization of electric bus lines. The results indicate that, compared to the commonly used depot charging strategy, the proposed method reduces the operating cost per unit hour from RMB 16,378.30 to RMB 8677.99, a 47% reduction, and decreases the system cost from RMB 36,386.30 to RMB 29,637.99, an 18.5% reduction. This study addresses the charging and operation problem of electric bus lines. By considering charging vehicles while in operation, a joint optimization model for the operation of electric bus lines and the layout of charging facilities is established. An algorithm based on the combination of a genetic algorithm and enumeration method is designed, combined with a linear programming solver to solve the problem.