Strategic Planning and Design for Electric Bus Systems

Environmental concerns due to fossil fuel consumption and emissions drive transportation industry to shift towards low-impact and sustainable energy sources. Public transit system, as an integral part of multimodal transportation ecosystem, has been supporting such a shift by exploring the adoption of electric vehicles. In recent years, the advancement in Battery Electric Buses (BEBs) and their supporting infrastructure technology made them a viable replacement for diesel and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses. Yet, it remains a challenge on how to optimally deploy the BEB system due to its unique spatiotemporal characteristics. To fill this gap, this research introduces a spatio-temporal optimization model to identify the optimal deployment strategies for BEB system. The identified spatio-temporal deployment of BEB system can minimize the cost associated with vehicle procurement and charging station allocation, while satisfying transit operation constraints such as maintaining existing bus operation routes and schedules. The proposed method is implemented onto the transit network operated by the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) to showcase its effectiveness. As many transit agencies are testing electric buses and considering the integration of electric buses into future fleet, this research will help transit agencies make informed decisions regarding strategic planning and design of BEB systems.

• Record URL:
  https://www.ugpti.org/resources/reports/details.php?id=913
• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/36704
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This document was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Utah, Salt Lake City

  Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  122 South Central Campus Drive, Suite 104
  Salt Lake City, UT  United States  84112

  University of California, Riverside

  School of Public Policy
  Riverside, CA  United States 

  Mountain-Plains Consortium

  North Dakota State University
  Fargo, ND  United States  58108

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Liu, Xiaoyue Cathy
  • Wei, Ran
• Publication Date: 2018-7

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Maps; References;
• Pagination: 30p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Electric buses; Electric vehicle charging; Optimization; Routes and routing; Spatial analysis; Strategic planning
• Geographic Terms: Utah
• Subject Areas: Energy; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01678536
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: MPC 18-355
• Files: UTC, NTL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Aug 27 2018 9:48AM