Modelling of Electric Bus Operation and Charging Process: Potential Contribution of Local Photovoltaic Production

Abstract

The transition from diesel to electric buses allows the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. However, the impacts of charging strategies on the quality of bus services and the utility grid must be assessed to ensure the feasibility of the energy transition in the public transportation sector. This study investigates the performances of different locations and sizes of charging infrastructures by presenting the comprehensive modelling of a bus network. It also estimates the potential benefits of a local photovoltaic (PV) production to reduce negative impacts on the utility grid. The presented approach is used for modelling one urban bus line in Compiègne, France, and simulations are performed for various case studies. The results demonstrate that the proposed method allows analysing the impact of the charging process on the quality of bus services by determining the delays of arrivals. The simulations also show the impacts of charger placement on bus on-board battery capacity, total peak power demand of battery charging, and PV self-consumption ratio. The amount of PV energy used directly to charge buses remains low, although it varies between scenarios. PV energy during winter is not sufficient to fully charge buses; however, it can be enough with additional stationary storage in the summer.

Modular Bus Unit Scheduling for an Autonomous Transit System under Range and Charging Constraints

“…Correspondingly, the current operating strategy of one electric bus (EB) covering one trip is used as the control group, and the relevant parameters are set as follows [28][29][30][31]. c m (EB) = $97 per vehicle, c t (EB) = $12.34 per hour, c s (EB) = $20.56 per hour, c p (EB) = $25, c w (EB) = $6.17 per hour, Q(EB) = 250 kWh, µ(EB) = 0.7.…”

“…However, the aforementioned studies have largely overlooked the energy limitations and charging arrangement of electric-powered modular buses. It is well known that charging strategies, influenced by factors such as charging time, charging station capacity, and power resources, are crucial for the sustainable operation of electrified transportation systems [28][29][30][31]. In comparison to conventional buses, MB units are characterized by smaller sizes and battery capacities.…”

“…Test scenario of three in-service bus lines. According to the research associated with the modular bus [20-23], we tune the parameters associated with the modular bus, including c m = $10 per vehicle, c t = $3.43 per hour, c s = $5.72 per hour, c p = $3, c w = $1.72 per hour, Q = 30 kWh, µ = 0.7, M = 15 passengers, U = 8, t a = 3 min, t b = 30 min, t c = 10 min.The durations w i − v i for different node types are set as follows: (1) i = o, w i − v i = 0; (2) i ∈ K, w i − v i is determined by the actual operation time of the bus lines; (3) i ∈ D, w i − v i = 30 min; (4) i ∈ F, w i − v i = 20 min; (5) i = s, w i − v i = ∞.Correspondingly, the current operating strategy of one electric bus (EB) covering one trip is used as the control group, and the relevant parameters are set as follows[28][29][30][31]. c m (EB) = $97 per vehicle, c t (EB) = $12.34 per hour, c s (EB) = $20.56 per hour, c p (EB) = $25, c w (EB) = $6.17 per hour, Q(EB) = 250 kWh, µ(EB) = 0.7.…”

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Transport Accessibility, and Accommodation Accessibility on the Energy Intensity of Public Tourist Transport

“…The energy intensity of public transport is referred to the energy consumption of public transport per unit of passengers transported by this type of transport or per unit of transport performance of this type of transport (MJ/pkm) [90,91]. It can be used to compare the energy efficiency of different public transport systems or to monitor progress toward sustainable transport [82,[92][93][94][95]. As an aside, the primary energy of public transport is the sum of primary energy (e.g., fuel, electricity) consumed by vehicles used in public transport.…”