Total Cost of Ownership Model and Significant Cost Parameters for the Design of Electric Bus Systems

Abstract

Without experiences of electric buses, public transport authorities and bus operators have faced questions about how to implement them in a cost-effective way. Simple cost modelling cannot show how costs for different types of electric buses differ between different routes and timetables. Tools (e.g., HASTUS, PtMS, and optibus) which can analyse such details are complicated, time consuming to use, and provide insufficient insights into the mechanisms that influence the cost. This paper therefore proposes a method for how to calculate total cost of ownership, for different types of electric buses, in a way which can predict how the cost varies based on route and timetable. The method excludes factors which cause minor cost variations in an almost random manor, in order to better show the fundamental mechanisms influencing different costs. The method will help in finding ways to reduce the cost and help to define a few cases which deserve a deep analysis with more complete tools. Testing of the method in a Swedish context showed that the results are in line with other theoretical and practical studies, and how the total cost of ownership can vary depending on the variables.

A Model for Electrifying Fire Ambulance Service Stations Considering Practical Service Data and Charging Strategies

“…Different types of transportation electrification entail distinct considerations. Electrifying bus stations requires evaluating service schedules and routes to determine the optimal placement of buses and chargers, along with devising a charging strategy aimed at minimizing overall costs, as demonstrated in [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. Planning public electric charging stations for private EVs necessitates accounting for the unpredictable behaviors of vehicles.…”

“…The TCO calculation demonstrated that opportunity charging has a slight cost advantage over depot charging. In [3], a method is proposed to calculate the total cost of ownership for different types of electric buses. In this model, the operating cost comprises the sum of the driver cost, energy cost, maintenance and insurance costs, and electric grid fees.…”

“…Different forms of transportation electrification involve different considerations. Electrifying a fire ambulance service station involves distinct considerations compared with electrifying a bus service station [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. Unlike a bus station, which operates on a fixed schedule and route, a fire ambulance service station operates with random and emergent characteristics.…”

Vehicle Cycle Hierarchization Model to Determine the Order of Battery Electric Bus Deployment in Public Transport

“…Other issues discussed in the literature are the environmental impact of the BEB operation (e.g., in [49][50]) and the economic assessment of the investment in BEBs (mainly in the form of a total cost of ownership calculation); see [51][52][53][54].…”