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

Anders Grauers, Sven Borén and Oscar Enerbäck
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Anders Grauers: Department of Electrical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
Sven Borén: Blekinge Institute of Technology, TISU, SE-37179 Karlskrona, Sweden
Oscar Enerbäck: Rise Research Institutes of Sweden, Lindholmspiren 3A, SE-41756 Gothenburg, Sweden

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 12, 1-28

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.

Keywords: electric bus; cost model; total cost of ownership; TCO; charging strategy; public transport; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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