Interactive Optimization of Electric Bus Scheduling and Overnight Charging

Zvonimir Dabčević and Joško Deur ()
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Zvonimir Dabčević: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Zagreb, 10002 Zagreb, Croatia
Joško Deur: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Zagreb, 10002 Zagreb, Croatia

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 16, 1-26

Abstract: The transition to fully electric bus (EB) fleets introduces new challenges in coordinating daily operations and managing charging energy needs, while accounting for infrastructure constraints. The paper proposes a three-stage optimization framework that integrates EB scheduling with overnight charging under realistic depot layout constraints. In the first stage, a mixed-integer linear program (MILP) determines the minimum number of EBs with ample batteries and related schedules to complete all timetabled trips. With the fleet size fixed, the second stage minimizes the EB battery capacity by optimizing trip assignments. In the third stage, charging schedules are iteratively optimized for different numbers of chargers to minimize charger power capacity and charging cost, while ensuring each EB is fully recharged before its first trip on the following day. The matrix-shape depot layout imposes spatial and operational constraints that restrict the charging and movement of EBs based on their parking positions, with EBs remaining stationary overnight. The entire process is repeated by incrementing the fleet size until a saturation point is reached, beyond which no further reduction in battery capacity is observed. This results in a Pareto frontier showing trade-offs between required battery capacity, number of chargers, charger power capacity, and charging cost. The proposed method is applied to a real-world airport parking shuttle service, demonstrating its potential to reduce the battery size and charging infrastructure demands while maintaining full operational feasibility.

Keywords: electric bus scheduling; overnight charging; charging scheduling; depot layout constraints; battery capacity minimization; mixed-integer linear programming (MILP); public transport electrification (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: 2025
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