Battery Electric Bus Network: Efficient Design and Cost Comparison of Different Powertrains

Orlando Barraza and Miquel Estrada
Additional contact information
Orlando Barraza: Barcelona Innovative Transportation Research Group, Barcelona School of Civil Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Miquel Estrada: Barcelona Innovative Transportation Research Group, Barcelona School of Civil Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 08034 Barcelona, Spain

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 9, 1-28

Abstract: Recent advances in the electromobility of bus fleets improve transit service sustainability but require the development of vehicle recharging facilities. The paper defines a methodology to design an efficient transit network operated by battery electric buses in cities with grid-shaped road network, based on continuous approximations. An analytical model defines the optimal network configuration that minimizes the agency cost, the monetization of emissions and the travel time of transit users. The analytical model allows the comparison of total cost, emissions and bus performance to other fuel powertrains. The methodology is tested in Guadalajara (Mexico) to propose an alternative bus configuration, outperforming the current bus service and reducing the agency cost and environmental impact. The analytical model justifies the network rationalization in fewer routes to reduce the total cost of the system. The deployment of standard battery electric buses with opportunity charging scheme obtains the lowest total cost of the system.

Keywords: bus network design; battery electric bus; opportunity charging; emissions; life cycle analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/9/4745/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/9/4745/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:9:p:4745-:d:542019

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().