Electrifying Buses for Public Transport: Boundaries with a Performance Analysis Based on Method and Experience

Bruno Dalla Chiara (), Giovanni Pede, Francesco Deflorio and Marco Zanini
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Bruno Dalla Chiara: Politecnico di Torino, Department DIATI-Transport Systems, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Turin, Italy
Giovanni Pede: ENEA, S. Maria di Galeria, 00123 Rome, Italy
Francesco Deflorio: Politecnico di Torino, Department DIATI-Transport Systems, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Turin, Italy
Marco Zanini: GTT, Gruppo Torinese Trasporti, 10128 Turin, Italy

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 19, 1-33

Abstract: It is widely expected that electric vehicles will be able to satisfy most road transport needs. The aim of this paper is to provide an answer to how far the electrification of buses used for local public transport can be pursuable through insight into the engineering problems and range, i.e., the autonomy on battery, as well as the efficiency of recharging systems. At first, a wide survey of the main solutions that are present on the market, or foreseen for the near future, concerning the electrification of fleets for LPT is provided. Thereafter, such solutions are compared through numerical applications and by using a practical case study, pertaining to the city of Turin (IT), where static inductive charging has been extensively experienced. Particular attention is paid to engineering problems and to the autonomy on battery of the vehicles as a function of their mass, electric energy storage system, charging opportunities and infrastructure, while comparing the time and efficiency of recharging systems. The authors conclude by recommending the most promising alternatives for battery electric buses while outlining their limits, striving to provide for the literature a research instrument, which is lacking, for delimitating the applicability of electric buses for LPT while outlining the viable solutions.

Keywords: public transport; electric traction; ITS; energy efficiency; recharging cycles; battery electric vehicles (BEV); state of charge (SOC) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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