Механика машин, механизмов и материалов (Sep 2018)
Electrification of Urban Transport. Basic Stages in Creating Electric Buses Fleet
Abstract
The paper is of an analytical nature and is devoted to the systematization of approaches that take place in the tasks of creating an urban fleet of electric buses. A holistic view on the problem including comparison of buses with different types of propulsion systems is presented. The paper introduces requirements for data and documents reflecting the main factors and stages of creating a fleet of electric buses. These stages are the following: 1 — analysis of possible variants of “electric bus — charging configuration” for the routes under consideration and ensuring their technical feasibility; 2 — economic analysis of the total cost of ownership for the fleet; 3 — development of a business plan; 4 — support for the transition process on basis of the concept of an “open system”. The composition of the initial data and their formats with corresponding examples are given in the framework of the first stage. The key procedure of the first stage is to determine the electric power consumption of an electric bus, taking into account the parameters of its design, charging configuration and route features. Methods and tools for estimating the energy consumption of an electrical bus (cost distance analysis, modelling the operation, etc.) are analyzed and features of the methods are presented. The total cost of ownership (TCO) is assumed as the decisive factor in the second and subsequent stages. Structure and sensitivity of TCO are analyzed. The paper presents part of the ongoing research within the framework of the project PLATON: Planning Process and Tool for Step-by-Step Conversion of the Conventional or Mixed Bus Fleet to a 100 % Electric Bus Fleet. The project was approved for funding in the ERA-NET Electric Mobility Europe Call 2016. Project period is 01.2018–06.2020.
