Optimizing Fleet Structure for Autonomous Electric Buses: A Route-Based Analysis in Aachen, Germany

Sustainability, vol. 16, pp. 4093

Abstract

Intelligent transportation systems enhance the potential for sustainable, user-friendly, and efficient transport. By eliminating driver costs, autonomous buses facilitate the redesign of networks, timetables, and fleet structure in a cost-effective manner. The electrification of bus fleets offers the opportunity to further improve the environmental sustainability of transportation networks, but requires adjustments to vehicle schedules due to the limited range and charging requirements. This paper examines the intricate relationship between electrification and autonomous buses. To this end, timetables for autonomous electric buses of different sizes were developed for a real bus route in Aachen, Germany. The resulting electric vehicle scheduling problem was then solved using an adaptive large neighborhood search to determine the number of vehicles needed and the total cost of ownership. By eliminating driver costs, vehicles with lower passenger capacity become much more attractive, albeit at a slightly higher cost. In comparison, the incremental costs of electrification are low if the right approach is taken. Fluctuations in typical passenger numbers can be used to modify timetables and vehicle schedules to accommodate the charging needs of autonomous electric buses. In particular, electric bus concepts with fewer charging stations and lower charging power benefit from adapting the timetable to passenger numbers. The results demonstrate that the specific requirements of electric buses should be considered when adapting networks and timetables in order to design a sustainable transport network.

Authors 4

1. Hubert Maximilian Sistig corresponding Aachen Chair for Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems Institute for Power Electronics and Electrical Drives (ISEA)

   Jülich Aachen Research Alliance · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Chair for Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems, Institute for Power Electronics and Electrical Drives (ISEA), RWTH Aachen University, Campus-Boulevard 89, 52074 Aachen, Germany

   Jülich Aachen Research Alliance, JARA-Energy, Templergraben 55, 52056 Aachen, Germany

2. Philipp Sinhuber
   Affiliation as printed

   ebusplan GmbH, Boxgraben 38, 52064 Aachen, Germany

3. Matthias Rogge
   Affiliation as printed

   ebusplan GmbH, Boxgraben 38, 52064 Aachen, Germany

4. Dirk Uwe Sauer Aachen Chair for Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems Institute for Power Electronics and Electrical Drives (ISEA)

   Forschungszentrum Jülich · Helmholtz-Institute Münster · Jülich Aachen Research Alliance · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Chair for Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems, Institute for Power Electronics and Electrical Drives (ISEA), RWTH Aachen University, Campus-Boulevard 89, 52074 Aachen, Germany

   Helmholtz Institute Münster (HI MS), IEK 12, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany

   Jülich Aachen Research Alliance, JARA-Energy, Templergraben 55, 52056 Aachen, Germany