Decision support for procurement of electric buses in public transport

Previous studies and investigations in the bus industry have shown a need for customized procurement of electric buses that include charging infrastructure, minimize risk for the parties involved, and lead to a sustainable future. The project therefore wanted to develop and test new sustainability-oriented decision support for procurement of public transport with electric buses. This was achieved by:
1. Based on existing projects with electric buses, identifying real yearly averages of costs, energy use and availability
2. Measuring noise (including from acceleration) from several electric buses, and based on the results, propose a new EU noise measurement standard for buses that includes acceleration
3. Integrating results from 1 and 2 in a process and business model for procurement
4. Testing and further developing an electric bus system selection method for procurement feasibility studies.

The SustainTrans research team researcher Sven Borén lead the study and Chalmers University were the main partner regarding testing and development of the system selection method. Key partners were Electrodriving Scandinavia, bus operators, municipalities, public transport authorities, bus manufacturer. The Swedish Energy Agency was the main sponsor of the project.

Project publications:

Electric buses’ sustainability effects, noise, and costs

Stakeholder collaboration Models for Public Transport Procurement of Electric Bus Systems

Final project report (in swedish)

Total Cost of Ownership Model and Significant Cost Parameters for the Design of Electric Bus Systems

Graphical abstract of the paper about TCO model and significant cost parameters for electric bus systems