Contents
Undertaking i
Certificate iii
Acknowledgements v
Abstract vii
Table of contents ix
List of figures xiii
List of tables xv
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Background 1
1.2 Problem Statement 2
1.3 Aim 3
1.4 Objective 3
1.5 Method for each Objective 3
1.6 Scope 4
1.7 Limitations 4
2 Literature Review 5
2.1 Type of Electric Buses 5
2.1.1 Hybrid Electric Buses 5
2.1.2 Fuel cell electric buses 6
2.1.3 Battery-Electric Buses 6
2.1.4 Plug-in Hybrid Electric Buses 6
2.2 Charging Strategies 6
2.2.1 Depot Charging 6
2.2.2 On-Route Charging 7
2.3 Charging Technologies 7
2.3.1 Conductive Charging 7
2.3.2 Inductive or Contactless Charging 8
2.4 Battery Technology 8
2.4.1 Ni-Based Aqueous Battery System 9
2.4.2 Lithium-Ion Batteries. 9
2.5 Battery Charging Technology 9
2.5.1 Plugin Slow Charging 9
2.5.2 Plugin Fast Charging 9
2.5.3 Opportunity charging 9
2.6 Global practises: 11
2.7 Factors affecting E-Bus Deployment 12
2.7.1 Technology 12
2.7.2 Battery 12
2.7.3 Charging Technology and Methods 12
2.7.4 Operations 13
2.7.5 Costs 14
2.8 Performance Evaluation Framework for Electric buses 14
2.8.1 Need for E-bus Performance Evaluation 15
2.8.2 Benefits of E-bus Performance Evaluation 15
2.8.3 Performance evaluation indicators 15
3 Deployment of E-Buses in Ahmedabad 19
3.1 Background 19
3.1.1 BRTS Network Characteristics 19
3.1.2 Depot Characteristics 20
3.1.3 Infrastructure Development 22
3.1.4 Route Selection 22
3.1.5 Route Characteristics 23
Comparative Assessment of E-bus Deployment in Ahmedabad
3.1.6 Bus Distribution on Routes 27
3.1.7 Scheduling of Buses 28
3.1.8 Bus Characteristics 30
3.2 Phase – I Deployment of E-Buses in Ahmedabad 31
3.2.1 Bus and Battery Characteristics 31
3.2.2 Charging Infrastructure 31
3.3 Phase – II Deployment of E-Buses in Ahmedabad 32
3.3.1 Bus and Battery Characteristics 32
4 Analysis of Ahmedabad BRTS 35
4.1 Key Performance Indicators 35
4.2 Energy Efficiency 36
4.2.1 Bus Type and Bus Specification 36
4.2.2 Battery Type 37
4.2.3 Battery Range and Capacity 38
4.2.4 Analysis of E-buses running on BRT Corridors in Ahmedabad 39 4.2.5 Battery Consumption 41
4.2.6 Comparison of Battery Consumption across Different Operators 45
4.2.7 Battery Efficiency 46
4.3 Operational Efficiency of E-Buses in Ahmedabad 56
4.3.1 Charging station 56
4.3.2 Compatibility Between Chargers 57
4.3.3 Charging Time 58
4.3.4 Workforce reqd. at charging station 58
4.3.5 Charging infrastructure 59
4.3.6 Infrastructure and land Requirements 59
4.3.7 Repair and Maintenance 60
4.3.8 Deployment on Routes 60
4.4 Analysis for AJL 63
4.4.1 Comparison of Operational Efficiency across operator 67
4.4.2 Opportunity charging 67
4.4.3 State of Charge (SoC) Levels 69
4.4.4 Shift wise State of Charge Variation 70
4.4.5 Comparison in Service Time v/s Steering Hours across Different Operator 76
4.4.6 Comparison between CNG, Diesel and Electric Bus Vehicle Utilization 77
4.4.7 Replacement Factor 77
4.4.8 Staff/Bus Ratio 79
4.5 Cost Efficiency 79
5 Conclusion 85
5.1 Limitations to the Study 87
5.2 Way Forward 87
References 90
Appendix 1: Data Collection List 94
Appendix 2: Anova Test Result 96
Appendix 3: Shift wise mileage comparison 98
Appendix 4: Cost Efficiency 99
Appendix 5: SoC Variation on a Trip basis with different operator 101