Demand for electric vehicles (EVs) is growing rapidly, creating massive backlogs and waiting lists for consumers looking to do their part to support the transition to cleaner energy. But there is another opportunity out there to help meet the nation’s climate goals which could be even more impactful – transitioning the country’s public transit systems, specifically bus fleets, to EVs. Public transit agencies are already actively exploring this path, driven, in part, by government mandates and funding.
However, the transition for the estimated 6,800 organizations providing public transportation in the U.S. will require substantial upgrades and modifications to the country’s electrical grids. The EV transition will require new charging infrastructure, digital platforms to better manage charging needs, and targeted upgrades to regional power grids to serve the associated increase in electricity demand.
EV Transition Presents Opportunities and Challenges
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the transportation industry makes up 27% of overall emissions in the U.S., and shifting public buses to EVs can make meaningful contributions to the reduction of CO2 emissions. Specifically, buses can have an outsized impact given their relatively high fuel consumption (buses spend much more time on the road than individual passenger vehicles), and their significant production of exhaust, which negatively impacts urban air quality. By introducing EV buses to their fleets, public transit agencies can massively reduce or even eliminate the use of fossil fuels, cut air pollution, and drive down their carbon footprint.
However, a successful transition to electric fleets is not as simple as purchasing new EVs and putting them on the road. Bus depots, depending on their size, could become ‘megawatt-level’ electricity customers virtually overnight as transit agencies install and utilize charging infrastructure to support their growing EV fleets. As most bus terminals are located in commercial or industrial zones (where there may be other high-volume electricity customers), public transit agencies may be constrained by the limitations of existing grid infrastructure — requiring them to work proactively with local utilities, very early in the process, to ensure that their charging needs can be met.
Fleet managers will also have to consider how best to deploy EV charging infrastructure to optimize and streamline operations. Most bus terminals are very limited in terms of square footage, so installing individual chargers at each vehicle parking slot is unlikely to be a practical option. Large-scale, fast-charging infrastructure can optimize charging schedules and solve space limitations.
Keys to a Successful EV Transition
These critical infrastructure decisions need to be made at the beginning of the EV fleet transition process. A failure to plan properly can disrupt daily schedules and operations, cost millions of dollars of investment and delay EV fleet rollout for months. Addressing these infrastructure challenges need to be a priority as we seek to accelerate the rollout of EV buses. Public transit agencies will need to assess and evaluate how best to meet the EV charging needs of their growing fleet.
For example, existing vehicle depots may need to be modified or restructured to accommodate new charging infrastructure and associated charging processes. Maintenance facilities and service stations will need to be upgraded to support EV charging, while maintaining both gas and diesel fueling systems simultaneously, for a decade or more in many instances. In some cases, additional feeder lines will need to be added to local distribution grids, and utilities may need to increase overall capacity to meet demand. Even things as simple as parking structures, fueling queues and check in kiosks may need to be rethought.
Of course, these changes won’t happen overnight. Fleet managers will need to balance the future needs of EVs as well as their existing internal combustion engine vehicles. This means that EV charging infrastructure will need to be integrated with existing systems used for routing and dispatching vehicles, managing maintenance requirements and other operations processes. New, EV-specific fleet management solutions will need to be implemented to track vehicle energy consumption and optimize scheduling for maximum vehicle availability while monitoring battery life data, route data, traffic simulations and depot control in order to ensure efficient power use and energy storage optimization.
Planning for Change
Increased use of EV buses is an exciting step toward a widespread reduction in CO2 emissions. However, this transition must be accompanied by the necessary grid modernization and appropriate planning by bus operators, public transit agencies, technology suppliers, governments, and utilities. By planning ahead, public transport fleet owners and utilities can collaboratively enable a more sustainable future for our public transit systems.