IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pdn/dispap/127.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Gradual Transition to Zero-Emission Bus Systems: Impact of Vehicle Scheduling on Charging Infrastructure and Fleet Replacement

Author

Listed:
  • Miriam Stumpe

    (Paderborn University)

  • David Rößler-von Saß

    (Freie Universtität Berlin)

  • Natalia Kliewer

    (Freie Universtität Berlin)

  • Guido Schryen

    (Paderborn University)

Abstract

This paper presents a holistic framework for the transition from diesel to electric bus networks, crucial for meeting EU regulations targeting 100\% zero-emission urban buses by 2035. We employ a two-phase solution approach: first, solving the Charging Location and Electric Vehicle Scheduling Problem (CLEVSP) to generate vehicle schedules for full electrification; second, addressing the multi-period transition planning problem to minimize the total cost of ownership for the electrified fleet. Our experiments show that CLEVSP-generated schedules significantly outperform traditional methods, resulting in lower costs. Additionally, gradual transition plans reduce emissions by up to 85\% compared to a diesel-only scenario. We find that vehicle rotations with long distances and sufficient idle time are prioritized for electrification, enabling earlier emission reductions and cost savings. This highlights the importance of adopting vehicle scheduling tailored for electric buses, rather than relying on legacy diesel schedules.

Suggested Citation

  • Miriam Stumpe & David Rößler-von Saß & Natalia Kliewer & Guido Schryen, 2024. "Gradual Transition to Zero-Emission Bus Systems: Impact of Vehicle Scheduling on Charging Infrastructure and Fleet Replacement," Working Papers Dissertations 127, Paderborn University, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:pdn:dispap:127
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://groups.uni-paderborn.de/wp-wiwi/RePEc/pdf/dispap/DP127.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. M. E. Kooten Niekerk & J. M. Akker & J. A. Hoogeveen, 2017. "Scheduling electric vehicles," Public Transport, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 155-176, July.
    2. Zhou, Yu & Ong, Ghim Ping & Meng, Qiang, 2023. "The road to electrification: Bus fleet replacement strategies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 337(C).
    3. Rinaldi, Marco & Picarelli, Erika & D'Ariano, Andrea & Viti, Francesco, 2020. "Mixed-fleet single-terminal bus scheduling problem: Modelling, solution scheme and potential applications," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    4. Rogge, Matthias & van der Hurk, Evelien & Larsen, Allan & Sauer, Dirk Uwe, 2018. "Electric bus fleet size and mix problem with optimization of charging infrastructure," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 282-295.
    5. Shehabeldeen, Ali & Foda, Ahmed & Mohamed, Moataz, 2024. "A multi-stage optimization of battery electric bus transit with battery degradation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 299(C).
    6. Nejat Karabakal & Jack R. Lohmann & James C. Bean, 1994. "Parallel Replacement under Capital Rationing Constraints," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 40(3), pages 305-319, March.
    7. Perumal, Shyam S.G. & Lusby, Richard M. & Larsen, Jesper, 2022. "Electric bus planning & scheduling: A review of related problems and methodologies," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 301(2), pages 395-413.
    8. He, Yi & Liu, Zhaocai & Zhang, Yiming & Song, Ziqi, 2023. "Time-dependent electric bus and charging station deployment problem," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    9. Zhou, Yu & Wang, Hua & Wang, Yun & Yu, Bin & Tang, Tianpei, 2024. "Charging facility planning and scheduling problems for battery electric bus systems: A comprehensive review," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    10. Nils Olsen & Natalia Kliewer & Lena Wolbeck, 2022. "A study on flow decomposition methods for scheduling of electric buses in public transport based on aggregated time–space network models," Central European Journal of Operations Research, Springer;Slovak Society for Operations Research;Hungarian Operational Research Society;Czech Society for Operations Research;Österr. Gesellschaft für Operations Research (ÖGOR);Slovenian Society Informatika - Section for Operational Research;Croatian Operational Research Society, vol. 30(3), pages 883-919, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wust, J. & Bekker, J. & Booysen, M.J., 2025. "Investigating scheduling of minibus taxis in South Africa's eventual electric paratransit," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    2. Zhou, Yu & Wang, Hua & Wang, Yun & Yu, Bin & Tang, Tianpei, 2024. "Charging facility planning and scheduling problems for battery electric bus systems: A comprehensive review," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    3. McCluskey, Jac & Druitt, Tom & Larkin, Charles, 2025. "Sustainability in transit: Assessing the economic case for electric bus adoption in the UK," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 493-508.
    4. Boud Verbrugge & Mohammed Mahedi Hasan & Haaris Rasool & Thomas Geury & Mohamed El Baghdadi & Omar Hegazy, 2021. "Smart Integration of Electric Buses in Cities: A Technological Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-23, November.
    5. Peng, Yiyang & Li, Guoyuan & Xu, Min & Chen, Anthony, 2024. "Mixed-fleet operation of battery electric bus and hydrogen bus: Considering limited depot size with flexible refueling processes," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    6. Luke, Justin & Ribeiro, Mateus Gheorghe de Castro & Martin, Sonia & Balogun, Emmanuel & Cezar, Gustavo Vianna & Pavone, Marco & Rajagopal, Ram, 2025. "Optimal coordination of electric buses and battery storage for achieving a 24/7 carbon-free electrified fleet," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 377(PC).
    7. Perumal, Shyam S.G. & Lusby, Richard M. & Larsen, Jesper, 2022. "Electric bus planning & scheduling: A review of related problems and methodologies," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 301(2), pages 395-413.
    8. Patcharida Kunawong & Warisa Nakkiew & Parida Jewpanya & Wasawat Nakkiew, 2025. "Optimizing Electric Bus Charging Infrastructure: A Bi-Level Mathematical Model for Strategic Station Location and Off-Board Charger Allocation in Transportation Network," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-28, February.
    9. Nathalie Marion Frieß & Ulrich Pferschy, 2024. "Planning a zero-emission mixed-fleet public bus system with minimal life cycle cost," Public Transport, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 39-79, March.
    10. Gkiotsalitis, K. & Iliopoulou, C. & Kepaptsoglou, K., 2023. "An exact approach for the multi-depot electric bus scheduling problem with time windows," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 306(1), pages 189-206.
    11. Zhou, Yu & Meng, Qiang & Ong, Ghim Ping, 2022. "Electric Bus Charging Scheduling for a Single Public Transport Route Considering Nonlinear Charging Profile and Battery Degradation Effect," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 49-75.
    12. Wu, Weitiao & Lin, Yue & Liu, Ronghui & Jin, Wenzhou, 2022. "The multi-depot electric vehicle scheduling problem with power grid characteristics," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 322-347.
    13. Najafi, Arsalan & Gao, Kun & Wang, Hua & Jasinski, Michal & Parishwad, Omkar & Cui, Shaohua & Liu, Xiaohan, 2025. "Joint charging scheduling of electric buses and active power flexibility integration," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    14. Foda, Ahmed & Abdelaty, Hatem & Mohamed, Moataz & El-Saadany, Ehab, 2023. "A generic cost-utility-emission optimization for electric bus transit infrastructure planning and charging scheduling," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    15. Dong, Changyin & Xiong, Zhuozhi & Li, Ni & Yu, Xinlian & Liang, Mingzhang & Zhang, Chu & Li, Ye & Wang, Hao, 2025. "A real-time prediction framework for energy consumption of electric buses using integrated Machine learning algorithms," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    16. Wang, Wensi & Yu, Bin & Zhou, Yu, 2024. "A real-time synchronous dispatching and recharging strategy for multi-line electric bus systems," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    17. Sistig, Hubert Maximilian & Sauer, Dirk Uwe, 2023. "Metaheuristic for the integrated electric vehicle and crew scheduling problem," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 339(C).
    18. Wagner, Dennis & Walther, Grit, 2024. "Techno-economic analysis of mixed battery and fuel cell electric bus fleets: A case study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 376(PA).
    19. Wang, Zhixin & Zheng, Feifeng & Hamdan, Sadeque & Jouini, Oualid, 2025. "On the spatio-temporal optimization for the charging scheduling of battery electric buses," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    20. Hu, Xiuyu & Li, Hailong & Xie, Chi, 2025. "Optimal charging scheduling of an electric bus fleet with photovoltaic-storage-charging stations," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 390(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    electric bus; multi-period planning; electric vehicle scheduling; fleet replacement; charging infrastructure;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R4 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pdn:dispap:127. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: WP-WiWi-Info (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/fwpadde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.