Optimal Electric Bus Scheduling Based on the Combination of All-Stop and Short-Turning Strategies

The emission of greenhouse gases from public transportation has aroused extensive public attention in recent years. Electric buses have the advantage of zero emission, which could prevent the further deterioration of environmental problems. Since 2018, the number of electric buses has exceeded that of traditional buses. Thus, it is an inevitable trend for the sustainable development of the automobile industry to replace traditional fuel buses, and developing electric buses is an important measure to relieve traffic congestion. Furthermore, the bus scheduling has a significant impact on passenger travel times and operating costs. It is common that passenger demand at different stops is uneven in a public transportation system. Since applying all-stop scheduling only cannot match the passenger demand of some stops with bus resources, this paper proposes an integrated all-stop and short-turning service for electric buses, reducing the influence of uneven ridership on load factor to enhance transit attractiveness. Simultaneously, considering the time-of-use pricing strategy used by the power sector, the combinational charging strategy of daytime and overnight is proposed to reduce electricity costs. Finally, the branch-and-price algorithm is adopted to solve this problem. Compared with all-stop scheduling, the results demonstrate a reduction of 13.5% in total time cost under the combinational scheduling.

Automated summary

Electric buses, with zero emissions, are replacing traditional fuel buses as a trend in the automobile industry for sustainable development. A combination of all-stop and short-turning service for electric buses is proposed to improve transit attractiveness, while a combinational charging strategy helps reduce electricity costs. Using the branch-and-price algorithm, the results show a 13.5% reduction in total time cost compared to all-stop scheduling.