Battery-Assisted Trolleybus Network Design: Model and Application
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems
Volume 148, Issue 9
Abstract
Battery-assisted trolleybuses (BATs) are among the options to be considered for electrifying bus fleets in cities, with established trolleybus catenary networks. BATs charge on the move using existing trolleybus catenaries and can extend their routes using onboard batteries. As such, in cases where thermal bus lines overlap to some extent with a trolleybus catenary network, these may be replaced by BATs; such a case has the advantage of avoiding either opportunity charging facilities or the use of (heavy) electric buses operating under a depot-charging scheme. Aiming at exploiting these operational advantages, this paper proposes a transit route network electrification problem dealing with the optimal selection of existing bus lines to be operated by BATs. The proposed model was applied to a real-world case study in Athens, Greece, with results showing that design objective prioritization largely affects the degree of electrification attained.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. The authors confirm contribution to the paper as follows: study conception and design: K. Kepaptsoglou; data collection: E. Stavropoulou; model development: E. Stavropoulou and C. Iliopoulou; analysis and interpretation of results: E. Stavropoulou and C. Iliopoulou; draft manuscript preparation: E. Stavropoulou and C. Iliopoulou; manuscript revision and proofreading: K. Kepaptsoglou. All authors reviewed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the research project “ZEPHYR: Zero Emission Public Transport: Design Models and Decision Support Systems” funded by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (H.F.R.I.) under the “First Call for H.F.R.I. Research Projects to Support Faculty Members and Researchers and the Procurement of High-Cost Research Equipment Grant” (Project No. 1020).
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Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems
Volume 148 • Issue 9 • September 2022
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© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 17, 2021
Accepted: Apr 13, 2022
Published online: Jul 8, 2022
Published in print: Sep 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Dec 8, 2022
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