A Comprehensive Study on Electrification of Old Bus Fleets: a Real Case Study in Ottawa

The world of transportation is going through a period of significant change due to all the new environmental sustainability regulations being introduced globally. Therefore, this work aims to understand whether to replace the existing diesel buses with electric ones along a line in Ottawa. First, a model is built in order to evaluate the consumption, using strict assumptions in order to simulate as much as possible the conditions in Ontario. The electric bus that can be used to run a specific route is evaluated, considering the characteristics of the current fleet employed. The charging infrastructure is designed following the following assumptions, in particular: the fast charging of the depot is coupled with the fast charging of pantograph opportunities located at the airport stop. A Well-to-Wheel analysis, considering Ontario's energy mix, is performed to highlight the reduction in GreenHouse Gas - GHG emissions due to the use of electric buses. Finally, a brief cost analysis is developed to highlight the payback time of the investment.