E-Mobility Development Strategy in Public Urban Transport-Introduction of Articulated Electric Buses

Abstract

Electric buses have a steady trend of increasing usage in many cities in Europe and the world. In the previous period, electric buses with a standard length of 12m were the most represented, while articulated buses of 18m had a lower representation due to poorer technical and operational performance (lower passenger capacity, limited autonomy of movement, long charging time at the depot or terminus...) compared to conventional articulated buses. With the development of new generations of electrical energy storage systems (batteries, supercapacitors) and fast charging systems using high-power chargers, articulated electric buses have become increasingly competitive with conventional buses. In the coming period, one of the E-mobility development strategies related to public urban transport is the introduction of articulated electric buses instead of conventionally driven buses, primarily on central city lines as well as on the lines of the BRT system. The paper will present the results of the trial operation of the Higer UC 18 articulated electric bus on city line No. 31 (Studentski trg-Konjarnik) in Belgrade, which was carried out in October 2022, from the aspect of energy efficiency and environmental advantages. Through a case study of the replacement of articulated buses with diesel engines currently operating on line no. 31 with articulated electric buses, an analysis of the economic feasibility of introducing articulated electric buses into operation will be carried out.