On the dual-resource overnight charging problem of battery electric buses

Abstract

Battery electric buses (BEBs) enhance urban sustainability but face challenges with costly charging and resource waste due to overlooked staffing and scheduling inefficiencies. This study incorporates dispatcher resources into the overnight charging scheduling of BEBs, addressing the dual-resource synergy problem involving both charging piles and dispatchers. By doing so, it fills the existing research gap concerning the role of charging dispatchers in the charging scheduling process. It also accounts for battery degradation costs and the nonlinearity of charging times. Initially, we employed a single-stage mixed-integer linear programming model, which we later developed into a two-stage model for more efficient management of large-scale public transport systems. Our numerical tests confirm the enhanced computational efficiency of the two-stage model. A case study of bus networks of varying sizes, based on the Shanghai TELD charging depot, is conducted. The results demonstrate that the dual-resource joint charging schedule effectively reduces the total operating cost by 10.08 %–12.29 % and helps optimize the allocation of charging resources within the depot. The outcomes of the case study offer valuable insights to managers, underscoring the importance of scientific battery SOC management, judicious equilibrium of charging pile resources, and optimal formulation of charging resource allocation strategies. Future research could explore the model’s scalability to larger and more complex BEB networks, considering diverse regional infrastructure configurations.