A Digitally-secured Automated Fleet Management Scheme for Electric Buses based on Blockchain

Electrification of public transportation is one of the plausible ways through which many countries are adopting sustainable mobility. As the new transportation paradigm is being embraced by many nations, the uncertainties in traction technology, management of bus-charging, and demands of efficient public mobility will pose challenges in ensuring the timely schedule of the fleet. Also, with an additional level of financial transaction, between the bus operators and the charge operators, and the digital payment modes getting preferences, trust and security issues would arise. A blockchain-based system for fleet management can ensure minimal transaction cost and an efficient schedule and operation. As new transaction mechanisms emerge, blockchain could facilitate transactive energy exchanges. This paper proposes a blockchain-based mechanism for electric buses (EBs) charging. An optimization framework incorporating blockchain transactive operation has been proposed to solve for the most efficient fleet schedule at the least charging cost. The architecture of the proposed methodology is detailed, and the case study of Quito-Ecuador is evaluated.