Multi - Depot Electric Vehicle Scheduling Problem in Public Transportation

The sustainable practice of green transportation depends on the efficient scheduling of electric buses (EBs) for multiple vehicle types. The Electric Vehicle Scheduling Problem (EVSP) in public transportation is addressed in this work and a new methodology is proposed for scheduling the trips of electric buses that is based on the timetables framed with 768 trips - weekend and 640 trips - weekday. To compare annual total scheduling costs, which include the purchase cost of EBs and chargers as well as the operating costs of timetabled trips, etc., a nonlinear objective function is first created with explicit consideration of variations in the driving range, recharging duration, and energy consumption of EBs for Multiple Vehicle Types (MVT). The suggested methodology is then tested on a transit network that exists in the Madurai District, Tamil Nadu which considers three different routes with three depots. The outcome results in the comparison of Weekend and Weekday based annual total scheduling cost and operating cost of timetabled trips. Paramics is traffic micro simulation software used for analyzing and modeling transportation systems for three routes.