Abstract
As university campuses look to decrease their greenhouse gas emissions, plug-in electric buses
may provide a low carbon alternative to conventionally fossil-powered buses. This study investigates
the viability for Unitrans, the bus service for the greater Davis area and the university campus,
to replace current compressed natural gas buses with plug-in electric versions. This study
presents an inventory of market available electric buses, their associated costs, incentives, and infrastructure
concerns, and compares projected energy use, net present cost, and greenhouse gas
emissions with their CNG counterparts. ADVISOR vehicle simulation software is used to estimate
the energy use of a typical electric bus (New Flyer Xcelsior XE40 300 kW) and compare to the current
CNG model (Orion V) along an actual Unitrans route. The model estimates that the selected
bus can travel 146 miles on a single charge, with a fuel economy of 1.75 kWh per mile, which
meets the service requirements. Results for bus replacement schedules between 5 and 49 in the
12-year analysis period indicate that between 1600 and 22,000 MT of carbon can be avoided. The
net present cost analysis indicates that the potential savings from the replacement of a single CNG
bus with an electric bus (with available incentives)