A Guide for Resilient Zero-Emission Transit Bus Fleets

The transit market in the United States is undergoing a significant shift from predominantly fossil–powered vehicles to zero-emission buses (ZEBs). When transit organizations consider introducing these types of vehicles into their fleets, the primary concern is whether or not the vehicles can meet the agency’s service requirements for both regularly scheduled service and for unscheduled service to address local or regional events and emergencies. This concern exists both at the individual route and fleet levels.  The objective of this project is to develop a guide for resilient zero-emission transit bus fleets, covering both the resilience of scheduled service and the ability to provide transportation services during unscheduled events.  The focus should be on power generation, distribution, and charging infrastructure for battery electric buses and hydrogen supply and fueling infrastructure for fuel cell electric buses; institutional relations; and operations. This project will not address zero-emission transit bus lithium-ion fire prevention and risk management in depth, as that will be handled in a parallel project. At a minimum, the research team shall: (1) survey available and emerging technologies and strategies for improving resilience of a zero-emission transit bus fleet, such as on-site power generation, microgrids, backup utility feeds, local liquid hydrogen storage, and vehicle-to-grid technologies; (2) summarize available technologies; (3) identify model applications of strategies; (4) estimate costs for implementation; and (5) assess the roles such technologies and strategies may play in the disaster response plans of communities and states.  

• Record URL:
  http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=5259

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $215000
• Contract Numbers:

  Project H-61

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Transit Cooperative Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC    20001

  Federal Transit Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Project Managers:

  Garcia-Colberg, Mariela

• Performing Organizations:

  Center for Transportation and the Environment

  Box 8601
  Raleigh, NC  United States  27695-8601
• Start Date: 20240528
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Disaster preparedness; Disaster resilience; Electric vehicle charging; Hydrogen fuels; Public transit; Vehicle fleets; Zero emission vehicles
• Subject Areas: Energy; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Security and Emergencies; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01789443
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project H-61
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: Nov 25 2021 1:19PM