Optimization of Scheduling and Timetabling for Multiple Electric Bus Lines Considering Nonlinear Energy Consumption Model

Timetabling and scheduling of electric buses (EBs) are crucial for a sustainable city transportation system. Most studies mainly focus on the scheduling and timetabling for one EB line based on the assumption that energy consumption of a battery is linear with distance. In this study, timetabling and scheduling for multiple EB lines are investigated by considering nonlinear energy consumption due to the dynamic load of buses. The optimization objectives are to minimize the number of vehicles and total operation costs, in which the constraints include the limitations of operation range and nonlinear energy consumption of the battery and the capacity of buses can be simultaneously charged at charging stations. Further, an improved particle swarm optimization algorithm is developed to obtain the optimal solution set. Compared with the existing schedule, the proposed schedule can not only reduce the number of vehicles and total charging costs but also distribute the charging periods during off-peak hours to reduce the impact on the urban electricity grid.