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Consultants: ART’s battery‑electric bus pilot performs well; modeling says 1-for-1 fleet replacement is feasible with charge management
Summary
WSP consultants presented six months of BEB pilot data showing 12–14 hours average weekday utilization and winter energy increases; ChargeSim modeling indicates ART can operate existing service with battery buses 1:1 but will need midday charging and charge‑management systems and modest additional depot power during cold days.
Consultants from WSP presented interim findings from Arlington Transit’s six‑month battery electric bus (BEB) pilot and results of depot charging simulations using ChargeSim.
Charvi Gupta, who led the presentation, summarized pilot deployment and said four battery electric buses began service last August and used a mix of portable chargers and site chargers before depot chargers were installed. Gupta said the pilot focused on operational range, replacement ratios and comparative costs versus CNG and RNG buses.
Dana Lowell, WSP senior zero‑emission technical advisor, reviewed operational and charging data and the software modeling. Lowell said weekday BEB utilization averaged about 12 to 14 hours per day and that energy use rose from roughly 2.2 kilowatt‑hours per mile in September to about 3 kWh/mi in winter months because heating raises energy demand. “This is 100% expected,” Lowell said, adding that the winter energy increase is driven by heating needs rather than a failure of the technology.
Using operational data and ChargeSim, the consultants simulated a hypothetical 100% BEB fleet at the Arlington operations and maintenance facility (AOMF). Lowell said the model found ART could replace current CNG buses one‑for‑one with battery electric buses for today’s service levels and the chargers ART plans to install, but noted two important caveats: buses must be reliably plugged in overnight and some midday charging will be required for buses that return to the garage between service blocks. The simulation estimated a peak depot demand near 4.5 megawatts for a full BEB fleet in a worst‑case scenario, though charge‑management strategies can reduce that peak substantially.
The consultants presented early recommendations: continue the pilot through September to capture data from depot pantograph chargers installed in April; deploy the eight additional Gillig BEBs due in July–August on a range of routes; adopt phased vehicle replacement based on a minimum battery capacity recommendation; and develop standard operating procedures and charge‑management protocols to handle nighttime and midday charging operations.
Committee members asked about long‑term reliability and whether more buses would be required under future service expansions; Lowell said average‑day modeling supports a 1:1 replacement ratio for current service but that added service hours or more extreme cold days may require additional charging infrastructure and operational procedures rather than a larger fleet.
Gupta and Lowell said the team will deliver an interim report in June and a final report by the end of the year for agency review.
