Life cycle thinking-based analysis of diesel and electric-powered buses for Canadian transit systems

IF 3.1 3区工程技术 Q2 ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

International Journal of Sustainable Transportation Pub Date : 2024-05-02 DOI:10.1080/15568318.2024.2343727

Bhuwan Paudel , Kasun Hewage , Sandun Wannniarachchi , Piyaruwan Perera , Gyan Chhipi-Shrestha , Rehan Sadiq

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Abstract

Increasing greenhouse gas emissions from the conventional fleet of diesel buses has made Canadian transit agencies explore low-emission alternative fuels. Despite electric buses showing great potential to reduce emissions during their operational phase, the transformation from diesel buses to electric buses would require in-depth analysis pertaining to their economic and social implications. Published literature highlights the importance of developing a comprehensive framework that considers multiple decision parameters over a life cycle perspective for analyzing different fuel options to replace the existing fleet of diesel buses. This paper assesses the triple-bottom-line sustainability of diesel and electric buses in different regions of Canada. Moreover, a framework is proposed to incorporate multiple decision criteria (life cycle environmental, economic, and social impacts) over different perspectives to make the best decisions for transitioning the diesel bus fleet. The results showed that the environmental performance of electric buses highly depended on the electricity grid mix. Despite diesel buses having a low cost of production compared to electric buses, most provinces showed a low life cycle operational cost for electric buses. Electric buses’ life cycle social impacts are high during their production stage, whereas diesel buses have the highest social impacts during their operational phase. Overall, electric buses have a high sustainability performance in all provinces and territories in Canada except Nunavut. The proposed framework and findings can aid policymakers and planners in implementing electric buses for public transit systems in Canada and beyond.

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基于生命周期思维的加拿大公交系统柴油和电动公交车分析

传统柴油公交车排放的温室气体越来越多，促使加拿大公交机构探索低排放的替代燃料。尽管电动公交车在运营阶段显示出减少排放的巨大潜力，但从柴油公交车到电动公交车的转变需要对其经济和社会影响进行深入分析。已发表的文献强调了制定一个综合框架的重要性，该框架应从生命周期的角度考虑多个决策参数，以分析取代现有柴油公交车队的不同燃料方案。本文评估了加拿大不同地区柴油公交车和电动公交车的三重底线可持续性。此外，本文还提出了一个框架，从不同角度纳入多种决策标准（生命周期环境、经济和社会影响），为柴油公交车队的过渡做出最佳决策。结果表明，电动公交车的环保性能在很大程度上取决于电网组合。尽管与电动公交车相比，柴油公交车的生产成本较低，但大多数省份显示电动公交车的生命周期运营成本较低。电动公交车在生产阶段的生命周期社会影响较大，而柴油公交车在运营阶段的社会影响最大。总体而言，除努纳武特地区外，电动公交车在加拿大所有省份和地区都具有较高的可持续性表现。建议的框架和研究结果可以帮助政策制定者和规划者在加拿大及其他地区的公共交通系统中采用电动巴士。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Sustainable Transportation Multiple-

CiteScore

8.90

自引率

2.60%

发文量

期刊介绍： The International Journal of Sustainable Transportation provides a discussion forum for the exchange of new and innovative ideas on sustainable transportation research in the context of environmental, economical, social, and engineering aspects, as well as current and future interactions of transportation systems and other urban subsystems. The scope includes the examination of overall sustainability of any transportation system, including its infrastructure, vehicle, operation, and maintenance; the integration of social science disciplines, engineering, and information technology with transportation; the understanding of the comparative aspects of different transportation systems from a global perspective; qualitative and quantitative transportation studies; and case studies, surveys, and expository papers in an international or local context. Equal emphasis is placed on the problems of sustainable transportation that are associated with passenger and freight transportation modes in both industrialized and non-industrialized areas. All submitted manuscripts are subject to initial evaluation by the Editors and, if found suitable for further consideration, to peer review by independent, anonymous expert reviewers. All peer review is single-blind. Submissions are made online via ScholarOne Manuscripts.