1. MSc Thesis work
Referee: Prof. Ing. Gaetano Fusco
“Design of a public transport network using BEV”
ABSTRACT
This work meant to provide an example of how a design model could fit to a real-size public transport
network. It also allows choosing the most proper power system: internal combustion or fully electric. This
work is divided into five parts. In the first one, main characteristics of electric vehicle (EVs) is introduced
and the state of the art of which is presented. A comparison between different battery technology and
various electric systems is here carried on. In the second part, the case study is presented. This consists of
ten internal combustion bus lines in Rome, which run mainly in the East sector of the city, specifically
insisting on the Tiburtina train station terminal that represents a central transit point of this particular area
of the city. The third part applies a simulation model for the present bus service calibrated with data from
AVM system (Automatic Vehicle Monitoring). The forth section is the core of the entire work and provides
the model for Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) applied to the case study. The software code, written in
Matlab®, deals with the analysis and optimization of the different cost components, including purchase and
operational ones, and provides as output the net present cost, which represents the objective function for
the comparison with the present situation. In the last part, the optimization of the electric fleet is carried
out and results of this are compared with the previous scenarios. Specifically, optimization program helps
to find a trade-off between company requirements, on the one hand, and users’ one, on the other.
Considerations on the opportunity of using big battery packs charged at terminuses only, rather than
lightening vehicles, reducing battery capacity, and charging them at stops are made.
Federico Giubilei