"The Rose and the Thorns": Operational Challenges in Electrifying School Bus Fleets

By Alfred Karam – CDPT

November 22, 2023

Introduction

The push for zero-emission vehicles, particularly electric buses (eBuses), is gaining momentum as environmental concerns take center stage. Some states, such as New York, have mandated their school bus fleets be fully converted to zero-emission buses by 2035. However, the transition to electric fleets for school districts comes with its own set of challenges, creating a symbolic landscape of roses and thorns. In this article, we explore the operational challenges school districts may face as they embark on the electrification journey. Please note that the challenges are based on a fully electrified school bus fleet, not on a handful of electric buses.

Planning and First Steps

1.???? Electrical Needs - First Assessment

The initial step is to assess the fleet's energy consumption comprehensively. Hiring a consultant to analyze this data helps determine the appropriate type of chargers required for the buses. Sharing these findings with the Power Provider in your local to initiate a dialogue to determine if an upgrade to the electrical service is needed; in most cases, an upgrade will be required.

2.???? Stakeholder Group

Forming a stakeholder group is crucial for successful electrification. Including key personnel such as the superintendent, director of transportation, consultant, district engineer, district

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architect, director of facilities, and power provider representative ensures a holistic approach to planning and implementation.

Timeline for eBus Deployment

Understanding the timeline for eBus deployment is vital. This includes conducting electrical needs studies, planning and implementing infrastructure, construction, procuring chargers and buses, managing the charging process, and creating a comprehensive plan for short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals. For transportation directors in New York State, with the target of achieving 100% zero-emission fleets by 2035, infrastructure improvements must be strategically planned to avoid operational disruptions.

Having the required electrical power to power the entire fleet is the biggest challenge for all involved. Purchasing an electric school bus is very low in the planning cycle. It is all about having the electrical capacity to drive the school bus fleet conversion to meet your state mandate!

Understand the Obstacles

Identifying and addressing obstacles is crucial. Challenges such as bus proposition, amortization, charger purchasing and installation, limited space for indoor and outdoor fleets, and uncertainty regarding grant availability and staff training must be considered.

Personnel – Different Skills for Future Ops

As the operational landscape evolves, training personnel becomes critical. The shift to electric buses requires a workforce skilled in handling high-voltage equipment, understanding the nuances of eBus operations, and understanding school bus transportation operations. https://www.electrichybridvehicletechnology.com/opinion/qa-how-to-design-charging-infrastructure-for-an-electric-fleet.html

eFuel Consumption - What is Off-Peak Demand Time

Understanding off-peak demand times for electricity is essential for cost-effective charging. Operating buses during peak demand times will increase electricity costs, emphasizing the importance of strategic charging scheduling.

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Budgeting – eBus Replacement Plan

Budgeting for eBus replacement involves understanding the costs associated with smart chargers and their maintenance. Considering potential vendor commission fees and factoring in extended warranties is crucial for financial planning. I believe the most challenging part of this project, for transportation supervisors and district administration is convincing district voters to shell out three to five times the amount of monies we usually spend on the bus purchase proposition. Voter rejection will cause us many problems and cost more as we try to get to a 100% electric fleet as some states require; your bus replacement plan must consider this potential issue.

Chargers – Maintenance and Warranty

When discussing the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of an eBus, I highly recommend including the charging eco-system in the equation. There are maintenance, parts, labor, and equipment replacement costs as time goes by. The chargers are part and parcel of the bus!

You have to keep in mind that the chargers are electronic equipment. This equipment will be outside in the heat, cold, and humidity. The environment will take its toll.

?Depending on who you listen to or which article you read, there is a LIFE CYCLE for the chargers. I read an article stating chargers must be replaced between 8-10 years. Others are saying the life cycle is 5-7 years.

We currently replace Type “C” buses at the 11-12 year mark and Type “A” at nine. You must consider the chargers' life cycle as part of your overall bus replacement budget proposals. As you replace buses, you will have to replace chargers. Concerning chargers, you will need to look into being one year ahead in purchasing chargers before you buy the buses so that the chargers are received and installed, and ready for your new batch of buses.

?????? “General maintenance for charging infrastructure includes storing charging cables securely, checking parts periodically, and keeping the equipment clean. Chargers may need intermittent repairs as well.”

?????? “Station owners should estimate average maintenance costs of up to $400 annually per charger. Repairing broken chargers can be costly if they are no longer under warranty. ”

?????? ?“Annual extended warranties for DC fast chargers can cost over $800 per charger per year. Level 1 and Level 2 chargers may have a fixed-length warranty for a lower cost, but the owner is responsible for repair costs after the term ends.”

https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/electricity_infrastructure_maintenance_and_operation.html#:~:text=While%20actual%20maintenance%20costs%20vary,for%20an%20additional%20annual%20fee.

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Chargers – Know the Difference and the Charge Time

Different types of chargers have varying charge times. Understanding the charging needs of the fleet, evaluating midday charging requirements, and selecting appropriate charging stations are vital considerations. https://vacleancities.org/electric-school-bus-projects-charging-stations-and-your-facilities

Charger Uptime/Downtime

While the industry claims high charger uptime, independent studies suggest a lower percentage of operational chargers. Monitoring and addressing downtime issues are essential to maintaining a reliable charging infrastructure.

The three links below are articles based on the California experience. That information presented does not bode well for EV chargers and their uptime.

Once the fleet is fully converted, the most significant operational challenge is ensuring all chargers are up 100% of the time; otherwise, we could come in to work and find a percentage of the fleet inoperable.

What does this mean, “Charger uptime” operationally for our operations? Does this mean we will need extra spares? Or additional Charging Stations? Is there room for such expansion? How about the cost? Will the voters approve such expenditures?

What if you came into work and found that 25% of your chargers were down and the batteries were not charged to capacity? Will you close schools? Will you have to shut down specific routes? Can you operate? These are real issues we need to think about, and we need to share with our administration, and we need to plan for! Some experts suggest we buy “spare chargers” and “spare eBuses” to compensate for the potential shortfall.

School Districts must purchase online access to software to manage their chargers. If I’m not mistaken, this purchase is for a two-year or five-year commitment. Add this cost to the TCO of eBuses.

https://californiaglobe.com/articles/over-27-of-electric-vehicle-charging-stations-in-bay-area-are-non-operable-according-to-new-survey/

https://www.electrive.com/2022/05/13/almost-1-3-of-san-francisco-charging-stations-are-duds/

https://dot.la/ev-charging-reliability-transparency-act-2658307767.html

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Electricity (Fuel) Costs

Electricity costs for charging include per kilowatt-hour charges. It's essential to be aware of potential demand charges triggered by fast-charging equipment, influencing the overall cost of electricity. For example, in New York State, using a local school district profile, they are classified by the power provider as Small General Service (SC-2.) NG will apply a higher rate if the district exceeds its kWh usage for four months. If they exceed the usage, the new service they will put the district on is called Metered Demand Rate. Once it kicks in and you stay above your normal kWh usage for two more billing cycle months, the metered demand rate will cause a demand meter to be installed. Once the district is on a demand meter, anytime it exceeds the kWh usage in one billing cycle for 15 minutes, you will be billed at the higher rate and stuck with the higher rate for 12 months.

Remember, when discussing electricity costs, your transportation department’s monthly energy bill will be dictated by the HIGHEST 15- minutes of kWh used during any billing month should you get yourself in trouble and be forced onto a Demand Meter Rate. The only way to get this back down is to go 12 months below that 15-minute peak…so basically, once on a Demand Meter Rate, ONE MONTH and YOU’RE DONE. ?

Remember, unlike today, where we can bid fuel out and get the best price possible, with an all-electric fleet, you will have one power provider to rely on…you can’t go to another vendor; you are locked into the power provider kwh usage/fiscal rules, period! https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/electricity_infrastructure_maintenance_and_operation.html#:~:text=While%20actual%20maintenance%20costs%20vary,for%20an%20additional%20annual%20fee.

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Know the Difference – Networked – Managed – Vehicle to Grid (V2G)

Understanding networked charging stations, managed charging, and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) configurations is crucial for optimizing eBus operations and maximizing benefits.

?????? Networked Charging Stations: For school fleets, networked charging stations can enable managed charging (see below) and provide real-time charging status for your buses and alerts if there are any charging station malfunctions.

?????? Managed Charging: Managed charging includes any strategy to control when charging occurs or the amount of charging done at any given time.

?????? Vehicle to Grid (V2G): Electric utilities are interested in vehicle-to-grid configurations of electric school buses. V2G enables an electric school bus to partially discharge its battery to the grid while it sits idle and is connected to a charger.

It is recommended for districts to purchase chargers that can be monitored on cell phones/computers/ the cloud/24/7. Transportation Directors need to ensure their charging ecosystem communicates any trouble issues so that the response time to troubleshoot is timely and the response time, day or night, to mitigate any charger issue can be done as quickly as possible. Otherwise, a transportation director may find chargers not working, buses out of electrical charge or half charge, etc., and unable to perform their missions when they arrive at work. We will, in essence, need a MANAGED/NETWORKED CHARGING ECO-SYSTEM!

V2G sounds like a great idea. The question I need answered is this: what constitutes “Sits Idle,” and will the bus be fully charged when we need it to go out on its routes if the grid takes out the charge from the battery packs? How about when the idle bus needs maintenance? I’m told that utilities want 48 hours of heads-up time if the eBus is connected to V2G before you remove it. The utilities expect the bus batteries to be available to draw from.

For example, if my buses are recharging mid-day and there’s a grid need for electrical juice stored in the buses, does that mean the grid will draw from the buses' batteries? Will I be able to operate the buses on their PM routes? If we have an emergency and have already committed to the Grid to draw charge from the batteries, and we need to use the buses and don’t have the 48-hour hours to give to the vendor. Will they turn around and charge us a high rate?

How about the warranty on the eBus battery pack? What will V2G do to the warranty? The warranty is based on the number of anticipated charge/discharge cycles. Participating in a V2G scheme will hasten the warranty’s end faster than it would take without V2G. We know battery packs are expensive.?

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These are some questions that we need answered. We hear more about how great V2G is (THE ROSE), but no one talks about the THORNS when things don’t go according to plan!

https://vacleancities.org/electric-school-bus-projects-charging-stations-and-your-facilities/

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Tire Wear

Higher torque on eBuses can lead to increased tire wear. Fleet operators need to be mindful of this factor to ensure cost-effective maintenance. Tire wear will be a problem. Look for higher-cost tires, as the tire manufacturers put out tires explicitly made for electric buses. Drivers and how they operate the eBus will dictate the tire replacement; my guess is the tire usage costs will increase. Add that to the bus TCO.

Some folks will tell you this is NOT the case because you will have trained your drivers to drive the eBuses nicely and easily…okay, I don’t think all drivers will drive these buses nicely and easily!

?https://www.truckinginfo.com/10151115/what-will-electrification-mean-for-truck-tires

What are Fleet Operators of eBuses saying?

The world’s largest fleet of eTransit buses, totaling a bit over 400,000, is located in China, and the fleet authorities are finding it difficult to operate. Below is an excerpt from a working paper on the subject…link is provided below.

?????? ?“Although the number of e-buses has reached the tipping point in China, the operation efficiency of e-buses remains a prominent challenge. At present, city bus operators are struggling with low availability rates, shorter daily operating mileage, and frequent breakdowns of e-buses. As a result, to replace one diesel bus often requires more than one electric bus to fulfill the same operating mileage.”

?I am not sharing this information to scare you or tell you that eBuses are not a viable solution.

I am sharing this info to get you to think differently in an operational sense so you can ask the right questions when talking with your bus vendors, district engineers, architects, and administration, and certainly when you are devising your eBus replacement plan.

https://wri.org.cn/en/research/overcoming-operational-challenges-electric-buses

Operational Challenges and Recommendations

Addressing operational challenges involves flexible routing, constant monitoring of charging infrastructure, and proactive training modifications. Planning for cyclical charger replacements and looking beyond the initial purchase are also recommended.

Vehicle Insurance – Cost

Electric buses may incur higher insurance costs than internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. School districts need to factor this into their budget considerations.

The car insurance industry states that insurance will go up about 15% for electric vehicles versus an ICE vehicle. Will the insurance rates for eBuses go up? How about for the bus garage building where we will have eBuses parked overnight. We know there have been incidents where Lithium-Ion batteries have cooked off while eBikes were plugged in. The same thing in 2021, happened to GM’s Bolt EV car, where they had to recall 142,000 cars. Supposedly, the problem with the batteries has been fixed. https://www.forbes.com/wheels/news/battery-car-fires/ This cost must also be factored into the Total Cost of Ownership.

Why is the insurance cost more? Well, more expensive parts such as drive motors, batteries, and computers to run these systems. Insurance companies are opting to total an electric vehicle instead of repairing it. Will the same happen in the school bus transportation industry vis-a-vis insurance?

https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/us/news/commercial-auto/do-electric-vehicles-cost-more-to https://www.forbes.com/wheels/news/battery-car-fires/

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What’s on the Horizon?

Exploring emerging technologies, such as hydrogen-powered engines, solid-state batteries that can be charged in minutes, and innovative charging solutions, offers a glimpse into the future of school bus electrification/zero emission vehicles.

Conclusion

As school districts navigate the electrification journey, they must be prepared for the roses and thorns that come with the transition. By addressing operational challenges, planning for the future, and staying abreast of emerging technologies, school districts should be able to transition to an all-electric or zero-emission bus fleet. Minimizing operational disruptions will be the sole focus for fleet managers as they meet total electrification mandates in certain states. The journey will be difficult and costly for all involved!

Alfred Karam is the director of transportation for Shenendehowa Central School District in Clifton Park, New York. He can be reached at www.dhirubhai.net/in/al-karam8511

This article reflects my professional analysis of the fleet electrification process, which I am currently going through. The analysis in no way is associated with my employer’s position on this topic.