Mass Transit - 26

Zero-Emission Fleet Conversion
should also remain flexible and
ready to adapt to new technology
as it is developed and rolled out.
HDR has worked with several
clients to study the power and infrastructure needs of fleet conversions and draft plans for making
this switch, including requirements for an initial rollout and
the upgrades needed for additional
long-term capacity. Starting with
longer-range planning in mind
means facilities and infrastructure
can be sized with future needs in
mind, minimizing repeated studies, plans and construction.
A clear roadmap from start to
finish requires a firm grasp of all
the factors, including:
Utility collaboration: Get the
local utilities involved as soon as
possible. Managing electric demand and availability are critical
considerations when designing
charging infrastructure to support cost effective, reliable fleet
operations, as is understanding
the rate structure of the local electric utility. EV fleet loads are new
to the electric utility industry, so
ongoing communication is imperative. Key to this communication is
having experts who know the needs
of electric vehicle owners and who
understand the utility industry and
know the right questions to ask.
Providing utilities with robust,
accurate data can help keep initial
infrastructure costs down by helping them understand the specific
charging requirements. Phasing
in the electric fleet also allows the
utility time to respond and react to
the fleet electric load.
Route feasibility: With different energy needs and capacity,
zero-emission vehicles may require
adjusting routes, schedules or an
en-route charging strategy. It's important to consider the impact to
community, facility and stop locations, vehicle duty cycles and more.
A phased transition can often be
beneficial, focusing first on routes
that are easy to transition to build
momentum and create early successes. Then a second wave of more

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HDR

complicated routes can be transitioned, perhaps requiring new
schedules or slight modifications
to routes. Finally, the most complex
routes can be tackled, those which
may require new facility locations
or multiple zero-emission vehicles
to replace conventional vehicles.
This phased approach has the advantage of giving technology time
to advance and perhaps solve some
of the problems that make the more
complex routes more difficult.
Total cost of ownership: Understanding and planning for all the
startup costs is important to avoid
unpleasant budget surprises. At
the same time, discussions of costs
should take a long view. After startup expenses, ongoing operations
costs are generally lower. A solid
plan will be able to calculate the
return on investment timeframe.
Sustainability: Creating a
cost-effective, energy-efficient and
sustainable investment requires
looking beyond just economics
to the " triple-bottom line: " environmental, social and economic
impacts. Studying all of these
and how they relate to each other provides a holistic perspective
of a project's sustainability benefits. Understanding these factors mean longer-term viability,
reduced risk, lower cost, better
value, fewer negative impacts on
the community and the potential
to save owners money over time.

Data Driven Decisions

Modeling programs and complex
analyses can account for all these
factors as well as route feasibility
and more to help agencies and
their electric utility partners reach
informed, data-driven decisions

Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | NOVEMBER 2020

A TRANSITION to
zero-emission
vehicles will
take operators
through a
technology
adoption S-curve.

Rob Mowat is HDR's
Zero Emissions
Mobility Practice
lead and has more
than 30 years
of experience in
the transportation industry. His
expertise in new
transit technology
transitions has
resulted in multiple
successful deployments of fleet
electrification and
modernization.

about the best path forward.
HDR's Zero+ Fleet Optimizer
modeling tool can produce detailed data about a proposed system's energy consumption and the
information needed to complete a
comprehensive operational analysis or sustainability reports. The
company's EconMoves modeler
can evaluate and compare implementation, costs and funding scenarios to help clients determine the
best fit for their needs. Together, the
two tools can create realistic scenarios to help forecast the financial
and energy needs of a system.
For example, the GIS-based
Zero+ Fleet Optimizer tool has
been used to digitally represent
clients' transit networks and simulate every bus trip to determine the
power demands of specific electric bus models and the charging
strategies to accomplish a system's
desired transition. The modeling
can also include information on
effective route schedules, fleet size
estimates, managed versus unlimited charging, vehicle duty cycles
and more. All of this data helps
agencies make informed decisions
from the beginning about how to
proceed with transitions.

Successful Transition

Planning for transition from the
very start is the way to avoid the
pitfalls of the " scaling zone. " Functional analyses and incremental
decision-making will result in a
successful transition plan. A wellthought-out roadmap leads to less
wasted time and investments, helps
garner public and political support
and shows all stakeholders there is a
comprehensive plan for not just the
near future, but the long term.

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Mass Transit

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