The transition to battery-electric buses (BEBs) is a transformative step toward sustainable public transit. Yet as BEB fleets expand, agencies face significant operational challenges — from the availability and capacity of charging infrastructure to charger locations and vehicle allocation. Infrastructure is just part of this equation, however. To avoid operational pitfalls and unnecessary costs, you also need to integrate scheduling into your plan right from day one.

Start Small with Operable Scenarios

Electrifying your fleet starts with developing schedules that reflect the realities of BEBs — their characteristics, constraints, and the charging infrastructure you have in place. This means optimizing overnight and off-peak charging and improving range calculations based on actual battery performance data.

I recommend testing a variety of scenarios under different conditions: average and extreme discharge rates, battery degradation, and different service curves. You’ll get a clear picture of how electrification affects your operations today — and what challenges might emerge tomorrow.

In my experience, many agencies find they need support beyond these initial electrification studies. GIRO’s Expert Advisory team regularly helps clients across North America and Europe tackle all phases of fleet electrification.

One example comes from BC Transit, which wanted to know how many BEBs it would need to maintain current service levels without adding on-route charging. Using simulation data from BEB manufacturers, we tested scenarios with different discharge rates and forecasted battery degradation over five years. Our results showed it was possible to achieve a 1-to-1 replacement ratio — with no additional vehicles or on-route chargers required. This project proved that you can transition to BEBs without increasing your fleet or compromising service quality — and without significant upfront capital investments.

“During our feasibility study with GIRO, HASTUS enabled us to fully electrify our main garage's service without adding any extra vehicles. This outcome far exceeded our expectations.” – Brian Harvey, Manager of Scheduling, BC Transit.

Look Deeper with Scheduling Optimization

Once you’ve developed operable BEB schedules and scenarios, you can unlock additional value by optimizing scheduling. This helps you maximize BEB utilization and minimize energy costs.

Many agencies I’ve worked with initially overlook block optimization. They often adapt “candidate blocks” — designed for diesel fleets — by shortening trips or adding on-route charging. But this typically results in high replacement ratios and inefficiencies.

Instead, I recommend building blocks specifically for BEBs. Advanced algorithms can intelligently link trips and insert recharge activities, minimizing fleet size and energy costs.

At GIRO, our R&D team has developed an advanced range calculator for accurate discharge calculations and a blocking algorithm that accounts for real-world constraints. Based on our experience, we strongly advise optimizing BEB blocks and incorporating recharging activities during run cutting — a critical step often missed.

It can take a mindset shift to see that introducing some operational “inefficiencies” can actually create better charging opportunities. It helps to have a scheduling tool that can identify optimal recharge times and insert them automatically, while also balancing constraints like power capacity limits and peak demand. Even better if it lets you analyze actual battery consumption data, visualize discharge rates, and compare your assumptions with real-world performance.

Go Further with Depot Management

Efficient depot operations are another key to a successful transition. You’ll need to factor in state of charge (SOC), vehicle availability, and the ability to respond to unforeseen events in your daily vehicle allocation.

At the depot, new considerations arise: managing parking configurations, coordinating maintenance, scheduling recharging, and monitoring charging status to avoid disruptions.

A robust Depot Management System (DMS) can help you manage these tasks with flexible tools to:

• Configure layouts and parking orders
• Automate parking and charging assignments
• Monitor and adjust charging activities
• Plan preventive maintenance to keep vehicles ready

By integrating with your charging management, maintenance, and fleet systems, a DMS can help automate the planning of short maintenance activities and keep your vehicles on schedule for the next day’s service.

Mastering fleet electrification takes planning and the right optimization tools. With these in place, you’ll be able to deliver sustainable, efficient service to your riders for years to come.