High fidelity estimates of paratransit energy consumption from per-second GPS tracking data

Journal article

Paratransit, in particular the minibus taxi, is the mainstay of public transport in sub-Saharan Africa. These vehicles are often second-hand, ageing, fuel inefficient, and expensive to operate - issues that electrification can ameliorate. However, modeling and planning large-scale transitions to electric paratransit require reliable estimates of vehicle energy consumption. This paper provides such estimates by applying a vehicle kinetic model to per-second GPS data gathered on minibus taxis. Data include 62 trips across three routes with different driving conditions near Stellenbosch, South Africa. We find a range of energy consumption from 0.29 to 0.51 kWh/km (mean = 0.39 kWh/km). Past estimates in literature relied on per-minute GPS data, which we show leads to inaccurate energy consumption estimates. We recommend new kWh/km values for modeling vehicle operations and grid impact, and discuss how future work can utilize our analysis to advance the transition to electric paratransit sub-Saharan Africa.

Authors: Hull, C; Giliomee, JH; Collett, KA; McCulloch, MD; Booysen, MJ

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Journal: Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment
• Volume: 118
• Article number: 103695
• Publication date: 2023-03-20
• Acceptance date: 2023-03-07
• DOI: 10.1016/j.trd.2023.103695
• EISSN: 1879-2340
• ISSN: 1361-9209
• Language: English
• Keywords: energy transition; energy consumption; FFR; energy planning; electric vehicles; transportation; infrastructure planning