Transitioning to an Electric Bus Fleet

MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) is the largest public transportation agency in North America and one of the largest in the world. The bus system in NYC has the highest ridership in the US, moving 2.4 million people a day. Per NYCT’s Fast Forward Plan, the agency has set the ambitious goal of converting its entire bus fleet to electric vehicles by 2040, starting with a 60-bus pilot in 2019. NYCT engaged a Capstone team to investigate the impacts and challenges of this transition, with an emphasis on determining the infrastructure and operational requirements at the bus depot level. The team assessed existing conditions, researched case studies and best practices, conducted site visits of bus depot facilities, and analyzed bus route schedule data. The team recommended depots and routes for initial electric bus deployments, ultimately proposing a scalable transition strategy for the conversion of all depots to accommodate electric buses and charging mechanisms.