Mixed Optimization on Vehicle Scheduling and Recharge Scheduling of Plug-In Electric Buses with Consideration of Partial Recharge

Abstract

This paper investigates a mixed optimal scheduling problem of an electric bus fleet and charging infrastructure based on the plug-in charging mode. Partial recharging and shifting the recharge start time are allowed in this problem. A mixed-integer optimization model is formulated to minimize the total cost of the bus system, considering the constraints of vehicle scheduling, charging event time, state of charge, and recharge scheduling in this process. To solve this problem, a solution framework consisting of two primary components is proposed. The first component is a recharge scheduling procedure that determines the start time and duration of each charging event as well as the minimum number of chargers used simultaneously for a given set of vehicle schedules. The second component is a genetic algorithm procedure that contains customized operators to guide the evolution of vehicle schedules. A real-world case study is conducted to test the model and the solution framework, and the impacts of important variables on the solution are determined.