Electric bus as a service: techno economic evaluation of e-Bus procurement models

The ongoing market revolution in the automotive sector about the development of Electric Vehicles (EVs) is involving not only European car manufacturers, but also European Countries. Despite the technical challenges related with this topic and the different solutions adopted, the greatest difficulty stands with the customer experience, of which procurement is one of the most critical components. The EVs market already offers several solutions represented by different vehicle characteristics and performances. This paper presents an assessment of electric bus procurement approaches by means of a multi-criteria analysis. The analysis is based on techno-economic Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), to lead the decision-making process in implementing the e-Bus-as-a-Service (e-BaaS) model. An extensive review of the main characteristics of the e-BaaS model is conducted and the procurement models presented in five scenarios considered are assessed. A sensitivity analysis is also provided, to validate the multi-criteria tool. Results point out that e-BaaS can be a feasible way in a future perspective for Transport Operators (TOs) that are called to provide mobility services given particular boundary conditions, either financial or environmental.