Study of the Energy Consumption of Buses with Different Power Plants in Urban Traffic Conditions

Public transport still uses vehicles powered by fossil fuels. Replacing the fleet with zero-emission vehicles will take many years. During this period, it is still necessary to carry out work aimed at reducing energy consumption and thus the emission of toxic substances into the atmosphere. An important part of this work is the study of the relationship between energy demand of buses with different power plants and urban traffic conditions. These conditions include traffic intensity, average and maximum speeds, and number of stops. The VSP (Vehicle-Specific Power) model is useful in research on this relationship. In this article, such research was carried out using data from public bus monitoring and data provided by the city authorities of Rzeszów. In the first stage, a VSP model was created and tuned for three buses with different power plants operating on selected routes. Then, as a result of a large number of simulation processes, the impact of the average speed on the energy demand was determined. The results of the conducted research can be used in the modernization or planning of public transport networks and the modification of road infrastructure. All these activities should contribute to reducing energy consumption and environmental pollution.