Feasibility analysis of converting a Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) transit bus to a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle

It has become apparent that a shift needs to be made in the USA from traditional vehicles' dependency on petroleum-based fuels to a more diversified source of fuels. Government, universities, and private sectors have begun to see the importance of fuel efficiency, fuel consumption, environmental factors, and health concerns to the population. The importance of these issues has begun to necessitate the development of PHEVs and other vehicle technologies. This paper will present a detailed economic study investigating the cost savings of transit bus drive train conversions from being traditional styles using only an internal combustion engine to PHEV propulsion systems using a retrofit approach. These conversions are expected to reduce emissions by more than 50% and improve fuel efficiency by more than 100%, and subsequently lead to a substantial cost saving per converted bus. This case study is centered around the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), however, it is relevant to the transit bus market as a whole. The CTA is the second largest public transportation system in the US, serving over 1.6 million customers each weekday. Its fleet is composed of 2,100 buses, which cover a distance of 68.5 million miles per year and consume 24 million gallons, amounting to a total cost of $61 million each year.