Skip to content

School Bus Diesel¤

School Bus Overview¤

The School Bus is engineered to transport 15 or more passengers, serving primarily in the conveyance of students to and from educational institutions.

School Bus Performance Metrics¤

  • Annual Distance (dannual): The school bus covers an annual distance of 24,000 km.
  • Average Occupancy Rate (nlpv): It boasts an average loading capacity accommodating 47 passengers per vehicle.
  • Utilization Window: The vehicle is utilized for 5.26 hours per day, translating to a 22% capacity utilization, according to the study by Duran and Walkowicz1.
  • Reference Capacity: The reference capacity, derived from these parameters, is calculated to be 585.31 passenger-kilometers per hour (pkm/h), utilizing the formula:
\[ ref_{size} = \dfrac{d_{annual} \cdot n_{lpv}}{8760 \cdot c_p} \]

Where cp represents the capacity utilization percentage. Where the denominator reflects the total hours in a year multiplied by the capacity utilization factor.

Diesel¤

An internal combustion engine (ICE) is a type of heat engine where fuel combustion takes place inside a chamber. This causes an increase in temperature and pressure. This pressure is then applied directly to pistons, rotors or a nozzle, which converts the thermal energy of combustion into mechanical energy to move the vehicle. However, this combustion generates numerous substances with potential impacts on human health and the environment, including :

  • Carbon Dioxide (CO2): a GHG contributing to climate change and ocean acidification.

  • Nitrogen Oxides (NOx): precursors to the formation of photochemical ozone (smog), which promotes respiratory problems, and causes, among other things, the acidification of terrestrial and aquatic environments and the eutrophication of the marine environment.

  • Particle Matter (PM): potentially causing respiratory problems when inhaled.

  • Carbon Monoxide (CO): considered toxic to humans and animals.

Diesel engines, which also run on biodiesel and synthetic fuels, do not require spark plugs but rely on fuel vapour compression to trigger combustion.

Diesel fuel has an LHV of 11.83 [kWh/kg], making it a common choice for heavy-duty transportation due to its high energy density and efficiency.

ES Model Parameters¤

All the parameters concerning the School Bus Diesel are listed in the table below.

entry_key value unit sets source_reference
CO2_E (layer) 0.016 kg_CO2 NA Agez, Maxime; Ménard, Jean-François; Saunier, François, (2022): "Analyse du Cycle de Vie de Filières Énergétiques et de Leur Utilisation pour le Transport Routier au Québec – Partie 2 : Utilisation"
DIESEL (layer) -0.062 kWh NA Agez, Maxime; Ménard, Jean-François; Saunier, François, (2022): "Analyse du Cycle de Vie de Filières Énergétiques et de Leur Utilisation pour le Transport Routier au Québec – Partie 2 : Utilisation"
MOB_PUBLIC_LOCAL (layer) 1 pkm NA Agez, Maxime; Ménard, Jean-François; Saunier, François, (2022): "Analyse du Cycle de Vie de Filières Énergétiques et de Leur Utilisation pour le Transport Routier au Québec – Partie 2 : Utilisation"
c_inv 228.94 CAD/(pkm/h) NA Agez, Maxime; Ménard, Jean-François; Saunier, François, (2022): "Analyse du Cycle de Vie de Filières Énergétiques et de Leur Utilisation pour le Transport Routier au Québec – Partie 2 : Utilisation"
c_maint 74.49 CAD/(pkm/h)/y NA Agez, Maxime; Ménard, Jean-François; Saunier, François, (2022): "Analyse du Cycle de Vie de Filières Énergétiques et de Leur Utilisation pour le Transport Routier au Québec – Partie 2 : Utilisation"
lifetime 15 y NA Agez, Maxime; Ménard, Jean-François; Saunier, François, (2022): "Analyse du Cycle de Vie de Filières Énergétiques et de Leur Utilisation pour le Transport Routier au Québec – Partie 2 : Utilisation"
ref_size 585.31 pkm/h NA Agez, Maxime; Ménard, Jean-François; Saunier, François, (2022): "Analyse du Cycle de Vie de Filières Énergétiques et de Leur Utilisation pour le Transport Routier au Québec – Partie 2 : Utilisation"

References¤

Data Sources
Agez, Maxime; Ménard, Jean-François; Saunier, François. (2022). "Analyse du Cycle de Vie de Filières Énergétiques et de Leur Utilisation pour le Transport Routier au Québec – Partie 2 : Utilisation"

  1. Adam Duran and Kevin Walkowicz, “A Statistical Characterization of School Bus Drive Cycles Collected via Onboard Logging Systems,” SAE International Journal of Commercial Vehicles 6, no. 2 (September 24, 2013): 400-406, https://doi.org/10.4271/2013-01-2400 ⧉. ↩