New Jersey Transit
At a Glance
Industry
Government/Public Administration
Project Types
Financial Evaluation and Planning, Zero Emission Vehicles, Freight and Logistics
Year
2021
Location
Newark, NJ
Summary
Abdullah evaluated NJ TRANSIT’s bus electrification strategy and provided analyses and recommendations for transitioning to a zero-emission bus fleet.
Goals
NJ TRANSIT is planning for a zero-emission bus fleet and getting ready to deploy battery electric buses. An expansive study of their plans and strategies was required to find any data gaps and furnish recommendations for improvements. Abdullah was enlisted to provide those analyses along with developing tools to analyze battery electric bus deployments.
Solutions
The challenge was tackled in three different steps:
- Perform in-depth plan analyses: NJ Transit plans were studied and reviewed. Although the plans were very thorough, there were a few data gaps that were identified by Abdullah. He then made various recommendations on how these plans could be enhanced.
- Perform an infrastructure analysis: For the feasibility of battery electric bus deployment, an infrastructure analysis was performed. Abdullah reviewed a preliminary engineering and planning assessment study recently prepared by a consultant for NJ TRANSIT and made further recommendations. Garage modernization plans were analyzed to review the process for expansion to accommodate DC fast chargers for buses being deployed. Lastly, opportunities to reduce GHG reduction were identified and shared with NJ Transit.
- Development of a tool: To analyze BEB deployment for a particular bus garage a tool was developed. The tool has various capabilities for providing an in-depth analysis of how BEB deployment would look like for a particular bus garage and what routes might need to be modified to accommodate BEBs.
Potential Impact
NJ TRANSIT plans to deploy a zero-emission bus fleet by 2040 to curb greenhouse gas emissions and further the State’s Energy Master Plan goal of 100% clean energy by 2050. Capital costs and technology limitations are factors to be considered. Through proper planning and learning from early deployments, NJ TRANSIT hopes to realize its zero-emission bus goals. NJ TRANSIT can make use of the tool to understand what routes seem to be a good fit for deploying BEBs.