Challenges of sustainable public passenger transport: A case study on electric buses

This paper looked at the implementation of electric vehicles in the urban passenger transport system and surveyed the main causes of electric vehicle maintenance in São Paulo city. A case study was carried out in a transportation company, considering the Preventive Maintenance Plan for Electric Vehicles and the failure reports of two manufacturers (A and B). The results showed that the air conditioning system is the biggest cause of electric vehicle failures for both manufacturers, accounting for around 20% of all failures. Manufacturer A recorded 43 occurrences, accumulated 307 days of downtime, an average number of passengers not transported estimated at 153,500 and an amount not collected of R$ 675,400.00. Manufacturer B, on the other hand, recorded 72 incidents, 566 days of downtime, an average number of passengers not transported of 283,000 and an amount not collected of R$1,245,200.00. It can therefore be concluded that electromobility is an alternative for decarbonizing the transport system, but the technology still presents several operational and economic challenges that need to be overcome by companies if it is to become a fully sustainable alternative.