Comparison of on-road emissions for hybrid and regular transit buses

Hallmark, SL; Wang, B; Sperry, R

HERO ID

2232226

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year

2013

Language

English

PMID

24282974

HERO ID 2232226
In Press No
Year 2013
Title Comparison of on-road emissions for hybrid and regular transit buses
Authors Hallmark, SL; Wang, B; Sperry, R
Journal Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association
Volume 63
Issue 10
Page Numbers 1212-1220
Abstract Hybrid technology offers an attractive option for transit buses, since it has the potential to significantly reduce operating costs for transit agencies. The main impetus behind use of hybrid transit vehicles is fuel savings and reduced emissions. Laboratory tests have indicated that hybrid transit buses can have significantly lower emissions compared with conventional transit buses. However the number of studies is limited and laboratory tests may not represent actual driving conditions, since in-use vehicle operation differs from laboratory test cycles. This paper describes an on-road evaluation of in-use emission differences between hybrid-electric and conventional transit buses for the Ames, Iowa transit authority, CyRide. Emissions were collected on-road using a portable emissions monitoring system (PEMS) for three hybrid and two control buses. Emissions were collected for at least one operating bus day. Each bus was evaluated over the same route pattern, which utilizes the same driver. The number of passengers embarking or disembarking at each stop was collected by an on-board data collector so that passenger load could be included. Vehicle emissions are correlated to engine load demand, which is a function of factors such as vehicle load, speed, and acceleration. PEMS data are provided second by second and vehicle-specific power (VSP) was calculated for each row of data. Instantaneous data were stratified into the defined VSP bins and then average modal emission rates and standard errors were calculated for each bus for each pollutant. Pollutants were then compared by bus type. Carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbon emissions were higher for the regular buses across most VSP bins than for the hybrid buses. Nitrogen oxide emissions were unexpectedly higher for the hybrid buses than for the control buses.
Doi 10.1080/10962247.2013.813874
Pmid 24282974
Wosid WOS:000324458800013
Is Certified Translation No
Dupe Override No
Is Public Yes
Language Text English