Optibus, provider of real-time operations and planning for mass transportation, announced the launch of OnSchedule EV, a solution for the rapid and efficient deployment of electric buses, assisting municipalities and transportation operators in addressing the challenges of integrating electric buses into their existing fleets.

As cities throughout the world increasingly introduce electric buses into their fleets, they face significant logistical challenges — including time and frequency of charging and range. For example, a diesel bus takes on average five minutes to refuel and can travel 135-plus miles on a single fuel. An electric bus, however, takes on average three hours to charge and may need to be charged at least twice a day to manage the same distance.

“It’s not as simple as taking a diesel bus off the road and replacing it with a shiny new electric one,” said Amos Haggiag, co-founder and CEO of Optibus. “Cities want to run more electric buses but are unable to implement as fast as they would like, due to the challenges of deployment. Municipalities and transit operators find themselves ill-equipped to address these new requirements as their existing planning methods are outdated, and often manual.”

Optibus’ OnSchedule EV ensures that operators reap the benefits of reduced capital and operational costs by optimizing battery charging times and locations. Optibus’ proprietary algorithms factor in unlimited types of batteries, chargers, and charging locations to create optimal battery usage for fleets. The solution integrates electric buses into the existing routes and schedules without negatively impacting drivers or passengers, and seamlessly compliments the existing transportation plan without any additional installation or IT resources.

“Electric buses and autonomous vehicles will rapidly change the transportation industry and scheduling systems will have to undergo a technological overhaul to quickly adapt and take advantage of these new innovations. With our cloud-based solution, Optibus allows municipalities and mass transport operators to optimize their planning and operations, while using the latest technologies to enable a seamless integration of EVs into existing fleets,” Haggiag said.