A study on the fuel-consumption characteristics of public buses

Abstract

Using the regression technique, we have studied the fuel-consumption characteristics of a fleet of public buses under actual operating conditions. The fuel consumption was measured on a daily basis and the effects of the service routes, vehicle models, engine overhaul, vehicle speed and loads, number of stops, and other factors were established statistically. The analysis shows that service routes and vehicle models had a significant influence on fuel efficiency, and that the average travel speed and loaded weight together could be used to explain up to two-thirds of the variations in fuel efficiency. We also show indirectly that a significant portion of the efficiency variations is attributable to driver behavior and the daily scheduled times of the buses. Based on our results, we estimate the differences in the vehicle fuel efficiency between peak and non-peak operations. © 1989.