Cost and performance simulation of shared autonomous electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles model based on Austin, Texas and surrounding counties.
Austin, Texas, United States
Fleet performance and cost evaluation of a shared autonomous electric vehicle (SAEV) fleet: A case study for Austin, Texas
Summary Information
This study performed a simulation of SAEVs across the Austin, Texas 6-county region under 6 different fleet scenarios to assess what factors make the fleet the most profitable and provide the best customer experience. The simulation process featured thoughtful charging strategies, dynamic ridesharing, mode choice, and a multi-step search algorithm.
The study sought to make in-depth estimates of the cost of this SAEV fleet based on vehicle purchasing costs, vehicle maintenance, batteries, electricity, charger construction (including land acquisition and paving), charger maintenance, insurance, registration and general administrative costs. These costs are estimated at low-, high- and mid-cost scenarios, where mid-cost is the most expected.
Results showed that for all metrics studied, the gasoline hybrid-electric (HEV) fleet performed better than EV fleets by providing response times of 4.5 minutes compared to 5.5 minutes (an 18 percent reduction). The HEV fleet is also the more profitable option, up until the cost of gasoline exceeds $10 per gallon or the cost of a long-range EV falls below $16,000 through subsidies.
