Evaluation of Energy Supply Technologies for Autonomous Cargo Bike-Sharing System

Abstract

Due to technological advancements and the ever-increasing demand for sustainable modes of transport, research on autonomous driving, shared mobility, and micro-mobility has gained interest, particularly in urban mobility. To facilitate such transport modes, systems like bike-sharing, car-sharing, and shared autonomous cars are implemented. However, the systems mentioned above have traffic congestion, a lack of parking space availability, and on-demand service concerns. To address the aforementioned challenges, we intend to integrate an on-demand shared-use, self-driving cargo-bikes service (OSABS) as a new mode of transportation into the urban mobility ecosystem. The selection of energy supply technology for self-driving cargo bikes is essential for making the OSABS system more environment-friendly and sustainable. Therefore, this paper aims to identify a suitable energy supply technology for our self-driving cargo bikes. Following that, we compare each technology using key performance indicators (KPIs), such as service level, implementation cost, energy consumption cost, charging station utilization, and profit analysis. Furthermore, we use the agent-based simulation model to experiment with the identified energy supply technologies, such as battery-powered and hydrogen fuel cell-powered autonomous cargo bikes.