Many EV and zero-emission bus (ZEB) enthusiasts are eager to explain away “range anxiety:”

Range isn’t an issue! 

Most trips are under 100 miles! 

There is more charging infrastructure every day! 

It’s all in your head: Research proves that “range anxiety” peaks before purchase and steadily declines the more you drive!

But enthusiastically explaining away a concern is not the same as addressing it.

Nigel Lindsey-King has more than 40 years of experience in mass transit training. That includes three decades working with the Toronto Transit Commission, where he focused on training Operators and developing training programs for a wide range of transit vehicles and systems. Today, he supports agencies as they help new and experienced Operators adapt to new vehicles and technology, like ZEB.

“Range anxiety is not an imaginary thing,” Lindsey-King explains. “If an Operator doesn’t receive proper ZEB conversion training or just continues to drive a ZEB the same way they’d drive a diesel, they’ll definitely lose range.” Estimates vary by bus model, route, terrain, and driving conditions, but most experts estimate that driver habits alone can affect vehicle range by 20 percent or more. “Plus, Lindsey-King says, “If you don’t understand the effect that weather conditions, traffic, and passenger load can have on your vehicle’s state-of-charge, you can really get stuck – and that can cause range anxiety.”

Lindsey-King quickly points out that “a lot of these concerns, obviously, are like operating any new vehicle: The more accustomed a driver becomes to a new vehicle, the more efficiently they can operate it. In this case, it’s a matter of being aware and conscious of what you’re doing and realizing how an EV differs from the vehicle you’re used to driving.”

But getting the most out of a ZEB’s range takes more than just getting comfortable with a new vehicle.

Training Features for Tackling ZEB Range Anxiety

Lindsey-King finds that, with the right training, Transit Operators can quickly temper their range anxiety. But that’s only the case if that training allows them to familiarize themselves with their specific ZEB models and helps them build the operating skills they need to feel confident that their ZEB won’t unexpectedly leave them in a lurch.

In Lindsey-King’s experience, a good bus driving simulator is just such a tool, provided that the simulator has two key features:

First and foremost, it obviously needs to accurately emulate the dynamics of your fleet’s specific ZEB models. Any full-cab immersive bus simulator should include a range of vehicle dynamics pre-installed. This is the case with the MB-2000 bus driving simulator from FAAC, which arrives with both generic battery/EV bus dynamics and vehicle-specific dynamics for the most common ZEBs from Gillig, New Flyer, and others. To maximize skills transfer, FAAC simulator cabs also feature accurate vehicle-specific representations of the dashboard and gauges, including state-of-charge indicators specific to that ZEB model.

But accurately emulating the vehicle itself is only half the solution. The simulator also needs to provide tools that allow trainers to capture trainee decisions and actions, link these to that behavior’s impact on battery charge, and show how that, in turn, affects range.

On a FAAC simulator, this is all done through VITALS: the Virtual Instructor Trainee Assessment and Learning System. VITALS comes standard on all FAAC bus driving simulators. It serves as an “interactive playbook” for the instructor, helping them develop custom curricula for each trainee based on recognized best practices, agency policy, and that trainee’s specific strengths and areas that require improvement. During training, VITALS captures all Operator behaviors and actions throughout the simulation scenario, including the impact those behaviors have on the ZEB’s state of charge and vehicle range.

Hone Skills and Debrief Decisions With VITALS

FAAC can work with agencies, trainers, and operators to establish benchmarks for custom vehicle operations in VITALS. This helps their trainees master the unique combination of skills best suited to their routes, fleet, and agency policies.

Importantly, VITALS can catch the everyday bad habits and the little more subtle errors in driving.

Looking through the feedback in VITALS together with a trainee after the driving scenario is finished, the instructor can say, ‘‘It’s pretty clear that your lack of smooth acceleration and repeated heavy braking during stops caused this fully loaded bus traveling through the hills to lose an unnecessary state of charge.”

“The real learning always happens in the debrief afterward,” Lindsey-King notes. “Not during the drive.” That’s why a simulator that provides both a rich simulated driving experience and powerful after-action review tools is effective at tackling range anxiety and other growing pains that come with transitioning to EVs.