By Business India Editorial

Enel X and Optibus are combining their respective charging infrastructure and EV management software to create an end-to-end electric bus operations solution for cities around the world.

Enel X, the advanced energy solutions business line of the Enel Group, is partnering with artificial software platform provider Optibus on an end-to-end electric bus operations solution.

Optibus powers complex transit operations in more than 500 cities worldwide and its platform will be combined with Enel X’s electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure.

Enel X’s Ebus-as-a-Service (EaaS) model provides financing, smart charging, and energy services to more than 1,000 electric buses in Latin America, and around 500 electric buses in Spain, Uruguay and the US.

Through the partnership, Optibus’ software will support Enel X to optimise e-bus management for its customers in more than 20 countries, starting with a focus on Latin America, North America, and Europe, and the electric buses already served by Enel X in those regions.

To support bus operators across the entire EV cycle, Enel X and Optibus will offer a holistic solution that integrates Enel X’s infrastructure network, spanning electric buses and vehicle leasing, chargers, and energy services, with Optibus’ cloud-based EV planning and scheduling software, encompassing transportation network modelling and optimisation capabilities, into a wider proposition for bus operators.

The companies said in a statement that fully electric, zero-emissions public transportation cannot be achieved by just replacing diesel-powered buses with electric ones. Bus operators also need electric vehicles and chargers and EV management software to ensure vehicle and charging station maintenance, coordinate charging times and locations, and optimise scheduling.

“Enel X’s infrastructure and smart charging expertise combined with Optibus’ planning, scheduling, and optimisation platform represents an end-to-end solution for bringing the entire public transportation industry on board the EV revolution,” said Valerio Vadacchino, head of global eBus at Enel X. “We look forward to working with Optibus to deliver an innovative approach to e-bus operations worldwide.”

Using artificial intelligence, advanced optimisation algorithms, and cloud computing, Optibus reports it already powers 2.5 billion passenger trips annually and is used by EV fleet operators, including the US’s Antelope Valley Transit Authority, with five million electric miles driven, and Stagecoach, the UK’s largest bus and coach operator, which plans to replace its entire fleet of some 8,000 buses with zero-emissions vehicles by 2035.

“With access to both physical EV infrastructure and operational software, the roll-out of EVs happens faster and more effectively,” said Amos Haggiag, CEO and co-founder of Optibus. “The result is reduced reliance on fossil fuels and improved air quality, bringing the world closer to cleaner, zero-emissions cities.”