Data Science Day @ Columbia University

The auto industry is amidst a technological transformation to identify alternative sources of energy to power vehicles due to environmental factors. We examine the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) buses since they operate in the city on a continuous cycle with increased coverage during peak transit times. We focus on the B63 bus route and perform a feasibility study to determine primarily whether wireless charging at specifically designated bus stops throughout the city can help to increase the feasibility of electric buses for city use both from an operational standpoint. We propose a framework that consists of a probabilistic model to capture the nature of the data and formalizing the feasibility study as an optimization problem. Using this framework we utilize the history of the system and the properties of the technology to find suitable locations for electric chargers without disrupting the operation of the system.