Buses and trucks carry large batteries and run long, tightly scheduled days. How and where they charge shapes everything from vehicle choice to electricity bills. Most fleets choose between two approaches, or combine them.
Depot charging
Vehicles charge at the depot when they are parked, usually overnight or between shifts. Because they stay for hours, chargers can be moderate in power, typically 60–240 kW per vehicle depending on battery size and how long they are parked.
- Strengths: full control of chargers, cheaper night-time electricity in many tariffs, simpler operations.
- Limits: vehicles need batteries big enough for the whole day's duty, and the depot needs enough grid capacity for many vehicles charging at once.
Opportunity charging
Vehicles top up during the working day: at bus terminals between trips, at warehouses during loading, or at highway hubs during driver breaks. Short stops mean high power, often 300 kW and up, moving towards megawatt levels for trucks.
- Strengths: smaller, lighter and cheaper batteries; more payload; longer daily range.
- Limits: high-power chargers cost more, peak-time electricity can be expensive, and schedules depend on chargers being available when vehicles arrive.
Combining both
Many fleets charge at the depot overnight and add short opportunity charges on the busiest routes. This keeps battery sizes reasonable while protecting schedules on long or unpredictable days.
How to decide
- Daily distance: if a full day fits in one battery charge, depot charging alone may work.
- Route pattern: fixed routes with natural layovers suit opportunity charging.
- Depot power: limited grid capacity at the depot pushes some charging out to the route.
- Vehicle choice: battery size and maximum charging power must match the strategy.
Start with data
Map each route's distance, stops and layover times before choosing chargers. EVee Buddy plans fleet charging from these duty cycles, then designs depot and on-route infrastructure to match.