Battery electric bus maintenance: 8 things to know about your bus
October 27, 2025
Agencies need to thoughtfully retrofit their maintenance facilities to accommodate battery electric buses
A version of this blog first appeared as “Understanding battery electric bus maintenance” in?Design Quarterly, Issue 25.
Across Canada, many transit agencies are replacing their diesel bus fleets with battery electric buses (BEBs). The push for electric vehicles is strong.
It’s no simple matter. And that’s especially true when it comes to updating their operations, maintenance, and storage facility (OMSF) and support infrastructure. Those are critical to keep their fleets running smoothly.
Upgrading these facilities for battery electric buses takes careful planning. Operators must coordinate BEB maintenance upgrades to infrastructure, protection, and operations in their facilities. And they must maintain industry safety standards. A carefully managed process is key to the shift to a low-emission fleet.
We’ve been working with Canadian transit agencies and their diesel bus fleets for years. Now we are working to retrofit existing OMSF infrastructure and design new transit spaces to work with zero-emissions technology.
When it comes to design, it’s important to know about the battery electric buses on the market and those in development.
To design operations, maintenance, and storage facilities for battery electric buses, the design team must be familiar with BEBs themselves.
We know that the transition to an electrified fleet doesn’t happen overnight. At a basic level, bus maintenance requires space, equipment, and other infrastructure. It’s about getting buses in and out—and readying them for service.
It’s true, designing an OMSF for battery electric buses is about the building. But it’s more than that. We need to understand what makes these new buses different from their diesel predecessors.
Here, we’ll break down eight elements of the BEB bus that are critical to the successful design of a BEB OMSF.
1. Battery packs and high-voltage systems
Battery electric buses are using Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) batteries. Rechargeable battery packs are part of a BEB high-voltage system. And that’s what delivers the power to its drivetrain.
Technicians need space to access and work on the Li-Ion batteries and BEB high-voltage systems. Facilities must set up keep-out areas to maintain safety. The Li-Ion battery packs are in multiple areas on the bus. Some are in the roof while others are on the side or back of the bus.
Even if transit agencies aren’t repairing Li-Ion battery packs on-site, they need a temporary storage location. It is used to store new batteries or used batteries that need to be sent back to the vendor.
2. Rooftop work safety
Technicians must have safe access to components in the battery electric bus roof to inspect or replace parts. Now, agencies are leaning away from fall-arrest systems (which usually feature a harness or body belt) and prefer using platforms.
Platforms (fixed or mobile) are proactive. They prevent falls rather than reacting to them. Designers need to analyze placement, access, and clearances to help the systems stay coordinated with surrounding equipment.
When fixed platforms are not feasible, mobile platforms are an option; however, they require dedicated storage space.
Pantographs are one option for charging battery electric buses.
3. Coolant loops
In diesel buses, the coolant loop runs in the engine compartment along the chassis. But battery electric buses often have coolant loops on the top or rear of the bus.
The electric vehicle facility should provide access to the location of coolant loops for inspection and maintenance.
4. Lifting systems
Lithium-Ion battery packs can weigh up to about 700 kilograms (1,500 pounds). The technicians need a lifting system to remove and replace them.
Monorails and cranes are both good options for lifting. However, cranes provide better coverage and flexibility so techs can lift other components that might not be completely aligned with the centerline of the bus.
5. Charging systems
Battery electric buses have a variety of charging systems. These include:
5A. Plug-in dispenser: This plug-and-cable system is a bit like the typical gas pump for cars. They’re light and can be put on pedestals or hung from the ceiling.
5B. Pantographs: You may have seen pantographs on electric streetcars. These are similar. Pantographs transfer electrical power from an overhead wire to the top of the BEB. They might be mounted on a gantry, mast, or building. They lower and connect to rails on the bus roof for rapid recharging.
5C. Wireless inductive charging: Many of us are charging our cellphones wirelessly every day. Inductive bus charging uses the same principle. Pads on the ground transfer energy to a receiver mounted on the bottom of the bus using an electromagnetic field.
In our work, we see that sometimes we need to adapt the infrastructure for charging. It depends on the garage.
Each charging system has its own spatial and infrastructure needs. For example, plug-in dispensers require us to consider parking to minimize cable-management issues. For pantographs, the design team might need to perform a structural analysis. Inductive charging requires ground modifications. All these systems require us to coordinate engineering with mechanical and electrical infrastructure.
In our work, we see that sometimes we need to adapt the infrastructure for charging. It depends on the garage. We may need to upgrade it to support the pantograph. And buildings with in-floor heating may not be suitable for inductive charging. The most common issues with plug-in dispensers? Cable management and parking.
Inverters convert incoming power so it can be used by dispensers. We need to size inverters (also called charging cabinets or chargers) to match the selected charging technology. Depending on the technology selected, there can be distance limitations from inverters to dispensers. So, we need to consider that when we locate them.
6. Bus length
When they are not driving or servicing them, transit agencies must park the buses in fleet storage spaces. We must analyze fleet storage parking when introducing battery electric buses. Their parking position is critical when planning for charging locations. We need to align charging infrastructure with the position of the bus. BEBs can be longer than the diesel buses in existing fleets. This extra length could potentially reduce the number of buses that agencies can park in existing spaces. We recommend doing a turning simulation with the introduction of new vehicles to a fleet. It’s key to provide maneuverability in storage, charging, and service areas.
In our project work, we have observed that if you change the bus size and the stall size, your stacked bus capacity could change.
The TriMet Powell Bus Operations & Maintenance Facility in Portland, Oregon. The facility is designed to make it the agency’s first 100 percent battery electric bus facility.
7. Bus weight
Battery electric buses are heavier than diesel buses. In the field, we see cases where older ground hoists can’t lift BEBs. Agencies may need adapters or new hoists to do the job.
That means we need to assess existing in-ground hoists in maintenance to confirm they have the load capacity to lift the new bus. Also, we need to check the compatibility on the support point to see if an adapter could be required.
8. Heating systems
In colder climates, like Canada, the battery electric bus often uses diesel in the heating system. This reduces the drain on the battery, which would cut the trip mileage in cold weather. For this reason, we must consider retaining diesel infrastructure in existing facilities, at least for a time.
A holistic understanding
The transition to battery electric and fuel-cell buses involves a lot of investment and planning from transit providers.
It requires transit providers to change their infrastructure, spaces, operational procedures, maintenance practices, and workforce training. Every transit situation is unique. And technology is changing rapidly.
Transit providers need custom-tailored solutions to make the move to low-emissions vehicles. And they need guidance to keep buses on the road serving our communities during the transition. One of the best places to start? Understanding the bus itself.
