School-centred Energy Hubs for Electric School Buses: A South African Techno-Economic Analysis

Inadequate scholar transport threatens educational access for South African learners; diesel transport, where available, compounds this through high cost and exhaust exposure. This study presents a techno-economic analysis of integrating electric school buses into school-centred PV/BESS micro-grids, simulating 53 Western Cape schools across route distances of 5-50 km, with 15% of learners requiring transport. Two NSGA-II formulations are explored: one minimising investment cost while maximising net cash flow, and one also minimising bus grid dependency. Integration does not compromise school microgrid performance, with PV/BESS supplying 50-75% of school demand throughout. Bus demand met by PV/BESS ranges from 50-100% at short distances to 20% at 50 km. The electric bus achieves lower per-student cost than diesel across all schools, with payback periods of 3 to 5.5 years. Solar-powered electric scholar transport is feasible and economically viable for short-to-medium routes.