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The thrills and trials of testing battery-electric buses

27 SEPTEMBER 2024

Maria shares her experiences testing the driveability of battery-electric buses, and exploring vehicle safety, performance, and reliability across the diverse landscapes of Europe.

Maria Papp, a Development Engineer in Scania's People Transport Solutions department, combines unique experiences with innovative contributions. Originally from Hungary, she moved to Sweden 18 years ago, driving buses for Stockholm's public transport while studying mechanical engineering. Her insights as a bus driver led to improvements in bus climate control systems, catching Scania's attention. In her decade at Scania, Maria has analysed customer profitability for battery-electric (BEV) trucks and tested BEV bus energy consumption. Currently, she is responsible for powertrain-related driveability for buses, ensuring efficiency, safety, and dependability in various environments.

The complexities of testing

Maria's job involves extensive driving, but not just around the block. She drives BEV buses across Europe to test them in different weather conditions, road types, traffic situations and charging stations. She has driven BEV buses and trucks for over 20,000 km across Europe and charged heavy-duty BEVs at more than 70 different stations.

Maria meticulously prepares each vehicle with the latest software and hardware and ensures compliance with testing regulations. Accompanied by a team of two to three persons, they measure the energy consumption, the driveline performance, the gear-changing capability, the temperature control and other parameters.

She leverages apps for navigation and truck charging stations, while also evaluating the driver’s impact on vehicle performance. Because the work is unpredictable, her ability to adapt is crucial. She is prepared for unexpected delays, setbacks, and even public applause. Post-trips, Maria's analyses lead to actionable improvements, collaborating across teams to enhance vehicle software and hardware.

Maria has driven BEV buses and trucks for over 20,000 km across Europe and charged heavy-duty BEVs at more than 70 different stations.

The rewards and challenges

Driving and evaluating the latest electric vehicle technologies is an opportunity Maria enjoys. She takes pride in changing customers' misconceptions about BEV buses and showing their impressive capabilities. “Many customers expect battery-electric buses to be slow and weak. In many of my experiences, the customers I met were so surprised. They discovered it was so powerful, silent and comfortable. It is good to see them change their opinion,” says Maria.

Her job is not without its adventures and challenges, from long-distance achievements to navigating foreign towns and handling unpredictable moments. She finds testing BEV buses fun and exciting. On one trip, while manoeuvring the BEV bus, Backstreet through narrow Spanish streets to find charging stations, she drew cheers and curious onlookers fascinated by the electric bus she was driving. On another occasion, she embarked on a journey from Hamburg, Germany to Malmö, Sweden, over a distance exceeding 500 km on a single charge, filled with pride at their accomplishment.

Despite the occasional stress, Maria treasures the unique experiences of each trip. She says gratefully, “Those trips would be impossible without like-minded, enthusiastic and knowledgeable colleagues”. She feels optimistic and motivated by the developments of BEV, seeing how the range and performance have been improving.