The German manufacturer offers a new service for digital management of Lion’s City E electric buses. The MAN eManager tool has been running on Traton’s cloud-based RIO platform for a few weeks. It allows operators to manage the pre-trip charging schedule as well as providing a source of vehicle health data.
The key function is the charge management for the modular battery system. eManager indicates in real time whether a vehicle is already fully charged or has reached the maximum charge level. Pushing a button, you can immediately charge a vehicle’s battery as soon as it is connected to the column or pre-program charging in MAN eManager. Information on the progress and status of the charge is provided in a clear and distinct format for each vehicle. The system can be configured to ensure that a particular bus is ready for departure at a set time of day. In case of problems during recharging, the fleet manager promptly receives a notification on the RIO platform and in this way can intervene to verify the problem.
MAN eManager can also be used to adjust the vehicle’s air conditioning before the start of service to ensure that energy is used as efficiently as possible while minimizing its consumption at the start of the journey. This helps prevent the need to recharge the battery in the event of a significant change in the ambient temperature during the day. When the air conditioning function is activated, the vehicle exits the depot with an optimal passenger compartment temperature for the passengers getting on board. All these functions can be used in the basic version of MAN eManager, a digital tool that will be further enhanced with additional optional services available over the next year. Each important vehicle parameter is available to the fleet manager and can also be easily analyzed. Information such as the remaining autonomy and the current state of charge, an analysis of parameters such as total energy consumption and specific consumption data for the transmission, the air conditioning system and other units can be viewed in real time. “With MAN eManager, bus operators have an efficient and cost-effective tool for managing the scheduling of electric buses and for carrying out daily operational planning,” stresses Rudi Kuchta, Head of Business Unit Bus, at MAN Truck & Bus.
