Jac McCluskey
Theme
Transport Policy and EconomicsProject
The Economics of Bus Fleet Electrification: Guidance for Private FinancingSupervisor(s)
Dr Charles Larkin, Dr Winifred HuangBio
During his time with the AAPS CDT, Jac became a CFA charterholder, published several papers related to the economics and finance of electric bus fleets, and advised the UK Government's Department for Transport on their Total Cost of Ownership model - a framework which will be used to determine the appropriate end of sale date for diesel buses. In his final year, Jac also undertook an extended policy internship with the DWP, leading the development and deployment of two visualisation dashboards to help coordinate tasks related to the UK Government's "Pathways to Work" green paper and communicate complex outputs related to Universal Credit modelling. Jac has also been involved (at different points in time) in the Conference Planning Committee and Enrichment Committee.
Upon leaving the CDT, Jac will be joining the Department for Education as a Research Economist.
Fun Facts
- I played for Brighton's community team in a Dutch football tournament
- There are more than 5 films which I have watched over 20 times
- I won a chilli eating competition at a university curry club social
- If you see me at Karaoke, I will be singing "Escape" (AKA the pina colada song)
- I was named after my great uncle Jackie - a Jesuit priest who worked as a teacher in Ghana
The Economics of Bus Fleet Electrification: Guidance for Private Financing
Jac's PhD research will deliver a green bond designed to finance low-carbon bus operations. This document will provide asset specifications (e.g., issue price, face value, coupon rate, and an expected credit rating), and evidence of alignment to the ICMA green bond principles and UK taxonomy. To achieve this aim, we will investigate the extra cost and default risk associated with fully electrified fleets. By looking at costs from a fleet perspective, we include the monetary impact of electric vehicle range and charging requirements on vehicle scheduling.
- Issue price: Price of the green bond
- Face value: Payment from the issuer to the bond holder at maturity
- Coupon rate: The % of face value received periodically (similar to an interest rate)
- Credit rating: Rating that describes the risk to the bond holder that they will not receive the agreed upon payments
- ICMA: International Capital Markets Association
- Green bond principles: Use of Proceeds, Process for Project Evaluation and Selection, Management of Proceeds, Reporting
- UK taxonomy: UK government's categorisation of which activities align to the UK's carbon budget
- Probability of default model: Model which estimates the probability that the issuer does not meet their debt obligations
- Real options: The ability to change strategy when new information becomes available
- Operational complexities: Electric bus vehicle scheduling has to allow time for charging. The moving of buses in and out of service affects crew scheduling.
