The photovoltaic industry has experienced rapid growth due to the decrease in price of solar panels and various incentive policies. However, it is not widely utilized as a source of energy for transportation. Studies on photovoltaic potential are required for their use in solar vehicles; they exhibit high potential given the development of solar panels and electric vehicles. The amount of electricity generated on the road through a solar bus was estimated using geographic information systems. The solar potential of town buses in the urban area of Seoul city is analyzed as a case study. Data with a high spatial resolution of 1 m and high temporal resolution of 1 min are obtained to estimate accurate results for moving objects. Thus, the mean generated power per bus is estimated as 2.7 kWh/day with a capacity factor corresponding to 5.57%. The energy can be used to supply basic services that use power in the bus. The results are validated via experiments with a developed mobile sensor. It is expected that the methodology proposed in the study will aid in understanding the potential of a solar bus and can be applied in various studies on solar vehicles. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.