A Two-Stage Algorithm for School Bus Stop Location and Routing Problem With Walking Accessibility and Mixed Load

Jingxuan Ren,Weitiao Wu,Wenzhou Jin

doi:10.1109/access.2019.2936922

Jingxuan Ren, Weitiao Wu + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1109/access.2019.2936922

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Journal: IEEE Access	Publication Date: Jan 1, 2019
Citations: 8	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: South China University of Technology

Abstract

This paper proposes a School Bus Stop location and Routing Problem with Walking Accessibility and Mixed Load (SBSLRP-WA-ML), where the individual difference of walking accessibilities among students and the possibility of serving students attending different schools with the same bus simultaneously are considered. We first develop a mixed integer programming model for SBSLRP-WA-ML with the objective of minimizing the total commuting time, including walking time from the residence to school, in-vehicle travel time, and service time at stops. A two-stage solution method is then developed. In stage 1, an iterative clustering method based on k-means and Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise (DBSCAN) is used to locate bus stops aiming at minimizing the number of stops subject to various walking accessibilities. In stage 2, an improved ant colony optimization algorithm (IACO) integrating two local search operators is devised, which is used to generate bus routes with minimal total commuting time. A number of instances of different sizes are generated to verify the solution approach, and the influential factors with respect to total commuting time are analyzed. The model is also compared to the door-to-door school bus services. Comparison to similar methods and sensitivity analysis of parameters are also conducted to analyze the performance and robustness of the proposed approach.

Highlights

School bus is a dedicated transportation mode for students’ commute
SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK There is usually a great age difference among students from distinct schools at different educational stage, leading to the different walking accessibilities affecting the design of the school bus system, especially the school bus stop location phase
This study introduces the school bus stop location and routing problem with walking accessibility and mixed load with a mixed integer programming model

Summary

INTRODUCTION

School bus is a dedicated transportation mode for students’ commute. Such services have become the focus of the public attention in China since the issue of Regulation on School Bus Safety Management in 2012, which defines the rules over the school bus, drivers, priority, etc. Previous research usually investigates the stop location problem by introducing an upper bound on walking distance for all students. This neglects individual difference of walking accessibilities of students and possible unfairness. To address this issue, in this study we introduce a student-oriented systematic measurement and individual walking accessibility in the school bus planning. We present a School Bus Stop location and Routing Problem with Walking Accessibility and Mixed Load (SBSLRPWA-ML), where the individual difference of walking accessibility among students and the possibility of serving students attending different schools with the same bus are considered simultaneously.

LITERATURE REVIEW AND MAIN CONTRIBUTIONS

ASSUMPTIONS The proposed formulation is based on the following assumptions:

SOLUTION APPROACH

SCHOOL BUS STOP LOCATION WITH WALKING ACCESSIBILITY

COMPUTATIONAL EXPERIMENT AND DISCUSSION

Findings

SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK