Vehicle Relocation Scheduling Considering Charging Time for One-Way Electric Vehicle Car-Sharing Systems

Abstract

AbstractTraditional car-sharing services are based on a two-way scheme, wherein the user picks up and returns a vehicle at the same parking station. Some services also permit one-way trips; that is, the user is allowed to return the vehicle to another parking station. The one-way scheme is more widely available for users but may lead to an imbalance in the number of vehicles at each parking station; in other words, the user demand in each station may not be satisfied. In such cases, the service provider can relocate the vehicles to create a better distribution among the parking stations. In the case of electric vehicle (EV) car-sharing, such a problem is more complex because the travel range depends on the charge level of the battery. Moreover, EV relocation can lead to an imbalance in staff members between stations. Thus, staff members themselves need to be relocated between stations to perform vehicle relocations, considering the waiting time for charging the EV. In this study, we consider the charging and relocation problems of an EV car-sharing system. Additionally, we demonstrate the joint optimization of vehicle relocation and staff scheduling that can minimize the waiting time for staff and EVs at parking stations.KeywordsElectric vehicleOne-way car-sharingVehicle relocation problemStaff schedulingWaiting time