Research team
Expertise
My research investigates the development of scheduling algorithms, and particularly how efficient computer programs can be built to solve complex scheduling problems. My focus is on scheduling public transport services (on-demand bus transport, ride-sharing, integrated on-demand and fixed public transport, etc.), but these same optimization techniques can be used to schedule the transport of goods, like planning the routes of package or meal delivery services.
The on-demand bus routing problem: toards a more performant public transport system.
Abstract
Recently, the Flemish weekly magazine Knack published a scathing article entitled "Pamphlet of an angry bus traveler: The 10 pests of De Lijn", in which it decried (among other things) the inefficiency of public bus transport. One of the main reasons for this inefficiency: buses run along fixed routes, following fixed time schedules, both of which are defined not knowing where (potential) passengers are, where they want to go, and when they would like to arrive. As a result, some buses run empty, whereas others are jam-packed with frustrated passengers. The ubiquity of mobile devices would, for the first time in human history, allow for a large-scale shift to on-demand public transport in which buses drive along routes completely determined by requests for transportation. In such a system, when a passenger wants to move from one place to another she indicates her departure and arrival locations, as well as a preferred time of arrival. Planning all of these transportation requests, however, is a daunting task, for which adequate models and algorithms have not yet been developed. This project focuses on the optimization problem that arises when bus routes in an urban environment are determined entirely based on transportation requests issued by potential passengers. We call this novel problem the On-Demand Bus Routing Problem (ODBRP) and will develop efficient algorithms for its different variants.Researcher(s)
- Promoter: Sörensen Kenneth
- Fellow: Melis Lissa
Research team(s)
Project type(s)
- Research Project