Integrated Approach to Vehicle Scheduling and Bus Timetabling for an Electric Bus Line
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems
Volume 146, Issue 2
Abstract
Timetable and vehicle scheduling are important for transit operations. Electric buses are more environmentally friendly compared with conventional buses, and have been developing rapidly and may replace conventional buses in many cities worldwide. This paper focuses on the bus timetabling and vehicle scheduling problem for electric buses and develops a multiobjective optimization model for a single bus line operated with electric buses. The objectives include smoothing the vehicle departure intervals and minimizing the number of vehicles and total charging costs. The constraints reflect the limitations related to the range of departure intervals during different time periods, the vehicle operation mileage, and the charging conditions. A multiobjective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) algorithm is developed to get the Pareto-optimal solution set. Considering the priority relationships among three objective components, an optimal solution selection strategy is developed. Compared to both the existing schedule and sequential schedule, the integrated model can not only effectively and efficiently reduce the number of vehicles and total charging costs, but also noticeably increase the smoothness of departure intervals. Moreover, it can allow the vehicle charging periods to be evenly distributed during off-peak hours.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code used during the study were provided by a third party (Shanghai Jiushi Public Transportation Group Co., Ltd.). Direct requests for these materials may be made to the provider as indicated in the Acknowledgments.
Acknowledgments
The study was financially supported by the Shanghai Science & Technology Committee via a project entitled “Public transit system simulation analysis platform and demonstrations” (Project No. 17DZ1204409) in the field of social development of “Science and Technology Innovation Action Plan.” The authors also would like to thank Shanghai Jiushi Public Transportation Group Co., Ltd. for providing the basic data of bus line 750.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems
Volume 146 • Issue 2 • February 2020
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 10, 2018
Accepted: Jul 8, 2019
Published online: Dec 9, 2019
Published in print: Feb 1, 2020
Discussion open until: May 9, 2020
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