Electric Transit Route Network Design Problem: Model and Application

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2019

Subject Area

infrastructure - fleet management, mode - bus, planning - route design, technology - alternative fuels

Keywords

Electric Transit Route Network Design Problem—E-TRNDP, sustainable public transportation

Abstract

Electric buses have long been recognized as a promising direction for offering sustainable public transportation services. While range and battery performance constraints have hindered the widespread adoption of electric buses in the past, technological advances make them a prominent and attractive option for public transportation in the future. Still, operational constraints and the need for additional (charging) infrastructure highlight the need for introducing appropriate decision-making tools, tailor-made for supporting the design of transit networks operated by electric buses. This paper focuses on developing and testing a comprehensive route design model for the case of a transit network, operated exclusively by an electric bus fleet (Electric Transit Route Network Design Problem—E-TRNDP). The model is formulated as a bi-level optimization problem, which attempts to jointly design efficient transit routes and locate required charging infrastructure. A multi-objective, particle swarm optimization algorithm, coupled with a mixed linear—integer programming model is used to solve the model. An existing benchmark network is used as a test-bed for the proposed model and solution process; results illustrate that the proposed model and solution method yield realistic design outcomes in an acceptable time frame.

Rights

Permission to publish the abstract has been given by SAGE, copyright remains with them.

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS