Integer Programming Approach in Bus Scheduling and Collection Optimization

Abstract

This paper discusses the current practices of bus services within a chosen town council. In this service, the driver’s schedule has to be sorted out as the bus timetable involves large constraints and requires vast amount of planning. Two problems were studied, namely the overlapping journey which resulted in competition among the company’s own buses and the “unfair†distribution of tasks among the bus crews. We propose the use of integer programming model to determine whether adding an interchange would improve collections. Simple rules were introduced in rescheduling the buses that attempted to minimize the frequency of buses departing from the main station (Larkin Terminal) at the same time. Using Excel program with Visual Basic Application, we develop a scheduler system to generate the weekly timetable for the drivers. This software has demonstrated its ability to solve the second problem of “unfair†distribution of duties. The result of the integer programming model shows that adding an interchange with proper allocation of buses not only can increase the daily collections but also improve the trip frequency as well. Key words: Integer programming, bus scheduling, maximizing collection and scheduling modelling