Fleet and route design for a commuter bus service

Abstract

We propose a two-stage methodology for designing a bus service to transport employees of a large factory between their homes and the production plant at the beginning and end of work shifts. The approach combines initial route generation with an integer linear programming model to optimize route selection, stop locations, and worker assignments. The method was tested in a case study involving a factory with over 1000 workers (800 on rotating shifts and 200 on fixed schedules). in a city of more than 5 million inhabitants. with an urban rail line (under construction, with partial operation expected by 2027). Our solution reduces total costs by over 10% by minimizing the number and capacity of vehicles required, without significantly increasing walking distances or travel times for workers.