The multi-period service territory design problem – An introduction,a model and a heuristic approach

In service territory design applications, a field service workforce is responsible for providing recurring services at their customers’ sites. We introduce the associated planning problem, which consists of two subproblems: In the partitioning subproblem, customers must be grouped into service territories. In the scheduling subproblem, customer visits must be scheduled throughout the multi-period planning horizon. The emphasis of this paper is put on the scheduling subproblem. We propose a mixed integer programming model for this subproblem and present a location-allocation heuristic. The results of extensive experiments on real-world instances show that the proposed heuristic produces high-quality solutions.     

An adaptive large-neighborhood search heuristic for a multi-period vehicle routing problem

This problem involves optimizing product collection and redistribution from production locations to a set of processing plants over a planning horizon. This horizon consists of several days, and the collection-redistribution is performed on a repeating daily basis. A single routing plan must be prepared for the whole horizon, taking into account the seasonal variations in the supply. We model the problem using a sequence of periods, each corresponding to a season. We propose an adaptive large-neighborhood search with several specifically designed operators and features. The results show the excellent performance of the algorithm in terms of solution quality and computational efficiency.     

高速铁路综合客运枢纽协同管理研究

随着城市快速发展和旅客运输服务品质的提升,高速铁路综合客运枢纽已经成为我国综合客运枢纽的重要组成部分。在分析高速铁路综合客运枢纽发展现状及存在问题的基础上,针对综合客运枢纽协同管理较为薄弱、协同管理服务水平有待突破、协同管理机构有待健全等问题,从规划建设协同、运营管理信息协同、管理机构协同等方面提出高速铁路综合客运枢纽协同管理对策,为高速铁路综合客运枢纽提升服务品质提供决策支持。     

An analysis of essential air service structure and performance

The US federal Essential Air Service program was established to subsidize air service to communities unable to retain commercial carriers after airline deregulation in 1978. In this paper, the subsidized service between program communities and commercial hub airports is investigated relative to several Essential Air Service planning objectives. Specifically, observed community hubbing activity is compared with that modeled to minimize hub access cost and maximize community accessibility within the commercial air transport system. Results highlight trends in system performance relative to these planning objectives and indicate that significant potential exists for enhancing the efficiency of the program in light of limited resources.     

Embedding economies of scale concepts for hub network design

We explore the idea of endogenous hub location on a network. In contrast to much of the literature, we propose that hub networks may emerge naturally out of a set of assumptions and conditions borrowed from equilibrium traffic assignment. To this end, we focus on applying a nonlinear cost function that rewards economies of scale on all network links. A model is presented and implemented in a GIS environment using both a 100-node intercity matrix and several synthesized interaction matrices. We compare solutions for different assumptions about network costs, and visualize the results. We find that under discounted conditions, network flow is re-routed to take advantage of the cost savings for amalgamation and that several cities emerge as centers through which large amounts of flow pass. Larger cities such as Los Angeles, New York and Chicago serve gateway functions. We also find that smaller cities such as Oklahoma City, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, and Knoxville serve major gateway functions because of their locational advantages. Our paper should be of interest to the planner of a surface transportation system, or those interested in nodal concepts such as gateways and transport geography. Results are discussed in light of hub and spoke networks and suggestions are made for future research.     

Robust planning and disruption management in roll-on roll-off liner shipping

This paper presents different strategies for handling disruptions in fleet deployment in roll-on roll-off liner shipping, which basically consists of assigning a fleet of vessels to predefined voyages at minimum cost. A new mathematical model of the problem is presented, including a set of robust planning strategies, such as adding slack and rewarding early arrivals. To solve real-life instances a rolling horizon heuristic is proposed. A computational study, where we also propose some recovery planning strategies, is conducted, and simulation results show that adding robustness significantly reduces the actual cost of the plan and the total delays of the voyages.     

一体化发展策略下的轨道交通枢纽建设

轨道交通的枢纽建设在实现城市交通发展一体化中起着至关重要的作用。在总结上海轨道交通多个枢纽建设和运营经验的基础上，提出在一体化发展策略下建设轨道交通枢纽的创新理念，包括“由多线集中换乘到分散换乘”的网络规划理念、由“零距离换乘”到“以时间换空间”的运营安全理念、注重客流组织“单循环”流线的换乘效率理念、实现立体化交通组织的“人车分流”理念、注重细节的“以人为本”理念以及车站周边空间的一体化开发理念，最后从规划、设计、运营、服务、开发五个层面提出轨道交通枢纽建设的具体要求，为未来轨道交通枢纽的规划和建设提供参考。     

The role of schedule delays on passengers’ choice of access modes: A case study of Japan’s international hub airports

We empirically study passenger modal-choice behavior to access an international hub airport, by using stated preference (SP) data and by constructing a binomial logit model. We found that passenger modal choice is affected by the service level of the access modes: travel time, travel cost, waiting time, and delay cost. The results also indicate that if passengers choose access mode in advance they consider service frequency: departure timing from home, and the arrival timing at the airport. Moreover, our results indicate that travelers’ willingness to pay for saving time differs by time of a day. They are apt to pay more in the morning than in the afternoon. These outcomes must contribute to improve the access flight service from local to hub airports to handle the needs of passengers.     

Intermodal logistics: The interplay of financial,operational and service issues

This research addresses strategic planning for an interregional, hub based, intermodal logistics network operated by a logistics service provider. A tabu search meta-heuristic is used to solve a mathematical optimization model that extends the p-hub median model for interacting hub location-allocation problems to the domain of intermodal logistics. An empirical study based on a subset of US freight flows shows that intermodal logistics networks differ significantly from traditional over-the-road logistics networks in their hub locations, network structure, and their use of direct and inter-hub shipments. Furthermore, intermodal logistics networks are more sensitive to changes in service requirements and costs.     

The strategic berth template problem

A marine container terminal operator may have a situation with excessive calling requests to be served especially when some new service contracts are under consideration. For this situation, we propose a strategic berth template problem (BTPS) that selects the ships among the requesting ones to be served and arrange their berth-windows within a limited planning horizon. The BTPS employs the subgradient optimization procedure, which is an improved version of the procedure that the authors developed for the operational berth allocation problem. A wide variety of numerical experiments indicate the improved subgradient procedure works well for the BTPS.     

建设虹桥枢纽 服务区域经济——上海虹桥综合交通枢纽规划与运营

上海虹桥综合交通枢纽是城市规划和城市交通规划的一次大胆尝试。介绍虹桥综合交通枢纽项目的由来、功能定位、开发策划、规划设计、道路交通规划、信息系统规划、空铁联运、防灾规划，对综合交通枢纽的规划与运营进行总结和探讨。     

Service quality in a mid-sized air terminal: A SEM-MIMIC ordinal probit accounting for travel,sociodemographic, and user-type heterogeneity

Service quality of the airline industry is still unexplored, if compared to the public transport service quality literature. In this paper, we propose an analysis of the services provided by an Italian airport based on an SEM approach. Specifically, we propose a SEM-MIMIC ordinal Probit capturing the heterogeneity in perceptions of air transport passengers and identify groups of passengers with similar assessments of the services. Results suggest the presence of four constructs affecting the overall satisfaction at the terminal, namely information, control, environment, and food service. Results also suggest that there are two different user-types: accessory user (who uses ticket office, luggage trolleys, and escalator lifts), and technology user (who uses charging stations, airport website, and airport wi-fi).     

大理动车运用所选址方案研究

随着多条铁路引入大理枢纽及周边路网的完善,枢纽内急需增加动车组运用检修存放设施,以满足旅客出行需求及实现大理地区路网通达的需要。在阐述大理枢纽规划和动车组检修工作量的基础上,确定大理动车运用所规模,分析横列式和纵列式2个布置方案,结合动车运用所选址原则提出蛇山方案、苍甸山方案、凤仪方案3个动车运用所选址方案,从运营长度、工程条件、后期发展等方面对3个方案进行综合比选,最终确定经济合理、适应城市规划及铁路科学发展的蛇山方案。动车运用所的建设研究有利于完善大理枢纽功能,提升铁路区域运输能力。     

Hybrid metaheuristic solutions to inventory location routing problem

This paper considers a supply chain network with multiple depots and geographically dispersed customers, each of which faces non-constant demand over a discrete planning horizon. The goal is to determine a set of depots to open, the delivery quantities to customers per period and the sequence in which they are replenished by a vehicle fleet such that the total system-wide cost is minimized. To solve it, first we construct a mixed integer program, and then propose a hybrid metaheuristic consisting of initialization, intensification and post-optimization. Results show that the proposed heuristic is considerably efficient and effective for many classical instances.     

Long-term route traffic forecasts and flight schedule pattern for a medium-sized European airport

This paper develops a methodology for assessing the future route network and flight schedule at a medium-sized European airport. The starting point is the existing origin and destination demand from the base airport across the world. This is expanded using growth rates by country or region for the period up to year 2015. The future origin and destination demand is then converted into route traffic, subject to a threshold for direct service. Where demand falls below this level, traffic is reallocated via various appropriate hubs. A model of frequency and aircraft size is applied to estimate the future air service on each route and a schedule created, allocating these flights to specific times of day. The scenario where the base airport operates as a hub is then investigated. This involves identifying a suitable hub model, considering geographical and competitive issues. The origin and destination demand is increased, resulting in an enlarged network of routes. Flights are then scheduled within the constraints of an optimal wave pattern. The outputs are of considerable interest in long-term airport planning and also offer an insight into future airline network strategies and opportunities.     

Study on China-EU container shipping network in the context of Northern Sea Route

The emerging Northern Sea Route (NSR) represents change to the existing liner network for China-EU container shipping. It is necessary to re-examine the container network in this context and assist liner companies in decision-making. This paper assesses the potential of the NSR based on designing a multi-port multi-trip liner service by establishing a two-stage optimization model. Based on the estimated data of NSR shipping, ship routing schemes on both the NSR and conventional routes are proposed. It is determined that container service along the NSR is largely influenced by ice-breaking charge, seasonality, and cargo volume, which makes NSR more likely to act as a supplementary line of the liner network in the short or medium term. The results also indicate that use of NSR may drive the redeployment of shipping network and hub ports in the long term. This study's conclusions may prove useful for strategic planning by liner companies, port authorities, and governments to assess the operation of liner service via the NSR.     

杭州东站综合交通枢纽规划设计的思考

杭州东站综合交通枢纽规划设计对全国同类型的综合交通枢纽建设具有较强指导和借鉴价值。从综合交通枢纽的概念入手，结合当前综合交通枢纽的发展形势与背景，在文献研究和实践调研的基础上，介绍了杭州东站综合交通枢纽设计研究概况。对杭州东站综合交通枢纽的规划、设计和建筑特点等进行分析和思考，就如何建设好我国未来铁路综合交通枢纽，使之在规划设计、功能布局等方面与城市融为一体，实现交通功能和城市功能的和谐发展等提出了相应的建议。     

中泰铁路通道物流枢纽遴选与布局研究

中泰铁路的修建将极大促进沿线成员国之间的贸易合作与交流,遴选与布局中泰铁路通道物流枢纽对物流的高效运输起着重要作用。阐述物流枢纽遴选与布局研究现状,提出构建中泰铁路通道物流枢纽遴选及布局模型,选取云南、泰国铁路沿线13个城市为研究对象,对中泰铁路通道物流枢纽的遴选和布局进行实证分析。研究结果表明:可以通过遴选模型确定中泰铁路经济带的物流枢纽节点,通过布局模型进一步确定中泰铁路国际物流通道的一级物流枢纽及二级物流枢纽,为中泰铁路通道物流枢纽规划布局提供研究依据。     

Anatomy of a new dollar van route: Informal transport and planning in New York City

Despite nearly eight million rides per day on formally planned and legally sanctioned buses and subways, dollar vans provide service that shadow some of the busiest bus lines in Brooklyn and Queens. Dollar vans are an informal transport service that occupy an awkward liminal space between legal and illegal—some are licensed and some are not, but all dollar vans operate illegally. It is this legal confusion that renders them informal. It is because of this informality that dollar van operators and drivers can also adapt their routes and service as they deem necessary. This “generative” mode of planning introduces a second dimension of informality; however, I argue that dollar van operators follow a similar logic as formal transportation operators when planning service. I demonstrate this by examining the case of a dollar van operator in Brooklyn developing a new route. I juxtapose his method with that of bus planners from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to show how both groups of planners rely on prompts they encounter, be it anecdotal stories about West Indians in Flatbush moving away or an angry letter from a state legislator, rather than a systematic approach that is taught in classrooms. By examining the planning of a new dollar van route in Brooklyn, I trace the operator's planning process and compare his data against quantitative datasets to show that his generative planning process is supported by the quantitative data and deepens its meaning when combined with his local knowledge. Seen in this light, it is clear that the distance between informal and formal transit is artificial rather than inherent.     

基于粗糙集的轨道交通换乘枢纽灰色聚类评价

评价轨道交通换乘枢纽的布局优劣、运营状况、服务水平,进而优化规划方案,给出5项评价指标,运用基于粗糙集理论的权系数确定方法,建立关系数据模型,通过计算灰色聚类分析模型的权系数的方法对轨道交通换乘枢纽进行评价,并结合实例说明方法的可行性。