Optimal Route Assignment at the Bus Hub with Multiple Berths for Minimal Passenger Transfer Distance

Bus hub is characterized with multiple berths, each serving specific bus routes. When bus routes at different berths share the same stops en route, passengers to the shared stops may rush among these berths to catch the newly arriving bus, causing inconvenience and deteriorating bus service level. Thus, this research attempts to optimize bus route assignment to the berths at a bus hub to minimize passenger transfer distance among the optional berths. The problem is modeled with integer linear programming, with the constraints of bus service capacity. To enhance computation efficiency, exclusive and inclusive constraints based on the count of shared stops among the bus routes are additionally added to the original model, though they may bring gap from the optimal solution. Case study follows to apply the proposed set of models to a bus terminal, where a total of 26 routes are assigned to 11 berths. It is found that the models with additional constraints can greatly reduce calculation time at the cost of small or no gap from the optimal solution. Thus, the models with additional constraints are recommended to obtain ideal solution quickly. This research provides insights into bus route management at the bus terminal with multiple berths, contributing to enhanced passenger waiting experience.