Decomposition Method for Generation of Optimal Timetables for Urban Bus Network

Abstract The paper describes an application of the optimization technique to timetable preparation of urban bus routes. It summarizes the different approaches that have been proposed, describes the problem context and proposes a solution method. An optimal timetable generation strategy has been developed on the basis of a discrete bus route model which describes the evolution of headways for successive trips of vehicles. The optimization problem is to determine the optimal control sequence of layover times at the terminal point that minimizes the average delay of passengers and the deviation of control variables from the nominal conditions. A decomposition approach due to Tamura. was applied to the problem. The results obtained by the application of the method to a trial bus network are presented and some conclusions concerning the efficiency of the algorithm are drawn.