Hierarchical Optimization Algorithm for Timetable Generation Problems

Abstract The paper describes an application of the decomposition 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 opthonal 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 layovr times at the terminal point that minimizes the average delay of passengers and the deviation of control variables from the nominal conditions. Due to the high order of the model and existence of bounds both on the state and control variables, a hierarchical technique has been suggested to produce the optimal timetable. The approach developed in this paper is compared with other methods and some conclusions concerning the efficiency of the algorithm are drawn.