Application of Simulated Annealing in Transit Schedule Synchronization

transport servicesis of vital importance in transit planning, as it has direct impacts on the waiting time imposed on transferring passengers. This task, which is widely recognized as schedule synchronization, is highly complicated by nature since it typically leads to a complex combinatorial optimization problem. This study aims to investigate the capability of simulated annealing algorithm in coping with this problem. A new mathematical programming model is presented for the purpose of minimizing the total transfer waiting time in transit networks. Then, a simulated annealing algorithm is developed and applied to a small-size transit network in order to test the algorithm applicability. The numerical results showed the capability of the algorithm in tackling the transit schedule synchronization problem.