A comparative analysis of bus transit vehicle scheduling models

This paper presents a comparative analysis of three vehicle scheduling models. These models include a multiple depot and two single depot vehicle scheduling models. The multiple depot model is originally proposed by two of the authors in an earlier paper. The two single depot models are derived from the multiple depot model and are in fact special cases of this model. This analysis is performed by solving the blocking problem for the operation of the Mass Transit Administration (MTA) in the city of Baltimore, Maryland. Results obtained from the three models are compared with each other and the original MTA schedule. These comparisons show that, under certain conditions, a single depot vehicle scheduling model performs better. A sensitivity analysis with respect to two important parameters is also performed and the results are reported. Results indicate that deadhead speed is an important parameter in dealing with the scheduling problems. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.