Does Operation Scheduling Make a Difference: Tapping the Potential of Optimized Design for Skipping-Stop Strategy in Reducing Bus Emissions

The idea of corporate social responsibility has promoted bus operation agencies to rethink how to provide not only efficient but also environmentally friendly services for residents. A study on the potential of using an optimized design of skip-stop services, one of the essential operational strateg...

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Main Authors: Xumei Chen, Xiaomi Han, Lei Yu, Changhai Wei
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2017-09-01
Series:Sustainability
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/10/1737
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spelling doaj-15b5fd1b83c3482a8635b2342cade9962020-11-24T21:09:58ZengMDPI AGSustainability2071-10502017-09-01910173710.3390/su9101737su9101737Does Operation Scheduling Make a Difference: Tapping the Potential of Optimized Design for Skipping-Stop Strategy in Reducing Bus EmissionsXumei Chen0Xiaomi Han1Lei Yu2Changhai Wei3MOE Key Laboratory for Urban Transportation Complex Systems Theory and Technology, School of Traffic and Transportation, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, ChinaMOE Key Laboratory for Urban Transportation Complex Systems Theory and Technology, School of Traffic and Transportation, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, ChinaCollege of Science, Engineering and Technology, Texas Southern University, Houston, TX 77004, USANanjing Institute of City & Transport Panning Co., Ltd, Nanjing 210008, ChinaThe idea of corporate social responsibility has promoted bus operation agencies to rethink how to provide not only efficient but also environmentally friendly services for residents. A study on the potential of using an optimized design of skip-stop services, one of the essential operational strategies in practice, to reduce emissions is conducted in this paper. The underlying scheduling problem is formulated as a nonlinear programming problem with the primary objective of optimizing the total costs for both passengers and operating agencies, as well as with the secondary objective of minimizing bus emissions. A solution method is developed to solve the problem. A real-world case of Route 16 in Beijing is studied, in which the optimal scheduling strategy that maximizes the cost savings and environmental benefits is determined. The costs and emissions of the proposed scheduling strategy are compared with the optimal scheduling with skip-stop services without considering bus emissions. The results show that the proposed scheduling strategy outperforms the other operating strategy with respect to operational costs and bus emissions. A sensitivity study is then conducted to investigate the impact of the fleet size in operations and passenger demand on the effectiveness of the proposed stop-skipping strategy considering bus emissions.https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/10/1737skip-stop busoptimal scheduling modelbus emissionsmodified hierarchical method
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Xumei Chen
Xiaomi Han
Lei Yu
Changhai Wei
spellingShingle Xumei Chen
Xiaomi Han
Lei Yu
Changhai Wei
Does Operation Scheduling Make a Difference: Tapping the Potential of Optimized Design for Skipping-Stop Strategy in Reducing Bus Emissions
Sustainability
skip-stop bus
optimal scheduling model
bus emissions
modified hierarchical method
author_facet Xumei Chen
Xiaomi Han
Lei Yu
Changhai Wei
author_sort Xumei Chen
title Does Operation Scheduling Make a Difference: Tapping the Potential of Optimized Design for Skipping-Stop Strategy in Reducing Bus Emissions
title_short Does Operation Scheduling Make a Difference: Tapping the Potential of Optimized Design for Skipping-Stop Strategy in Reducing Bus Emissions
title_full Does Operation Scheduling Make a Difference: Tapping the Potential of Optimized Design for Skipping-Stop Strategy in Reducing Bus Emissions
title_fullStr Does Operation Scheduling Make a Difference: Tapping the Potential of Optimized Design for Skipping-Stop Strategy in Reducing Bus Emissions
title_full_unstemmed Does Operation Scheduling Make a Difference: Tapping the Potential of Optimized Design for Skipping-Stop Strategy in Reducing Bus Emissions
title_sort does operation scheduling make a difference: tapping the potential of optimized design for skipping-stop strategy in reducing bus emissions
publisher MDPI AG
series Sustainability
issn 2071-1050
publishDate 2017-09-01
description The idea of corporate social responsibility has promoted bus operation agencies to rethink how to provide not only efficient but also environmentally friendly services for residents. A study on the potential of using an optimized design of skip-stop services, one of the essential operational strategies in practice, to reduce emissions is conducted in this paper. The underlying scheduling problem is formulated as a nonlinear programming problem with the primary objective of optimizing the total costs for both passengers and operating agencies, as well as with the secondary objective of minimizing bus emissions. A solution method is developed to solve the problem. A real-world case of Route 16 in Beijing is studied, in which the optimal scheduling strategy that maximizes the cost savings and environmental benefits is determined. The costs and emissions of the proposed scheduling strategy are compared with the optimal scheduling with skip-stop services without considering bus emissions. The results show that the proposed scheduling strategy outperforms the other operating strategy with respect to operational costs and bus emissions. A sensitivity study is then conducted to investigate the impact of the fleet size in operations and passenger demand on the effectiveness of the proposed stop-skipping strategy considering bus emissions.
topic skip-stop bus
optimal scheduling model
bus emissions
modified hierarchical method
url https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/10/1737
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AT leiyu doesoperationschedulingmakeadifferencetappingthepotentialofoptimizeddesignforskippingstopstrategyinreducingbusemissions
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