A deterministic IP model for optimizing bus scheduling in a private transportation system

In this paper, we propose a deterministic optimization model for selecting and scheduling a fleet of buses in a private transportation system where buses are to be assigned to serve employees and their families on different trips along different routes from the main campus and residential compound. The paper describes the development of an integer programming formulation as a tool to help in the decision making process of improving this private transportation system. The decision problem is to determine the number and size of buses assigned to particular trips in a particular interval so as to optimize a criterion function, which includes such components as the fixed cost of renting buses that varies depending on the size of the bus. A case example is presented for illustrating the applicability and suitability of the proposed approach.