An Optimization-and-Simulation Framework for Redesigning University Campus Bus System with Social Distancing

TL;DR

This paper presents a combined optimization and simulation approach to redesign university bus routes during COVID-19, ensuring social distancing, efficiency, and system resiliency using real data and a hub-and-spoke model.

Contribution

It introduces a novel mixed-integer programming and simulation framework for redesigning campus bus systems with social distancing constraints during a pandemic.

Findings

New bus routes maintained social distancing and reduced infection risk.

System demonstrated resiliency across various demand and disruption scenarios.

Implemented routes effectively served all campuses during 2020-2021 academic year.

Abstract

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to significant challenges for schools, workplaces and communities to return to operations during the pandemic, requiring policymakers to balance individuals' safety and operational efficiency. In this paper, we present our work using mixed-integer programming and simulation for redesigning routes and bus schedules for University of Michigan (UM)'s campus bus system during the COVID-19 pandemic. We propose a hub-and-spoke design and utilize real data of student activities to identify hub locations and bus stops to be used in the new routes. Using the same total number of buses to operate, each new bus route has 50\% or fewer seats being used and takes maximumly 15 minutes, to reduce disease transmission through expiratory aerosol. We sample a variety of scenarios that cover variations of peak demand, social-distancing requirements, and break-down buses, to demonstrate the system resiliency of the new routes and schedules via simulation. The new bus routes are implemented and used by all UM campuses during the academic year 2020-2021, to ensure social distancing and short travel time. Our approach can be generalized to redesign public transit systems with social distancing requirement during the pandemic to reduce passengers' infection risk.