Approximate Solutions for Multi-Trip Route Planning in Time-Sensitive Situations

TL;DR

This paper introduces the Ambulance Bus Routing Problem, focusing on efficient approximate routing policies to maximize individual satisfaction during time-sensitive emergency transportation scenarios.

Contribution

It develops approximate policies, characterizes an optimal solution for a relaxed model, and proposes a heuristic for near-optimal solutions in multi-trip routing.

Findings

Proposed efficient approximate routing policies.

Characterized optimal solutions for relaxed models.

Devised a heuristic for quick near-optimal solutions.

Abstract

We consider emergent situations that require transporting individuals from their locations to a facility using a single capacitated vehicle, where transportation duration has a negative impact on the individuals. A dispatcher determines routes to maximize total satisfaction. We call this problem the Ambulance Bus Routing Problem. We develop efficient approximate policies for the dispatcher to allocate individuals to multiple routes, characterize an optimal solution of the relaxed approximate model, and devise a heuristic to obtain a near-optimal integer solution quickly.