Continuous approximation models for mixed load school bus routing

William A. Ellegood, James F. Campbell and Jeremy North

Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, 2015, vol. 77, issue C, 182-198

Abstract: School bus routing is a complex and expensive transportation problem for many public school districts. Typical school bus routes serve a single school, but mixed load school bus routes carry students for more than one school at the same time. A mixed load policy reduces the number of stops and distance to pick up and drop off children, but it can increase travel distance by visiting multiple schools. This paper provides a general strategic analysis using continuous approximation models to assess the conditions under which mixed loading is likely to be beneficial. We also present a case study for a semi-rural Missouri school district to illustrate the application of the models in practice. Results show that mixed load routing is more beneficial for larger districts, when a large percentage of bus stops are shared by students of different schools, and when schools are closer together.

Keywords: Continuous approximation models; School bus routing; Approximation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.trb.2015.03.018

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