Sustainability Oriented Vehicle Route Planning Based on Time-Dependent Arc Travel Durations

Xianlong Ge and Yuanzhi Jin ()
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Xianlong Ge: School of Economics and Management, Chongqing Jiaotong University, Chongqing 400074, China
Yuanzhi Jin: School of Economics and Management, Chongqing Jiaotong University, Chongqing 400074, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 4, 1-25

Abstract: Traffic congestion has become a growing concern in cities, with both economic and environmental impacts on both individuals and the logistics industry. Therefore, a model of freight distribution in urban areas considering economic and environmental objectives needs to be established to alleviate the consequences. In this paper, a multi-stage heuristic algorithm is designed for solving the route planning based on time-dependent arc travel durations. The algorithm includes a savings method, a modified tabu search heuristic and a cycle transforming optimization (CTO) algorithm. Benchmark instances and the case of Jingdong, one of the largest e-commerce platforms in China, have been adopted to verify the accuracy and feasibility of the model and algorithm. Results of the performance test reveal that the designed algorithm is suitable for addressing large-scale instances. Based on the single objective models, two objectives referring to economical-related and environmental-related factors are considered in the proposed sustainability oriented bi-objective model, and a modified solution framework using a multi-objective decision making method with a relaxation coefficient which is designed for addressing the bi-objective model. Finally, the time-dependent arc travel durations based on real-time traffic information have been incorporated into the optimization algorithms, simulation of distribution process and dynamic route updating strategy, which can reduce costs and route-associated emissions of logistics companies.

Keywords: sustainability; vehicle routing problem; time-dependent arc travel durations; bi-objective optimization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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