Optimizing injured people transportation in earthquake response: considering traffic congestion with BPR function

Sedigheh Khoushehchin Bahar (), Mehdi Najafi () and Seyyed Mohammad Hadji Molana ()
Additional contact information
Sedigheh Khoushehchin Bahar: Islamic Azad University
Mehdi Najafi: Sharif University of Technology
Seyyed Mohammad Hadji Molana: Islamic Azad University

Operational Research, 2025, vol. 25, issue 3, No 26, 57 pages

Abstract: Abstract Traffic congestion is one of the most crucial factors that could affect emergency vehicle planning and endanger human lives in earthquake response. This paper aims to develop a mathematical formulation that utilizes a modified Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) function to effectively manage casualty transportation under real-world conditions, including traffic congestion. The deterministic optimization model is formulated as a multi-objective, multi-period, multi-modal transportation strategy for prioritized casualties. The mixed-integer non-linear programming (MNLP) model is linearized through a combination of separable and integer programming techniques. Then, a hybrid solution algorithm of lexicographic and weighted sum techniques is developed for solving the proposed linear formulation. Finally, an illustrative example is presented and analyzed to find the shortest paths in terms of travel time for emergency vehicle planning. Results indicated that traffic congestion significantly impacts travel time, emergency vehicle planning, and the assignment of injured individuals to relief vehicles and hospitals. The algorithm’s solution time was evaluated by creating test instances across various dimensions and planning periods and considering key parameters. Moreover, integrating the BPR function into urban transportation could improve casualty transportation during the earthquake response phase.

Keywords: Casualty transportation planning; Traffic congestion; The BPR function; Earthquake response; The piecewise linear function (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12351-025-00925-1 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:operea:v:25:y:2025:i:3:d:10.1007_s12351-025-00925-1

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.springer ... search/journal/12351

DOI: 10.1007/s12351-025-00925-1

Access Statistics for this article

Operational Research is currently edited by Nikolaos F. Matsatsinis, John Psarras and Constantin Zopounidis

More articles in Operational Research from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().