Synergizing Trucks with Fixed-Route Buses to Design an Efficient Three-Echelon Rural Delivery Logistics Network

Jin Zhang, Wenjie Sun (), Jiao Liu and Wenbin Lu
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Jin Zhang: School of Economics and Management, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China
Wenjie Sun: School of Management, Shandong Technology and Business University, Yantai 264100, China
Jiao Liu: School of Transportation and Logistics, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 611756, China
Wenbin Lu: School of Economics and Management, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China

Mathematics, 2025, vol. 13, issue 19, 1-28

Abstract: Rural areas often lack convenient delivery logistics services, which has become a major obstacle to their economic development. Network design initiatives that synergize passenger and freight transport have been identified as effective solutions to address this challenge. Building upon this initiative, this study investigates a novel three-echelon location-routing problem that synergizes trucks and fixed-route buses (3E-LRP-TF). The model is designed with an innovative operational mode that enables fixed-route buses and trucks to travel in a parallel manner, representing a valuable extension to traditional integrated passenger–freight distribution network design. A mixed-integer nonlinear programming model with the objective of minimizing the total network cost is constructed to formulate the problem. Furthermore, a bottom-up three-phase adaptive large neighborhood search (ALNS) algorithm is designed to solve the problem. A final empirical study was conducted, with Qingchuan County in China serving as a case study, with the aim of validating the effectiveness of the proposed model and algorithm. The results show that, compared with using trucks alone, the synergistic network system has the potential to reduce costs by more than 5% for parcel pickup and delivery services. The proposed algorithm can address larger-scale problems and exhibits better performance with regard to solution quality and efficiency. Sensitivity analysis indicates that the parcel transport capacity of bus routes exerts a nonlinear effect on total costs, and changes in service radius result in trade-offs between cost and accessibility. These findings provide actionable insights for policymakers and logistics operators.

Keywords: integration of passenger and freight transport; three-echelon location-routing problem; three-phase ALNS algorithm; collection and delivery points; service radius; rural delivery logistics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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