Location Design and Relocation of a Mixed Car-Sharing Fleet with a CO 2 Emission Constraint

Joy Chang (), Miao Yu (), Siqian Shen () and Ming Xu ()
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Joy Chang: Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
Miao Yu: Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
Siqian Shen: Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
Ming Xu: School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109

Service Science, 2017, vol. 9, issue 3, 205-218

Abstract: Car-sharing companies have shown increasing support in the adoption of fuel-efficient cars to reduce CO 2 emissions and to meet heterogeneous demand. In this paper, we consider location design and relocation problems for sharing a mixed fleet of cars and propose integer linear programs that incorporate both one-way and round-trip demand and operations. To model car movements, we use a minimum-cost flow model on a spatial–temporal network given time-based demand. We maximize the total profit of renting cars minus the cost of relocation and maintenance, subject to limited budget for purchasing cars and given a CO 2 emission limit. In addition, we enforce the first-come, first-served principle to eliminate denied trips. We conduct computational studies based on 2014 Zipcar data in Boston to provide insights for fleet location, car-type designs, and their environmental impacts. Our results show high utilization of cars and low demand losses and denied trips. Although the CO 2 emission limit may lower car-sharing profit, high demand on new energy-efficient cars can compensate the loss and is worth being satisfied.

Keywords: car sharing; spatial–temporal network; optimal location design; car relocation; integer programming; environmental sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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