A DSS FOR INTERCITY UNIVERSITY TRANSPORT: CASE STUDIES, TWO-PHASE MODEL AND APPLICATION

This work proposes a web-based decision support environment containing a new two-phase combinatorial mathematical model for bus routing. The model considers a heterogeneous fleet and non-concurrent shifts to minimize total costs (fixed and variable), respecting vehicle capacities and university schedules.

The solution perfectly meets the intercity transportation demands for institutions in Fortaleza/CE, detailing the decision-making process for Palmácia, Cascavel, and Pindoretama. Tests performed on 10 real-world instances demonstrate its high effectiveness: the model achieves optimal or near-optimal solutions (with a maximum gap of 3%) for robust scenarios of up to 588 students and 22 educational institutions. Furthermore, it guarantees proven optimal solutions in less than 30 minutes for instances of up to 14 institutions.