INTEGER LINEAR PROGRAMMING MODEL AND HEURISTICS FOR THE SCHOOL VEHICLE ROUTING PROBLEM

School transportation routing is a complex problem, often challenging to solve due to its NP-difficult nature. To deal with this, approximate algorithms, such as heuristics, are proposed to optimize vehicle routing efficiently. This study presents a method based on Linear Mixed Integer Programming (MILP) and a constructive heuristic to solve this problem with a homogeneous fleet. Computational experiments have shown that these approaches perform well in medium instances but face difficulties in larger instances, suggesting the need to develop new strategies. This highlights the continued importance of improving school transport routing through effective methods.