Measuring the benefits from vehicle routing and scheduling according to expected traffic conditions - tasks:
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Develop prototype vehicle routing and scheduling software
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Determine case study scenarios
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For each case study, construct a Road TimetableT using data from ITIS Holdings
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Compare conventional vehicle routing and scheduling with results from the prototype for the range of scenarios
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Use software to evaluate consequences of changed traffic patterns arising from road charging or other initiatives
This work will be based on a series of case studies and results from the case
studies will show the effects of using a time-based vehicle routing and
scheduling approach, where data is available to indicate the expected
time to travel over the links in a network and different times of day
or day of week. As well as results from real case studies it is also
intended to see whether any more general relationships can be found
between output measures relating to pollution and characteristics of
the distribution operation and/or the road traffic network.
We
will develop a prototype vehicle routing and scheduling system which
can plan schedules for different types of distribution operations in
order to minimise the time-based costs. Using data in the form of a
Road Timetable database available from ITIS Holdings which shows how
long it will take to travel along different roads at different times of
day and different days of the week, we will use this prototype to plan
schedules for different types of distribution operations in order to
minimise the time-based costs. We will examine different examples of
distribution scenarios where the distances involved vary from short to
long haul journeys and measure the economic and environmental savings
that would result from using time-based vehicle routing and scheduling
software with current traffic conditions. The savings will be evaluated
in terms of their sustainability benefits with reference to the
holistic evaluation framework being developed as part of the core of
the consortium's research plan.
The
software and approach will then be used to estimate the sustainability
benefits that will arise from using time-based vehicle routing and
scheduling systems with alternative traffic patterns by time of day and
day of week that may arise from initiatives such as different road
charging options or other scenarios proposed from other projects.