Optimisation Design of Feeder‐Bus Network Related to Urban Rail Transit With Time Windows

ABSTRACT To enhance the service scope and quality of urban public transport systems, this study investigates the optimal design problem of feeder‐bus networks related to urban rail transit considering time windows (FBNDP‐TW). To ensure an acceptable passenger travel time, we differentially set the travel time window for each origin‐destination (OD) pair based on the ideal travel time. Considering logical constraints, capacity constraints and time window constraints, we construct an FBNDP‐TW optimisation model to minimise passengers’ generalised travel cost and bus operators’ operating cost. To solve this model, a genetic algorithm is developed with a diverse multi‐neighbourhood crossover operation that includes ‘direct’, ‘forward’ and ‘adjacent’ rules. This crossover operation mechanism can efficiently make the feeder‐bus network quickly meet time window constraints to guarantee its quality. Finally, the proposed model and algorithm are evaluated using a standard example network. The results confirm that they can effectively ensure the travel time of each OD. Although integrating time window constraints slightly raises network cost, it significantly reduces the maximum OD detour ratio and ensures the travel time of all ODs within the acceptable range.