Optimization of İzmir’s public transportation system by linear programming and sensitivity analysis

This study will focus on public transportation problems in terms ofenergy consumption, excessive travel time, and fares. The study seeksthe best solutions for such concerns in the Izmir case. It aims to optimizethese subjects for the tramway and bus systems, which are comparablein terms of origin and destination points. This study, also, drawsattention to the integration issue of the transportation modes. Themethods employed in this study are linear programming and sensitivityanalysis. For this study, nine routes, which have both tramway and buslines, were determined. The routes sharing the same transfer pointswere taken to investigate which transportation type would be the mostconvenient or useful, what their drawbacks and positive outcomeswould be, and which one would be environmentally friendly, withespecially the lowest cost. For linear programming, the Solver tool ofMicrosoft Excel® software was utilized. Initially, the objective functionswere identified as minimization of energy consumption, minimizationof route length and minimization of passenger costs. The data aboutenergy consumptions, speeds, and passenger volumes were collected areconstraints of optimizations. Finally, sensitivity analysis was conductedto assessthe findings. The best solutions with bus and tram options werefound for both passengers and operators. Optimal routes are FahrettinAltay-Alsancak, Fahrettin Altay-Halkapınar, Mavişehir-Bostanlı andEgekent-Bostanlı. The study contributes to the literature using the timematrix besides to the transport cost matrix. Thus, this research servesnot only for monetary aims but also for environmental and social aims.