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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: GR/K79024/01
Title: PUBLIC TRANSPORT SCHEDULING THROUGH METAHEURISTICS AND CONSTRAINT PROGRAMMING
Principal Investigator: Wren, Professor A
Other Investigators:
Proll, Dr L Kwan, Professor RSK Smith, Dr B
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Pre Nexus Migration
Department: Sch of Computing
Organisation: University of Leeds
Scheme: Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts: 25 March 1996 Ends: 24 September 1999 Value (£): 264,337
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Transport Ops & Management
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Transport Systems and Vehicles
Related Grants:
Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
The proposers have been responsible for bus driver scheduling algorithms which are installed in about thirty operating companies world-wide. Current research under Wren is exploring methods of scheduling drivers for British Rail, with promising preliminary results. Existing methods in both areas are based on a mix of Integer Linear Programming and traditional heuristics, which need adjustment to meet the needs of different transport modes, and sometimes of different problem types for the same mode. The proposed research would develop generic tools providing a more robust methodology spanning bus and rail, which could be exported to countries with very different operating conditions. Metaheuristics such as tabu search and GA's, as well as constraint programming, are successful in solving other scheduling problems, but of these only GA's appear to have been investigated (by ourselves) for this more complex problem. The roles of constraint programming and tabu search will be explored, and suitable portions of the total scheduling task will be implemented using these. Previous work on GA's will be extended incorporating planned new approaches. A composite package integrating the research with relevant parts of previously developed systems will be produced and tested on real problems.
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Organisation Website: http://www.leeds.ac.uk