CREATING BUS TIMETABLES WITH MAXIMAL SYNCHRONIZATION

This paper addresses the topic of generating a timetable for a given network of buses to maximize synchronization. It attempts to maximize the number of simultaneous bus arrivals at connection nodes of the network. Transit schedulers, taking into account the satisfaction and convenience of the system\u27s users, appreciate the merit of creating a timetable with maximal synchronization, enabling the transfer of passengers from one route to another with minimum waiting time at the transfer nodes. The problem is formulated here as a mixed integer linear programming problem, and a heusistic algorithm is developed to solve the problem in polynomial time. The efficiency of this algorithm, compared to optimal solutions, is illustrated through a series of examples