Optimising a mathematical model for a multi-sized public bicycle sharing system considering built-in control centres under fuzzy demand, a case study

Abstract

A public bicycle sharing system makes bikes available for users to travel from one station to another in a city. Bicycles are repaired after getting used by users at the control centres if needed and then returned to their source bike station. There are very essential decision criteria to build a bicycle sharing system, the most important of which are the exact number and location of bike stations and control centres, the number of bicycles, and the number of docks in each station. This paper presents a single-objective nonlinear mathematical model for the bicycle sharing problem to minimise the system's total cost considering built-in control centres. Subjective distance is mentioned in this article so that distance-dependent costs become closer to real urban conditions. In this article, two exact and – heuristic methods are considered for solving the problem. Also, the applicability of the proposed model is examined through a real case study. After validating the model in a small dimension, the model is solved by a grasshopper optimisation algorithm in a large scale, and different numerical tests are developed.

KEYWORDS:

• Bicycle sharing systems
• facility location problem
• public transportation
• optimization
• mixed integer programming
• fuzzy programming
• grasshopper optimisation algorithm

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shahin Sadeghi Ahangar

Shahin Sadeghi Ahangar is currently an MSc student of Industrial Engineering at the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran. He received his BS in industrial engineering from Kharazmi University. His main scientific interests include operations research, transportation optimization and fuzzy programming.

Majid Heidari

Majid Heidari is currently an MSc student of Industrial Engineering at the school of Industrial and Systems Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran. He received his BSc in industrial engineering from Khaje Nasir Toosi University of Technology. His main scientific interests include operations research, supply chain management, transportation and logistics.

Amir Aghsami

Amir Aghsami is a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering at the School of Industrial Engineering, Khaje Nasir Toosi University of Technology. He received his MS in Industrial engineering from University of Tehran, Iran. He has published many papers in the proceedings of international conferences and international professional journals such as Computer and Industrial Engineering, Quality Technology & Quantitative Management, Journal of Cleaner Production, Socio-Economic Planning Science, Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management, etc. His main scientific interests include operations research, supply chain management, stochastic process, queueing systems, mathematical modeling, disaster management, and transportation planning.

Fariborz Jolai

Fariborz Jolai is a Professor of Industrial Engineering at the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran. He has published more than 200 papers in international journals, such as European Journal of Operational Research, International Journal of Production Research, International Journal of Production Economics, International Journal of Management Science and Engineering Management, Journal of Cleaner Production, Applied Mathematical Modelling, Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management, etc. His current research interests are Supply chain management, Scheduling, transportation optimization, revenue management, queueing systems, humanitarian logistics, supply chain management, and production planning optimization problems.