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A multi-objective metaheuristic approach for the Transit Network Design Problem

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Abstract

We study the problem of the optimal design of routes and frequencies in urban public transit systems, the Transit Network Design Problem (TNDP), which is modeled as a multi-objective combinatorial optimization problem. A new heuristic based on the GRASP metaheuristic is proposed to solve the TNDP. As a multi-objective metaheuristic, it produces in a single run a set of non-dominated solutions representing different trade-off levels between the conflicting objectives of users and operators. Previous approaches have dealt with the multi-objective nature of the problem by weighting the different objectives into a single objective function. The case proposed by Mandl is used to show that the multi-objective metaheuristic is capable of producing a diverse set of solutions, which are compared with solutions obtained by other authors. We show that the proposed algorithm produces more non-dominated solutions than the Weighted Sum Method with the same computational effort, using the case of Mandl and another real test case.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Operations Research Department, Universidad de la República, J. Herrera y Reissig 565 Piso 5, Montevideo, Uruguay

    Antonio Mauttone & María E. Urquhart

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  1. Antonio Mauttone
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  2. María E. Urquhart
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Correspondence to Antonio Mauttone.

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Mauttone, A., Urquhart, M.E. A multi-objective metaheuristic approach for the Transit Network Design Problem. Public Transp 1, 253–273 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12469-010-0016-7

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