A methodological framework is formulated so that continuum approximation techniques can be used to design bus networks for cities where travel demand varies gradually over space. The bus-route configurations that result consist of (i) a main, possibly city-wide grid with relatively large...

Bus stops are often placed short distances upstream of signalized intersections. Buses that dwell at one of these so-called near-side stops can impede queued cars upstream from discharging through the intersection during green times. Residual car queues can form at the intersection as a result....

This paper studies the reliable uncapacitated fixed charge location problem (RUFL) where facilities are subject to spatially correlated disruptions that occur with location-dependent probabilities (due to reasons such as natural or man-made disasters). If a facility fails, its customers are...

The paper proposes a frequency spectrum analysis approach to improve measurements of traffic oscillation properties (e.g., periodicity, magnitude) from field data. The approach builds on standard signal processing techniques to effectively distinguish useful oscillation information from noise...

This paper proposes algorithms to automatically discretize vehicle routing zones (VRZ) from continuum approximation guidelines. VRZs that satisfy these guidelines (i.e., shape and size requirements) are useful to the planning and operation of distribution systems in several practical contexts....

This paper presents an analytical approach for planning highway pavement resurfacing activities in the case of continuous pavement state and continuous time. It solves for the optimal resurfacing frequency and intensity that minimize life-cycle costs in a finite horizon. Optimality conditions...

The effectiveness of transit-based emergency evacuation highly depends on the location of pick-up facilities, resource allocation, and management. These facilities themselves are often subject to service disruptions during or after the emergency. This paper proposes a reliable emergency facility...

US railroad companies spend billions of dollars every year on track maintenance in order to ensure safety and operational efficiency. Optimizing the production team (i.e., large maintenance team) schedule is a very complex problem with major cost implications. In current practice, the decision...

This paper presents game-theoretical models based on a continuous approximation (CA) scheme to optimize service facility location design under spatial competition and facility disruption risks. The share of customer demand in a market depends on the functionality of service facilities and the...

A recent study (Li and Ouyang, 2011) proposed a describing-function approach (DFA) to analytically predict oscillation propagation properties (i.e., dominating frequency and amplitude growth) for a general class of nonlinear car-following laws. This paper presents a new graphic solution approach...