Nature-Inspired Optimal Route Network Design for Shared Autonomous Vehicles

Emerging forms of shared mobility call for new vehicle routing models that take into account vehicle sharing, ride sharing and autonomous vehicle fleets. This study deals with the design of an optimal route network for autonomous vehicles, considering both vehicle sharing and ride sharing. The problem is modeled as a one-to-many-to-one vehicle routing problem with vehicle capacity and range constraints. An ant colony optimization algorithm is applied to the problem in order to construct a set of routes that satisfies user requests under operational constraints. Results show that the algorithm is able to produce solutions in relatively short computational times, while exploiting the possibility of ride sharing to reduce operating costs. Results also underline the potential of exploiting shared autonomous vehicles in the context of a taxi service for booking trips through electronic reservation systems.