Creating and Examining AlgorithmGenerated Bus Routes to Improve

Efficiency
ELI HORNER

Research Question
COULD A SYSTEM OF ALGORITHMGENERATED BUS ROUTES REDUCE THE
AMOUNT OF TIME AND/OR DISTANCE THE
BUS MUST TRAVEL TO COMPLETE THE
ROUTE?

Background/Scientific Thought
One study3 showed that compared to human-

generated routes, computerized software produced a

route that was more efficient in time and distance for
a certain school.
Other studies1 discuss the use of different algorithm
and programs for vehicle routing, and their
comparative effectiveness.
This problem is considered a variation of the
travelling salesman problem.

Background (Continued)
According to the United States Bureau of Labor

Statistics, the school bus driver profession is growing

at a rate of about 6% per year.

This is at least as fast as the average job growth for all

profession in the economy
This means that the demand for school buses should continue
to increase, making the project more significant.

Design and Methodology

First, data on the routes from the 2014-2015 school

year were collected from the District 5 Director of

Transportation, David Weissman.
Testing occurred at Chapin High School and at the
Horner residence.
The two algorithms used for testing were:
1.
2.

Optimization functions using the Microsoft Excel Solver Feature

The Google Maps Directions API (with waypoints)

The data was input into both of the systems

The result routes were then obtained

Data
Five routes have been tested so far.
The average difference in minutes between the

current and algorithm generated routes was 3.2

minutes.
The average difference in miles between the current
and algorithm generated routes was 0.9 miles.

Excel Data
Sheet

Shows stops and

distances and time
between them

Time and distance

data from Google
Maps

Data used to run

algorithm in Excel

Map Showing
Algorithm
Route

Path highlighted in
blue

Stops have
numbered flags

Shows same order as

both Excel Solver
and Google Maps
API Algorithms

Analysis of Data
A one sample t-test was run on the data to determine

significance.
Ho: There is no significant difference between the current and

algorithm generated routes

Ha: There is a significant difference between the current and
algorithm generated routes
The t-value was found to be 2.997
The p-value was found to be 0.040
Because the p-value was less than 0.05, the H a can be accepted at

the 95% significance level.

Conclusions
BECAUSE OF THE AVERAGE 2.3 MINUTE
REDUCTION IN TIME COMPARED TO THE
CURRENT ROUTE, THE CURRENT
CONCLUSION IS THAT THE ALGORITHMGENERATED ROUTE OFFERS THE MOST
EFFICIENT SOLUTION FOR THE ROUTE.

Citations
Bowerman, R., Hall, B., & Calamai, P. (1995, March). A multi-objective optimization approach to urban school bus routing:
Formulation and solution method. Retrieved from
http://www.sciencedirect.com/
1

Chandrakantha, L. (n.d.). Using Excel solver in optimization problems. Retrieved November 11, 2015, from
http://archives.math.utk.edu/ICTCM/VOL23/C006/paper.pdf
2

Eldrandaly, K. A., & Abdallah, A. F. (2012). A novel GIS-based decision-making framework for the school bus routing
problem [Abstract]. Geo-Spatial Information Sciences, 15(1), 51-59.
3

Geem, Z. W., Lee, K. S., & Park, Y. (2005). Application of harmony search to vehicle routing. American
Sciences, 2(12), 1552-1557. doi:10.3844/ajassp.2005.1552.1557
4

Graham, D. (2010, September 09). Tips for enhancing efficiency. Retrieved from

Journal of Applied

http://www.schoolbusfleet.com/

Laporte, G. (2002, June 25). The vehicle routing problem: An overview of exact and approximate algorithms. Retrieved
from http://www.sciencedirect.com/
6

Park, J., & Kim, B. (2010, January). The school bus routing problem: A review. Retrieved from
http://www.researchgate.net/
7

Ropke, S. (2005). December 2007. Note Book. doi:10.1515/9781400865567-005

Schittekat, P., Sevaux, M., & Sorensen, K. (2006). A mathematical formulation for a school bus routing problem. Retrieved
from http://www.researchgate.net/
9

10

Solomon, M. (1997, April 1). Article Tools. Retrieved from

http://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1287/opre.35.2.254