The discrete -neighbor -center problem (d--CP) is an emerging variant of the classical -center problem which recently got attention in literature. In this problem, we are given a discrete set of points and we need to locate facilities on these points in such a way that the maximum distance between each point where no facility is located and its -closest facility is minimized. The only existing algorithms in literature for solving the d--CP are approximation algorithms and two recently proposed heuristics. In this work, we present two integer programming formulations for the d--CP, together with lifting of inequalities, valid inequalities, inequalities that do not change the optimal objective function value and variable fixing procedures. We provide theoretical results on the strength of the formulations and convergence results for the lower bounds obtained after applying the lifting procedures or the variable fixing procedures in an iterative fashion. Based on our formulations and theoretical results, we develop branch-and-cut (B&C ) algorithms, which are further enhanced with a starting heuristic and a primal heuristic. We evaluate the effectiveness of our B&C algorithms using instances from literature. Our algorithms are able to solve 116 out of 194 instances from literature to proven optimality, with a runtime of under a minute for most of them. By doing so, we also provide improved solution values for 116 instances.

Many security companies offer patrolling services, such that guards inspect facilities or streets on a regular basis. Patrolling routes should be cost efficient, but the inspection patterns should not be predictable for offenders. We introduce this setting as a multi-objective periodic mixed capacitated general routing problem with objectives being cost minimization and route inconsistency maximization. The problem is transformed into an asymmetric capacitated vehicle routing problem, on both a simple-graph and a multi-graph; and three multi-objective frameworks using adaptive large neighborhood search are implemented to solve it. As tests with both artificial and real-world instances show that some frameworks perform better for some indicators, a hybrid search procedure, combining two of them, is developed and benchmarked against the individual solution methods. Generally, results indicate that considering more than one shortest path between nodes, can significantly increase solution quality for smaller instances, but is quickly becoming a detriment for larger instances.

Collaboration has been one of the important trends in vehicle routing. A typical mechanism to enable carrier collaboration is to use combinatorial auctions, where requests are not traded individually but are combined into bundles. Previous literature on carrier collaboration has focused on issues such as bundle formation or winner determination, typically assuming truthfulness of all agents and absence of any strategic behavior. This article considers the interdependencies and problems that arise from bidders acting as buyers and sellers of requests at the same time. From standard auction theory, desirable properties of exchange mechanisms are identified as efficiency, incentive compatibility, individual rationality, and budget balance. It is shown that these desirable properties cannot be fulfilled at the same time. In particular, the properties efficiency and incentive compatibility induce that budget balance is violated, that is, an outside subsidy is required. We propose two incentive compatible exchange mechanisms. One is more closely related to the classical VCG approach, while the other one uses a more complicated concept for computing payments to participants. A numerical study investigates how frequently desired properties are violated. We show that both mechanisms can be acceptable in practical situations, but none of them can satisfy all desired properties.

In this article, we study the school bus routing and scheduling problem with transfers arising in the field of nonperiodic public transportation systems. It deals with the transportation of pupils from home to their school in the morning taking the possibility that pupils may change buses into account. Allowing transfers has several consequences. On the one hand, it allows more flexibility in the bus network structure and can, therefore, help to reduce operating costs. On the other hand, transfers have an impact on the service level: the perceived service quality is lower due to the existence of transfers; however, at the same time, user ride times may be reduced and, thus, transfers may also have a positive impact on service quality. The main objective is the minimization of the total operating costs. We develop a heuristic solution framework to solve this problem and compare it with two solution concepts that do not consider transfers. The impact of transfers on the service level in terms of time loss (or user ride time) and the number of transfers is analyzed. Our results show that allowing transfers reduces total operating costs significantly while average and maximum user ride times are comparable to solutions without transfers. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. NETWORKS, Vol. 65(2), 180-203 2015.