School bus routing problem considering affinity among children

Abstract

School bus routing problem is widely studied, however, social elements such as the interaction between children traveling on the same route have not been considered so far. In this way, this article has as its main objective to propose a methodology to solve the school bus routing problem, including affinity as a strategy to increase positive interrelationships between children, and with this, support in bullying situations during school trips. The methodology includes two stages, assigning children to vehicles considering affinities and defining vehicle routes. The main contribution is the consideration of affinity in the process of forming the groups of children that will be taken on the bus, evidencing a balance in the affinity of the groups. Additionally, from the methodological point of view, the integration of a modified group technology algorithm and a new assignment model are proposed that simplify the classic quadratic assignment problem. Consideration of affinity in school bus routing generates benefits from a social point of view.