Optimal empty vehicle repositioning and fleet-sizing for two-depot service systems

This paper considers the problem of determining optimal control policies for empty vehicle repositioning and fleet-sizing in a two-depot service system with uncertainties in loaded vehicle arrival at depots and repositioning times for empty vehicles in the fleet. The objective is to minimise the sum of the costs incurred by vehicle maintenance, empty vehicle repositioning and vehicle leasing. A novel integrated model is presented. The optimal empty repositioning policy for a particular fleet size is shown to be of the threshold control type. The explicit form of the cost function under such threshold controls is obtained. The optimal threshold values and fleet-size are then derived. Numerical examples are given to demonstrate the results. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.