LP-EasyDriver : creating optimal shift patterns for bus/tram/metro drivers (runcutting)  

LP-EasyDriver creates the best possible shifts for a typical day, while covering all the basic non-divisible tasks requiring some travel. This problem corresponds to run cutting in the passenger transportation sector (creation of shifts for drivers or accompanying staff). Shifts are created according to the various parameters governing working conditions, such as length of holiday, regulations concerning breaks, possible shift start times, as well as each task's individual attributes (start and end time and location, possibility of relief staff).

All tasks must be covered whilst minimising criteria around the economic and corporate goals; for example, the number of man-hours or shifts required, or that of difficult or unfavourable shifts.

LP-EasyDriver also enables powerful simulations that help study the likely impacts of new working conditions (such as the introduction of part-time jobs, new regulations concerning breaks, etc.).

Input data

Network topology: the description of all the points representing the geographic environment where the work should be carried out (i.e. the network). Each task starts and ends at one of these points. Each point has certain characteristics such as the additional cost associated to a shift start at this point (dead run), and the possibility of personnel replacement between two tasks within a series of tasks or a run (see below)

Tasks to be covered: defined by the time and place at which they start and end, and their durations.

Runs: groups where there is no cost for the sequencing of tasks (a typical example would be a sequence of journeys in a given vehicle, i.e. there is no change-over cost or time)

Rules and parameters of working conditions: these govern the different ways of combining tasks into shifts (maximum shift duration, maximum number of run changes in a day, minimum and maximum break durations)

Shift types
A shift type is defined by the following parameters:

• earliest and latest start times
• minimum and maximum duration
• breaks
• minimum and maximum number of each shift type in the solution

Results

LP-EasyDriver provides the following results:

• list of services (or timetables) to be carried out
• list of tasks covered per shift
• quality of coverage indicators (e.g. number of working hours, average shift length, number of shifts by type)

Examples of successful projects

• RATP (Paris public transport network) (1996-2003): Development of the @LLEGR@ product in collaboration with Steria, including an automatic shift coverage function ensured by LP-EasyDriver. This product designs possible transport networks and has been deployed on 80 workstations in all of the 23 RATP bus centres. @LLEGR@ has also been made available for other urban transport networks.
• SQYBUS (Saint Quentin-en-Yvelynes, 2000)
• SOTRA (Abidjan, 2002)