687 / 2024-05-10 20:09:44

Multi-Period Operations Optimization for Passenger-Freight Shared Transport: A Game-Theoretic Approach

intermodal transport,passenger-freight co-transportation,game-theoretic approach

In traditional single-mode transportation, passenger transport may grapple with asymmetric demand, while logistics distribution may face challenges of inadequate capacity. In the context of the sharing economy, shared transport emerges as an effective measure to alleviate these challenges. This study explores the operations management of a logistics company in collaboration with an intercity bus company. The logistics company's decisions include subsidy strategies to incentivize the bus company's participation in co-transportation and the allocation of freight volumes across different periods to maximize total profits. We first utilize a discrete choice model to describe passengers' travel decisions. Employing backward induction, we identify the optimal operations decisions for the bus company, including ticket prices and departure frequency, as well as the optimal decisions for the logistics company. Leveraging the theoretical results, we gain key managerial insights into the operations of a shared transportation system. Finally, numerical experiments validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm and highlight the potential of shared transportation in reducing logistics costs and enhancing bus companies’ profits.