CEE Ph.D. Defense Announcement: On Proactive Activity Management with Demand-Responsive Mobility Systems

Abstract: This dissertation investigates the potential of proactive activity management for demand-responsive mobility services by incorporating activity patterns into a vehicle routing model, focusing on the temporal flexibility of activities. This research (1) formulates the activity-based pick-up and drop-off problem (ABPDP) that is sensitive to passengers’ activity durations and (2) proposes a methodology to estimate market segments’ time windows on activity participation, based on their activity observations. The research applies these two methodologies to a real-world problem instance that designs and evaluates a DRM service for train travelers. This application uses GPS-based trajectories to estimate potential demand. This case study confirms the effectiveness of the proposed activity management strategy.