An optimal location model for a bicycle sharing program with truck dispatching consideration

In Taiwan, to establish a friendly environment as a green city is becoming an important issue and policy for each district. Kaohsiung City is the first city that promotes Bicycle Sharing System (BSS) in Taiwan. The City-bike system was established by the Kaohsiung City government and operated by the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corporation (KRTC) since 2009. For a sustainable development, a BSS operator should consider operation efficiency in internal work, such as cost deployment, human resource management and truck dispatching strategy. In this study, we use mathematical programming to develop a location model for finding an optimal location for bike renting and truck dispatching where the main objective is to minimize the total system cost of fixed cost, operating cost, passenger travel cost and dispatch routing cost. The ultimate goal is to increase the KRTC´s ridership by providing transit users with convenient first- and/or last-mile feeder services.