Challenge

The task was to simulate the internal operation of a planned Bus Depot under two different scenarios, each one with different nuances in how they worked (such as number of buses, traffic distributions in time or fuel quantity). The first scenario was to develop the current situation with buses using Diesel arriving to the depot, filling their tanks for the next day, washing them and parking. The second scenario was to evaluate how electric buses affect the system, replacing some of the diesel buses.
The major questions to answer were:

• How long does the depot diesel tank last?
• Are the facilities able to handle 490 buses without too much waiting time?
• What is the impact on the diesel tank when electric buses are added to the system?
• What is the financial impact of adding a number of electric buses to the system?

Solution

To answer the questions, a model was built in AnyLogic using discrete-events as the modeling technique. A 3D model was developed and to simplify the problem while also allowing a clear visualization of fuel, the information was shown as yellow rectangles over the bus and a big yellow rectangle on the side of the pumps in order to clearly visualize the evolution of the diesel tank in time.

Figure – 3D Bus Depot Simulation

Outcome

The project was helpful to optimize the number of buses that needed to be used (electric and diesel) in order to optimize the financial outcomes and also to avoid massive queues. It was also discovered that the diesel tank was enough to cover all the buses arriving to the depot. The model was used to support the purchasing of 50 new electric buses for Abu Dhabi town in the United Arab Emirates.

Project Features

• Industry: Traffic
• Model: Discrete-Events
• Duration: 2 weeks