The capacitated hybrid truck platooning network design problem

In this paper, we introduce and formulate the capacitated hybrid truck platooning network design problem. The scope of this research is to benchmark the various parameters that affect the implementation of the hybrid truck platoon concept and the quantification of (any) monetary savings under the assumption that technological advancements and new or updated infrastructure (e.g., dedicated truck corridors) will allow implementation. Cost savings considered in this research are easily verifiable as they are solely derived from driver compensation savings (i.e., fuel savings, emissions reduction, and insurance savings are not considered). The proposed model further considers monetary penalties from truck late arrivals at the destinations. Multiple network instances are developed and used to evaluate the proposed model. Results indicate that significant cost savings can be achieved from the platooning network when compared to the shortest path origin–destination counterpart and suggest that the optimal hybrid truck platoon capacity is between four and six.