Optimal Scheduling of a Finite Capacity Shuttle under Delayed Information

Abstract

We consider the optimal scheduling of a finite capacity shuttle in a two-node network with imperfect information. When shuttle trips do not depend on the number of passengers carried, we prove optimality and monotonicity of threshold policies. We derive conditions for dispatching that reduce the computational effort required to compute an optimal threshold policy. We prove a counter-example to the optimality of threshold policies for finite horizon problems where trip lengths increase stochastically in the number of passengers carried.