Applications of a saving method with max-min ant system to a vehicle routing problem with time windows and speed limits

Abstract

This study aims to solve a Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows and Speed Limits (VRPTWSL), which
has received considerable attention in recent years. The vehicle routing problem with time windows is an
extension of the well-known Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) and involves a fleet of vehicles set of from a
depot to serve a number of customers at different geographic locations with various demands within specific
time and speed limits before returning to the depot eventually. To solve the problem, an efficient Saving Method-Max Min Ant System (Saving-MMAS) with Local Search algorithm is applied. Using minimization of
the total transportation costs as the objective of the extension VRPTWSL, a mathematic model is constructed.
Finally, the Saving-MMAS algorithms indicated the good quality of the method in this problem.