Virginie Lurkin

Journal publications [7]

2025

Ahmed S., Fountas G., Lurkin V., Anastasopoulos P., Zhang Y., Bierlaire M., Mannering F. (2025). The State of Urban Air Mobility Research: An Assessment of Challenges and Opportunities. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems 26 (2):1375-1394


@Article{AhmeFounLurkAnasZhanBierMann25,
  author = {{Sheikh Shahriar} Ahmed and Grigorios Fountas and Virginie Lurkin and Panagiotis Anastasopoulos and Yu Zhang and Michel Bierlaire and Fred Mannering},
  title = {The State of Urban Air Mobility Research: An Assessment of Challenges and Opportunities},
  journal = {IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems},
  year = {2025},
  volume = {26},
  number = {2},
  pages = {1375-1394},
  DOI = {10.1109/TITS.2024.3511453},
  note = {Accepted on Nov 28, 2024}}}

2021

Bortolomiol S., Lurkin V., Bierlaire M. (2021). Price-based regulation of oligopolistic markets under discrete choice models of demand . Transportation


@Article{BortLurkBier21b,
  author = {Stefano Bortolomiol and Virginie Lurkin and Michel Bierlaire},
  title = {Price-based regulation of oligopolistic markets under discrete choice models of demand },
  journal = {Transportation},
  year = {2021},
  DOI = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-021-10217-0},
  note = {Accepted on Jul 23, 2021}}}

Bortolomiol S., Lurkin V., Bierlaire M. (2021). A simulation-based heuristic to find approximate equilibria with disaggregate demand models. Transportation Science 55 (5):1025-1045


@Article{BortLurkBier21,
  author = {Stefano Bortolomiol and Virginie Lurkin and Michel Bierlaire},
  title = {A simulation-based heuristic to find approximate equilibria with disaggregate demand models},
  journal = {Transportation Science},
  year = {2021},
  volume = {55},
  number = {5},
  pages = {1025-1045},
  DOI = {https://doi.org/10.1287/trsc.2021.1071},
  note = {Accepted on Apr 16, 2021}}}

2019

Herring J., Lurkin V., Garrow L., Clarke J., Bierlaire M. (2019). Airline customers� connection time preferences in domestic U.S. markets. Journal of Air Transport Management 79 (101688)


@Article{HerrLurkGarrClarBier19,
  author = {Jordan Herring and Virginie Lurkin and Laurie Garrow and John-Paul Clarke and Michel Bierlaire},
  title = {Airline customers{\textquoteright} connection time preferences in domestic U.S. markets},
  journal = {Journal of Air Transport Management},
  year = {2019},
  volume = {79},
  number = {101688},
  DOI = {10.1016/j.jairtraman.2019.101688},
  note = {Accepted on Jun 28, 2019}}}

2018

Lurkin V., Garrow L., Higgins M., Newman J., Schyns M. (2018). Modeling Competition among Airline Itineraries. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 113 ():157-172


@Article{LuGarHinNewSc18,
  author = {Virginie Lurkin and Laurie Garrow and Matthew Higgins and Jeffrey Newman and Michael Schyns},
  title = {Modeling Competition among Airline Itineraries},
  journal = {Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice},
  year = {2018},
  volume = {113},
  pages = {157-172},
  note = {Accepted on Apr 03, 2018}}}

2017

Newman J., Lurkin V., Garrow L. (2017). Computational Methods for Estimating Multinomial, Nested, and Cross-Nested Logit Models that Account for Semi-Aggregate Data. Journal of Choice Modelling 26 :28-40


@Article{NewLurGar17,
  author = {Jeffrey Newman and Virginie Lurkin and Laurie Garrow},
  title = {Computational Methods for Estimating Multinomial, Nested, and Cross-Nested Logit Models that Account for Semi-Aggregate Data},
  journal = {Journal of Choice Modelling},
  year = {2017},
  volume = {26},
  pages = {28-40},
  note = {Accepted on Nov 02, 2017}}}

Lurkin V., Garrow L., Higgins M., Newman J., Schyns M. (2017). Accounting for Price Endogeneity in Airline Itinerary Choice Models: An Application to Continental U.S. Markets. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 100 :228-246


@Article{LuGarHinNewSc17,
  author = {Virginie Lurkin and Laurie Garrow and Matthew Higgins and Jeffrey Newman and Michael Schyns},
  title = {Accounting for Price Endogeneity in Airline Itinerary Choice Models: An Application to Continental U.S. Markets},
  journal = {Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice},
  year = {2017},
  volume = {100},
  pages = {228-246},
  DOI = {10.1016/j.tra.2017.04.007},
  note = {Accepted on Apr 03, 2017}}}

Book chapters [1]

2017

Bierlaire M., Lurkin V. (2017) Introduction to Disaggregate Demand Models. In R. Batta and J. Peng (ed) Tutorials in Operations Research Leading Developments from INFORMS Communities, Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) [ISBN 978-0-9906153-0-9]


@InProceedings{BierLurk17,
  author = {Michel Bierlaire and Virginie Lurkin},
  title = {Introduction to Disaggregate Demand Models},
  year = {2017},
  booktile = {Tutorials in Operations Research

Leading Developments from INFORMS Communities},
  editor = {R. Batta and J. Peng},
  series = {Tutorials in Operations Research},
  publisher = { Institute for Operations Research and the

Management Sciences (INFORMS)},
  pages = {48-67}}}

Technical reports [3]

2021

Bortolomiol S., Lurkin V., Bierlaire M. (2021). Price-based regulation of oligopolistic markets under discrete choice models of demand. Report TRANSP-OR 210127


@TechReport{BorLurBie2021,
  author = {Stefano Bortolomiol and Virginie Lurkin and Michel Bierlaire},
  title = {Price-based regulation of oligopolistic markets under discrete choice models of demand},
  institution = {Transport and Mobility Laboratory, Ecole Polytechnique F\'ed\'erale de Lausanne},
  year = {2021},
  type = {Technical Report},
  number = {TRANSP-OR 210127},
  address = {Lausanne, Switzerland}}}

2019

Bortolomiol S., Lurkin V., Bierlaire M. (2019). A disaggregate choice-based approach to find epsilon-equilibria of oligopolistic markets. Report TRANSP-OR 191107


@TechReport{BorLurBie2019,
  author = {Stefano Bortolomiol and Virginie Lurkin and Michel Bierlaire},
  title = {A disaggregate choice-based approach to find epsilon-equilibria of oligopolistic markets},
  institution = {Transport and Mobility Laboratory, Ecole Polytechnique F\'ed\'erale de Lausanne},
  year = {2019},
  type = {Technical Report},
  number = {TRANSP-OR 191107},
  address = {Lausanne, Switzerland}}}

2017

Bierlaire M., Lurkin V. (2017). Introduction to disaggregate demand models. Report TRANSP-OR 170508


@TechReport{BieLur2017,
  author = {Michel Bierlaire and Virginie Lurkin},
  title = {Introduction to disaggregate demand models},
  institution = {Transport and Mobility Laboratory, Ecole Polytechnique F\'ed\'erale de Lausanne},
  year = {2017},
  type = {Technical Report},
  number = {TRANSP-OR 170508},
  address = {Lausanne, Switzerland}}}

Articles in conference proceedings [9]

2021

Bortolomiol S., Lurkin V., Bierlaire M. (2021) Benders decomposition for choice-based optimization problems with discrete upper-level variables. Proceedings of the 21st Swiss Transport Research Conference (STRC), 12-14 September, ,


@InProceedings{BorLurBieBon_STRC2021,
  author = {Stefano Bortolomiol and Virginie Lurkin and Michel Bierlaire},
  title = {Benders decomposition for choice-based optimization problems with discrete upper-level variables},
  booktime = {Proceedings of the 21st Swiss Transport Research Conference (STRC), 12-14 September},
  year = {2021},
  address = {, }}}

2020

Bortolomiol S., Lurkin V., Bierlaire M. (2020) Optimal regulation of oligopolistic markets under discrete choice models of demand. Proceedings of the 20th Swiss Transport Research Conference (STRC), 13-15 May, ,


@InProceedings{BorLurBie_STRC2020,
  author = {Stefano Bortolomiol and Virginie Lurkin and Michel Bierlaire},
  title = {Optimal regulation of oligopolistic markets under discrete choice models of demand},
  booktime = {Proceedings of the 20th Swiss Transport Research Conference (STRC), 13-15 May},
  year = {2020},
  address = {, }}}

2019

Lederrey G., Lurkin V., Hillel T., Bierlaire M. (2019) Stochastic optimization with adaptive batch size: Discrete choice models as a case study. Proceedings of the 8th Symposium of the European Association for Research in Transportation (HEART), 4-6 September, Budapest, Hungary


@InProceedings{LEDLURHILBIER_HEART19,
  author = {Gael Lederrey and Virginie Lurkin and Tim Hillel and Michel Bierlaire},
  title = {Stochastic optimization with adaptive

batch size: Discrete choice models as a case study},
  booktime = {Proceedings of the 8th Symposium of the European

Association for Research in Transportation (HEART), 4-6 September},
  year = {2019},
  address = {Budapest, Hungary}}}

Bortolomiol S., Lurkin V., Bierlaire M. (2019) A demand-based optimization approach to find market equilibria in oligopolies. Proceedings of the 19th Swiss Transport Research Conference (STRC), 15-17 May, Ascona, Switzerland


@InProceedings{BorLurBie_STRC2019,
  author = {Stefano Bortolomiol and Virginie Lurkin and Michel Bierlaire},
  title = {A demand-based optimization approach to find market equilibria in oligopolies},
  booktime = {Proceedings of the 19th Swiss Transport Research Conference (STRC), 15-17 May},
  year = {2019},
  address = {Ascona, Switzerland}}}

Lederrey G., Lurkin V., Hillel T., Bierlaire M. (2019) Stochastic optimization with adaptive batch size: Discrete choice models as a case study. Proceedings of the 19th Swiss Transport Research Conference (STRC), 15-17 May, Ascona, Switzerland


@InProceedings{LEDLURHILBIER_STRC019,
  author = {Gael Lederrey and Virginie Lurkin and Tim Hillel and Michel Bierlaire},
  title = {Stochastic optimization with adaptive batch size: Discrete choice models as a case study},
  booktime = {Proceedings of the 19th Swiss Transport Research Conference (STRC), 15-17 May},
  year = {2019},
  address = {Ascona, Switzerland}}}

2018

Lederrey G., Lurkin V., Bierlaire M. (2018) SNM: Stochastic Newton Method for Optimization of Discrete Choice Models . Proceedings of the 21st IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems (IEEE ITSC'18), 4-7 November, Maui, Hawaii


@InProceedings{LedLurBiel_IEEE2018,
  author = {Gael Lederrey and Virginie Lurkin and Michel Bierlaire},
  title = {SNM: Stochastic Newton Method for Optimization of Discrete Choice Models },
  booktime = {Proceedings of the 21st IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems (IEEE  ITSC'18), 4-7 November},
  year = {2018},
  address = {Maui, Hawaii}}}

Bortolomiol S., Lurkin V., Bierlaire M. (2018) Modelling competition in demand-based optimization models. Proceedings of the 18th Swiss Transport Research Conference (STRC), 16-18 May, Ascona, Switzerland


@InProceedings{BorLurBie_STRC2018,
  author = {Stefano Bortolomiol and Virginie Lurkin and Michel Bierlaire},
  title = {Modelling competition in demand-based optimization models},
  booktime = {Proceedings of the 18th Swiss Transport Research Conference (STRC), 16-18 May},
  year = {2018},
  address = {Ascona, Switzerland}}}

Pacheco M., Gendron B., Lurkin V., Sharif Azadeh S., Bierlaire M. (2018) A Lagrangian relaxation technique for the demand-based benefit maximization problem. Proceedings of the 18th Swiss Transport Research Conference (STRC), 16-18 May, Ascona, Switzerland


@InProceedings{PacGenLurShaBie_STRC2018,
  author = {Meritxell Pacheco and Bernard Gendron and Virginie Lurkin and Shadi {Sharif Azadeh} and Michel Bierlaire},
  title = {A Lagrangian relaxation technique for the demand-based benefit maximization problem},
  booktime = {Proceedings of the 18th Swiss Transport Research Conference (STRC), 16-18 May},
  year = {2018},
  address = {Ascona, Switzerland}}}

2017

Fernandez-Antolin A., Lurkin V., de Lapparent M., Bierlaire M. (2017) Discrete-continuous maximum likelihood for the estimation of nested logit models. Proceedings of the 16th Swiss Transport Research Conference (STRC), 17-19 May, Ascona, Switzerland


@InProceedings{FerLurLapBie_STRC2017,
  author = {Anna Fernandez-Antolin and Virginie Lurkin and Matthieu {de Lapparent} and Michel Bierlaire},
  title = {Discrete-continuous maximum likelihood for the estimation of nested logit models},
  booktime = {Proceedings of the 16th Swiss Transport Research Conference (STRC), 17-19 May},
  year = {2017},
  address = {Ascona, Switzerland}}}

Talks [10]

2018

Lurkin V., Fernandez-Antolin A., Bierlaire M. Discrete-continuous maximum likelihood estimation July 16, 2018. 15th International Conference on Travel Behavior Research , , Santa Barbara, CA, USA.


@Misc{Lurkin_iatbr18,
  author = {Virginie Lurkin and Anna Fernandez-Antolin and Michel Bierlaire},
  title = {Discrete-continuous maximum likelihood estimation},
  howpublished = {\url{https://transp-or.epfl.ch/documents/talks/Lurkin_iatbr18.pdf}},
  year = {2018},
  note = {Presented at 15th International Conference on Travel Behavior Research , , Santa Barbara, CA, USA}}}

Lurkin V. Towards People-oriented Mobility (PoM) February 05, 2018. Operations Planning And Control Group Seminar, , Eindhoven, The Netherlands.


@Misc{Lurkin_eindhoven18,
  author = {Virginie Lurkin},
  title = {Towards People-oriented Mobility (PoM)},
  howpublished = {\url{https://transp-or.epfl.ch/documents/talks/Lurkin_eindhoven18.pdf}},
  year = {2018},
  note = {Presented at Operations Planning And Control Group Seminar, , Eindhoven, The Netherlands}}}

Lurkin V., Zanarini A., Bierlaire M. Planning of feeding station installment and battery sizing for an electric urban bus network February 02, 2018. ORBEL 32 Conference, , Liège, Belgium.


@Misc{Lurkin_orbel18,
  author = {Virginie Lurkin and Alessandro Zanarini and Michel Bierlaire},
  title = {Planning of feeding station installment

and battery sizing for an electric

urban bus network},
  howpublished = {\url{https://transp-or.epfl.ch/documents/talks/Lurkin_orbel18.pdf}},
  year = {2018},
  note = {Presented at ORBEL 32 Conference, , Li\ège, Belgium}}}

2017

Lurkin V., Garrow L., Newman J., Bierlaire M. Capturing how individuals filter and screen alternatives for discrete choice modeling applications October 24, 2017. 2017 INFORMS Annual Meeting, , Houston, USA.


@Misc{Lurkin_informs2017,
  author = {Virginie Lurkin and Laurie Garrow and Jeffrey Newman and Michel Bierlaire},
  title = {Capturing how individuals filter and screen alternatives for discrete choice modeling applications},
  howpublished = {\url{https://transp-or.epfl.ch/documents/talks/Lurkin_informs2017.pdf}},
  year = {2017},
  note = {Presented at 2017 INFORMS Annual Meeting, , Houston, USA}}}

Lurkin V., Garrow L. Modeling Competition among Airline Itineraries September 13, 2017. 6th Symposium of the European Association for Research in Transportation, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technion, Haifa, Israel.


@Misc{Lurkin_hEART2017,
  author = {Virginie Lurkin and Laurie Garrow},
  title = {Modeling Competition among Airline Itineraries},
  howpublished = {\url{https://transp-or.epfl.ch/documents/talks/Lurkin_hEART2017.pdf}},
  year = {2017},
  note = {Presented at 6th Symposium of the European Association for Research in Transportation, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technion, Haifa, Israel}}}

Lurkin V., Sharif Azadeh S., Maknoon Y., Bierlaire M. Planning of feeding station installment for a full electric large capacity urban bus system July 20, 2017. 21st IFORS Conference, , Quebec, Canada.


@Misc{Lurkin_IFORS2017,
  author = {Virginie Lurkin and Shadi {Sharif Azadeh} and Yousef Maknoon and Michel Bierlaire},
  title = {Planning of feeding station installment

for a full electric large capacity urban bus system},
  howpublished = {\url{https://transp-or.epfl.ch/documents/talks/Lurkin_IFORS2017.pdf}},
  year = {2017},
  note = {Presented at 21st IFORS Conference, , Quebec, Canada}}}

Lurkin V., Garrow L. Using non-traditional data sources to understand travel behavior June 23, 2017. 12th Workshop on Discrete Choice Models, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland.


@Misc{Lurkin_DCAws_2017,
  author = {Virginie Lurkin and Laurie Garrow},
  title = {Using non-traditional data sources

to understand travel behavior},
  howpublished = {\url{https://transp-or.epfl.ch/documents/talks/Lurkin_DCAws_2017.pdf}},
  year = {2017},
  note = {Presented at 12th Workshop on Discrete Choice Models, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland}}}

Lurkin V., Pacheco M., Sharif Azadeh S., Bierlaire M., Gendron B. A New Approach to Choice-Based Revenue Management May 17, 2017. AGIFORS RM Group Meeting, , San Francisco, United States.


@Misc{Lurkin_AGIFORSRM17,
  author = {Virginie Lurkin and Meritxell Pacheco and Shadi {Sharif Azadeh} and Michel Bierlaire and Bernard Gendron},
  title = {A New Approach to Choice-Based

Revenue Management},
  howpublished = {\url{https://transp-or.epfl.ch/documents/talks/Lurkin_AGIFORSRM17.pdf}},
  year = {2017},
  note = {Presented at AGIFORS RM Group Meeting, , San Francisco, United States}}}

Lurkin V., Garrow L., Higgins M., Newman J., Schyns M. Estimation of Airline Itinerary Choice Models Using Disaggregate Ticket Data May 16, 2017. AGIFORS SSP Group Meeting, , San Francisco, United States.


@Misc{Lurkin_AGIFORSSSP17,
  author = {Virginie Lurkin and Laurie Garrow and Matthew Higgins and Jeffrey Newman and Michael Schyns},
  title = {Estimation of Airline Itinerary Choice Models Using Disaggregate Ticket Data},
  howpublished = {\url{https://transp-or.epfl.ch/documents/talks/Lurkin_AGIFORSSSP17.pdf}},
  year = {2017},
  note = {Presented at AGIFORS SSP Group Meeting, , San Francisco, United States}}}

2016

Lurkin V. Modeling in Air Transportation: Cargo Loading and Itinerary Choice November 14, 2016. 2016 INFORMS Annual Meeting - Aviation Applications Dissertation Prize, , Nashville, United States.


@Misc{Lurkin_INFORMS2016,
  author = {Virginie Lurkin},
  title = {Modeling in Air Transportation:

Cargo Loading and Itinerary Choice},
  howpublished = {\url{https://transp-or.epfl.ch/documents/talks/Lurkin_INFORMS2016.pdf}},
  year = {2016},
  note = {Presented at 2016 INFORMS Annual Meeting - Aviation Applications Dissertation Prize, , Nashville, United States}}}

Awards [3]

2018

Virginie Lurkin. ENAC Polysphère 2018, EPFL.
Every year, during the Graduation Ceremony, the students honour the best teacher of each school with an award called "Polysph�re". This prize is the greatest award a professor can receive directly from students at EPFL. .

2017

Virginie Lurkin. Best Presentation Award at AGIFORS Scheduling and Strategic Planning Study Group meeting , The Airline Group of the International Federation of Operational Research Societies (AGIFORS) .
The Airline Group of the International Federation of Operational Research Societies (AGIFORS) is a professional society dedicated to the advancement and application of Operational Research within the airline industry. The membership consists of Operational Research professional employed by recognized civil airlines and related industries and correspondents keenly interested in the application of Operational Research to aviation problems..

2016

Virginie Lurkin. Best Dissertation Prize, The Aviation Applications Section of INFORMS.
The Aviation Applications Section of INFORMS awards a prize for the best dissertation in any area related to aviation OR (air traffic management OR and airline OR)..

Reviewing [7]

Research projects [2]

2017

Incorporating competitors' behavior in demand based optimization models

The starting point of this research project is the general framework developed in the SNF research project 200021_165636 entitled �Incorporating advanced behavioral models in mixed integer linear optimization�. The project aims at formulating explicitly the complex interaction between the supply and demand actors. We hypothesize that the decisions of supply actors (such as capacity, assortment, and price) are highly influenced by the decisions of other actors, through competition within the market. In this project, we will therefore explicitly consider multiple operators that compete for the same pool of customers. Each operator will take the supply-side decisions that optimize its performance function (e.g., maximization of revenue). Non-cooperative game theory is commonly used to model such oligopolistic competition. We plan to investigate how to integrate these games in the already developed framework. In this context, the objective will be to analyze the concept of equilibrium, that is, stationary states of the system where no actor has an incentive to change his/her decisions.
- Nov 01, 2017 - Oct 31, 2020
- Sponsor: Swiss National Science Foundation
- Principal investigator: Michel Bierlaire
- Project manager: Virginie Lurkin
- Collaborator: Stefano Bortolomiol
Cost reduction using passenger centric timetabling

To design their timetables, train-operating companies mostly focus on operational aspects and cost. In Switzerland, a paradigm of transportation planning is to create regular-interval timetables (a.k.a. cyclic timetables) which aim for maximal transfer connections, simplicity and hence user friendlyness. SBB uses travel simulation models to predict the impact of timetable changes on travel demand and revenue. Mathematical timetable optimization methods are not yet used by SBB. But a recent EPFL thesis (2016) shows that the timetable itself has a significant impact on the performance of the operator in terms of the number of transported passengers: a timetable design that considers the behavior of passengers leads to higher revenue(s), market share(s), higher value of passenger-km etc. In this project, the aim is to use the optimization methods developed by the TRANSP-OR Lab consisting in combining cyclic and non-cyclic timetables and apply it to the Swiss Federal Railways� timetable design. The goal is to evaluate the performance of the current Swiss interval timetable and to compare it to the optimal one. Suitability of hybrid timetables for the Swiss railway network will be investigated. This one-year project is carried out by the Transport and Mobility Laboratory, led by prof. Michel Bierlaire. TRANSP-OR has vast competence in modeling, optimization and simulation of transportation systems. The project is sponsored by SBB CFF FFS.
- Sep 01, 2017 - Aug 31, 2018
- Sponsor: Swiss Federal Railways (SBB)
- Principal investigator: Michel Bierlaire
- Project manager: Virginie Lurkin

EPFL courses [5]

Fall 2021

Introduction to optimization and operations research .
- Level: Bachelor
- Sections: Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering
- Lecturer: Virginie Lurkin
- Teaching assistants: Nour Dougui, Negar Rezvany, Nicholas Molyneaux, Gael Lederrey, Marija Kukic, Tom Haering, Stefano Bortolomiol, Cloe Cortes Balcells
Mathematical modeling of behavior.
- Level: Master
- Sections: Mathematics, Master in Financial Engineering
- Lecturer: Virginie Lurkin
- Teaching assistants: Melvin Wong, Silvia Varotto, Nicola Ortelli, Janody Pougala, Rico Krueger, Tim Hillel
- Webpage: https://moodle.epfl.ch/course/view.php?id=1001

Spring 2018

Decision-aid methodologies in transportation.
- Level: Master
- Section: Civil Engineering
- Lecturers: Virginie Lurkin, Nikola Obrenovic
- Teaching assistants: Stefano Bortolomiol, Gael Lederrey
- Webpage: http://transp-or.epfl.ch/courses/decisionAid2018/index.php

Fall 2017

Introduction � l'optimisation et � la recherche op�rationnelle.
- Level: Bachelor
- Sections: Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering
- Lecturer: Michel Bierlaire
- Teaching assistants: Virginie Lurkin, Gael Lederrey, Nikola Obrenovic
- Webpage: http://transp-or.epfl.ch/courses/optimization2017/

Spring 2017

Decision-aid methodologies in transportation.
- Level: Master
- Section: Civil Engineering
- Lecturers: Virginie Lurkin, Mor Kaspi
- Teaching assistants: Tom�s Robenek, Stefan Binder, Iliya Markov, Meritxell Pacheco
- Webpage: http://moodle.epfl.ch/enrol/index.php?id=15132

MSc theses [2]

2017

Demand based rolling stock allocation, Salma Deruiche (Civil Engineering)
- Supervision: Virginie Lurkin, Stefan Binder, Michel Bierlaire
- External expert: Simon Landureau
Passenger's Connection Time Preferences in Airline Itinerary Choice, Elisabeth Zbinden (Civil Engineering)
- Supervision: Virginie Lurkin, Matthieu de Lapparent, Michel Bierlaire
- External expert: Laurie Garrow

Semester projects [8]

2018

Cost Reduction Uisng Passenger Centric Timetabling, Robert Abboud (Management of Technology and Financial Engineering)

Supervision: Virginie Lurkin, Michel Bierlaire
"To design their timetables, train-operating companies mostly focus on operational aspects and cost. In Switzerland, a paradigm of transportation planning is to create regular-interval timetables (a.k.a. cyclic timetables) which aim for maximal transfer connections, simplicity and hence user friendlyness. SBB uses travel simulation models to predict the impact of timetable changes on travel demand and revenue. Mathematical timetable optimization methods are not yet used by SBB. But a recent EPFL thesis (2016) shows that the timetable itself has a significant impact on the performance of the operator in terms of the number of transported passengers: a timetable design that considers the behavior of passengers leads to higher revenue(s), market share(s), higher value of passenger-km etc. In this project, the aim is to use the optimization methods developed by the TRANSP-OR Lab consisting in combining cyclic and non-cyclic timetables and apply it to the Swiss Federal Railways� timetable design. The goal is to evaluate the performance of the current Swiss interval timetable and to compare it to the optimal one. Suitability of hybrid timetables for the Swiss railway network will be investigated".

Modelling competition in demand-based optimization models, Charlotte Darné (Mathematics)

Supervision: Stefano Bortolomiol, Virginie Lurkin, Michel Bierlaire
The project aims at studying and understanding the interactions between supply and demand in an oligopolistic market, in which multiple operators compete for the same pool of customers. This is a common situation in the transportation sector as well as in other markets. Operators take the supply-side decisions that optimize their own performance function (e.g. maximization of revenues or profits). Such decisions are influenced both by the decisions of their competitors and by the preferences of the customers who consider purchasing one of the services offered on the market. The latter ones are modelled at a disaggregate level according to the random utility theory. The starting point of the project is a recent modelling framework that allows to include any random utility model in a mixed integer optimization formulation. In this framework, a single operator exploits its knowledge of the demand to maximize its objective function, while assuming that the decisions of its competitors are held fixed. The goal of this project is to extend the existing framework by including the case in which two operators simultaneously optimize their decisions. Such problem falls into the category of competitive games called two-player non-cooperative games. The student will refer to the concept of Nash equilibrium to answer questions such as "how does competition affect prices?", "what products should each competitor offer and in which quantity?", "should two competitors fight to attract the same group of customers or should they each target a different market segment?", among others.

Automatic utility specification using machine learning techniques, Nicola Ortelli

Supervision: Gael Lederrey, Tim Hillel, Virginie Lurkin
The objective of this project is to help building a utility function using different Data Analysis functions. It is well known that modeler spend a lot of time creating their utility function for DCMs. The goal of this project is to build an automated procedure to generate Utility functions based on the data. The tools used are Data Analysis and Machine Learning (Decision Tree, Random Forest, Linear Regression, Clustering, etc.). The utility functions found using these tools will then be compared to standard and more advanced utility functions. Another direction that we can take is using Machine Learning to extract the possible nests for a Nested Logit Model. This direction, however, requires a deeper knowledge in Discrete Choice Modelling. We are open to the discussion concerning the available directions.

2017-2018

On the optimization of CAPEX and OPEX for the design of a full electric large capacity urban bus system, Guillaume Mollard (Computational science and engineering)

Supervision: Virginie Lurkin, Stefan Binder, Michel Bierlaire
During the last few decades, environmental impact of the fossil fuel-based transportation infrastructure has led to renewed interest in electric transportation infrastructure, especially in urban public mass-transportation sector. The deployment of battery-powered electric bus systems within the public transportation sector plays an important role to increase energy efficiency and to abate emissions. RAn efficient feeding stations installation and an appropriate dimensioning of battery capacity are crucial to minimize the total cost of ownership for the citywide bus transportation net- work. The objective of this project is to extend an existing optimization model to the multiple lines case and to come up with an objective function that better reflect the real costs incurred by the operator. The objective function should include Capital Expenditures (CAPEX) and Operational Expenditures (OPEX). For the multiple line case, the central issue is to deal with the feeding stations that are shared among different lines.

2017

Planning of feeding station installment for a full electric large capacity urban bus system, Adrien Ruault (Computer science)

Supervision: Virginie Lurkin, Marija Nikolic, Michel Bierlaire
The integration of customer behavioural models in optimization provides a better understanding of the preferences of clients (the demand) to policy makers while planning for their systems (the supply). These preferences are formalized with discrete choice models, and the corresponding optimization models where supply and demand closely interact are associated with (mixed) integer optimization problems. One concrete application of this integration consists of an operator selling services to a market, each service at a given price to a finite number of customers, called the capacity of the service. We are interested in finding the best strategy in terms of pricing and capacity allocation in order to maximize the revenues of the operator. The project objectives can be tailored for both Master or Semester project students.

Speed profile of an innovative catenary-free electric bus, Valentin Axel Olivier & Nicolet Adrien (Civil Engineering)

Supervision: Riccardo Scarinci, Virginie Lurkin, Michel Bierlaire
The TOSA bus system is a revolutionary catenary-free electric bus concept that includes small short-range on-board batteries and a series of fully automated fast charging stations installed at some bus stops. The automatic fast-charging stations partially replenish the bus batteries in a few seconds whenever a bus arrives at the bus stops, while avoiding any interference with the bus schedules and operations. This system has been defined during the project myTOSA 1.0 and implemented in a pilot test in the city of Geneva in 2013. The project myTOSA 1.0 is currently extended by the project myTOSA 2.0. myTOSA 2.0 is composed of several modules, the most relevant for this semester project is the traffic simulation. The traffic simulation represents the movement of the buses in a network, and requires a representation of the infrastructure as an input. This project aims to define the typical speed profile of an electric bus moving in an urban network. The speed profile includes acceleration and deceleration patters for different driver behaviour, network configurations and traffic levels. The influence of traffic lights, bus priority, roundabouts on the speed profile should be investigated. The first step to achieve this aim is to define the probability distribution of the number of intersections crossed by the bus. This step is necessary to complete this project successfully. Further steps in the directions of the definition of the speed profile are considerate optional. Methodologies from transportation modelling, geographical information system (GIS) and programming (MATLAB) will be used for completing this project.

2016

Passengers' connection time preferences in airline itinerary choice, Elisabeth Zbinden (Civil Engineering)

Supervision: Virginie Lurkin, Matthieu de Lapparent, Michel Bierlaire
As noted by Theis et al. (2006), "Network airlines traditionally attempt to minimize passenger connecting times at hub airports, assuming that passengers prefer minimum scheduled elapsed time for their trips. However, minimizing connecting times creates schedule peaks at hub airports. These peaks are extremely cost-intensive in terms of additional personnel, resources, runway capacity, and schedule recovery. Consequently, passenger connecting times should be minimized only if the anticipated revenue gain of minimizing passenger connection times is larger than the increase." Prior work has used (small) stated preference surveys to estimate customers' connection time preferences, and explicitly whether this function is nonlinear with connection time (i.e., customers avoid very short connections and very long connections). However, little is known as to how these connection time preferences vary as a function of other characteristics, including flight frequency (or schedule delay), length of haul, whether the flight is the last flight of the day, prior on-time performance of flight legs. As part of this project, the student will estimate airline itinerary choice models using a large ticketing database provided by the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC). The student will build off of prior MNL models that have been estimated which have corrected for price endogeneity and focus explicitly on refining the utility function related to connection time preferences.

Pricing and capacity allocation strategies for a demand-based revenues maximization problem, Jonathan Lachkar (Civil Engineering)

Supervision: Meritxell Pacheco, Virginie Lurkin, Michel Bierlaire
The integration of customer behavioural models in optimization provides a better understanding of the preferences of clients (the demand) to policy makers while planning for their systems (the supply). These preferences are formalized with discrete choice models, and the corresponding optimization models where supply and demand closely interact are associated with (mixed) integer optimization problems. One concrete application of this integration consists of an operator selling services to a market, each service at a given price to a finite number of customers, called the capacity of the service. We are interested in finding the best strategy in terms of pricing and capacity allocation in order to maximize the revenues of the operator. The project objectives can be tailored for both Master or Semester project students.