Page 13 - Annual Report - interactive demo

Dual Rebalancing Strategies for Electric Vehicle Carsharing Operations
Principal Investigator: Joseph Chow, NYU
Electric vehicle (EV) car sharing systems present a com- plex environment in terms of mathematical modeling and decision analysis for rebelancing operations. In this study, the research team proposed a new model formulation
for rebalancing carsharing vehicles based on a node- charge graph structure. Rebalancing idle vehicles involves tradeoffs between serving customer demand at higher access cost, increasing relocation cost to reduce access cost, and increasing charging cost to cover demand for more highly charged vehicles at the expense of vehicle availability. This includes two conflicting objectives: user accessibility, expressed by the link between demand at a node and the closest available idle vehicle; and the cost of operations that arises from rebalancing vehicles to serve user demand. To measure the effectiveness of the developed algorithm, a large test-case simulation exper- iment based on data from BMW ReachNow car-sharing operations in Brooklyn, NY, was conducted, then the mod- el was tested in a custom-built simulation environment. The new algorithm demonstrated significant cost savings and computational efficiency for operating large electric rebalancing systems.
Sustainability of Urban Consumption Practices
Principal Investigator: Sarah Kaufman, NYU
With the growth of e-commerce, the Internet has induced new relationships between people and their consumer space(s). Despite the significant increase
in online shopping and the diversity of stakeholders involved, of goods consumed and of related delivery methods, little empirical work currently exists on how people are changing their consumption practices and their mobility practices related to these purchases. This project, a collaboration between NYU and 6-t Reserche in Paris, centered on a large-scale exploratory survey
to obtain new data on the consumption and mobility practices of the population of Paris and New York City. The survey resulted in a wealth of new information on current consumer habits in these two cities in online shopping, including non-food items, groceries, and meals. As a result, the research team concluded that there are several paths that both carriers and cities can explore to promote sustainable models for last mile delivery, including pooling deliveries, utilizing off-peak delivery times or locker delivery methods, and encour- aging efficient modes, such as electric bicycles or the ample supply of for-hire vehicles already on the road.
Heatmap of demand for BMW’s electric free-float This project revealed trends in delivery preferences and carsharing vehicles. online shopping habits of NYC and Paris residents.
C2SMART Center Annual Report 12