A Survey on Environmentally Friendly Vehicle Routing Problem and a Proposal of Its Classification

Abstract

The growth of environmental awareness and more robust enforcement of numerous regulations to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have directed efforts towards addressing current environmental challenges. Considering the Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP), one of the effective strategies to control greenhouse gas emissions is to convert the fossil fuel-powered fleet into Environmentally Friendly Vehicles (EFVs). Given the multitude of constraints and assumptions defined for different types of VRPs, as well as assumptions and operational constraints specific to each type of EFV, many variants of environmentally friendly VRPs (EF-VRP) have been introduced. In this paper, studies conducted on the subject of EF-VRP are reviewed, considering all the road transport EFV types and problem variants, and classifying and discussing with a single holistic vision. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, it determines a classification of EF-VRP studies based on different types of EFVs, i.e., Alternative-Fuel Vehicles (AFVs), Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Hybrid Vehicles (HVs). Second, it presents a comprehensive survey by considering each variant of the classification, technical constraints and solution methods arising in the literature. The results of this paper show that studies on EF-VRP are relatively novel and there is still room for large improvements in several areas. So, to determine future insights, for each classification of EF-VRP studies, the paper provides the literature gaps and future research needs.

Reducing Carbon Emissions for the Vehicle Routing Problem by Utilizing Multiple Depots

“…In the VRP, there is a variant classified as the green vehicle routing problem (GVRP), which considers the effect of vehicle routing on the environment. Several reviews on green logistics and the GVRP have been presented to better understand the issues, such as [3,4,[19][20][21][22]. To provide a more precise calculation of vehicle emissions, Demir et al [23] analyzed several carbon emission models.…”

Electric Vehicle Routing, Arc Routing, and Team Orienteering Problems in Sustainable Transportation

“…Different fleet alternatives can be found in the literature to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the VRP [88]. One of these alternatives is the use of EVs, which are characterized as one of the main contributing actors in green logistics [45].…”

Vehicle Routing Optimization for Pandemic Containment: A Systematic Review on Applications and Solution Approaches

“…To handle more complex operational problems, a number of VRP variants have emerged since 1973, such as the location routing problem [17], periodic VRP [18], dynamic VRP [19], VRP with time window [20], inventory routing problem [21], fuzzy VRP [22], open VRP [23], multi-echelon VRP [24], and share VRP [25]. Over the past two decades, it seems that there has been a trend for scholars to pay more attention to sustainable VPR, incorporating economic, environmental, and social concerns [26,27]. Many variants of sustainable VRP, such as green VRP [28], electric-vehicle VRP [29], pollution routing problem [30], drones routing problem [31], and crowdsourced deliveries [32], appeared after the year 2000.…”