Algorithms for minimum-cost paths in time-dependent networks with waiting policies

We study the problem of computing minimum-cost paths through a time-varying network, in which the travel time and travel cost of each arc are known functions of one’s departure time along the arc. For some problem instances, the ability to wait at nodes may allow for less costly paths through the network. When waiting is allowed, it is constrained by a (potentially time-varying) waiting policy that describes the length of time one may wait and the cost of waiting at every node. In discrete time, time-dependent shortest path problems with waiting constraints can be optimally solved by straightforward dynamic programming algorithms; however, for some waiting policies these algorithms can be computationally impractical. In this article, we survey several broad classes of waiting policies and show how techniques for speeding up dynamic programming can be effectively applied to obtain practical algorithms for these different problem variants. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. NETWORKS, Vol. 44(1), 41–46 2004