Title: Comparison of static ambulance location models

Authors: Pieter L. Van Den Berg; J. Theresia Van Essen

Addresses: Rotterdam School of Management, Burgemeester Oudlaan 50, 3062 PA Rotterdam, The Netherlands ' Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 4, 2628 CD Delft, The Netherlands

Abstract: Over the years, several ambulance location models have been discussed in the literature. Most of these models have been further developed to take more complicated situations into account. However, the existing standard models that are often used in case studies have never been compared computationally according to the criteria used in practice. In this paper, we compare several ambulance location models on coverage and response time criteria. In addition to four standard ambulance location models from the literature, we also present two models that focus on average and expected response times. The computational results show that the maximum expected covering location problem (MEXCLP) and the expected response time model (ERTM) perform the best over all considered criteria. However, as the computation times for ERTM are long, the average response time model (ARTM) could be a good alternative. Based on these results, we also propose four alternative models that combine the good coverage provided by MEXCLP and the quick response times provided by ARTM. All four considered models provide balanced solutions in terms of coverage and response times. However, the multiple response times target model (MRTTM) outperforms the other models based on computation time.

Keywords: emergency medical services; integer linear programming; ambulance base locations; comparative study.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLSM.2019.098321

International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management, 2019 Vol.32 No.3/4, pp.292 - 321

Received: 17 Mar 2017
Accepted: 29 Oct 2017
Published online: 14 Mar 2019 *

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