This proceedings volume consists of selected papers presented at the Eighth International Conference on Computer-Aided Scheduling 0/Public Transport (CASPT 2000), which was held at the conference center of the Konrad rd Adenauer-Foundation in Berlin, Germany, from June 2pt to 23 , 2000. The CASPT 2000 is the continuation of aseries of international workshops and conferences presenting recent research and progress in computer-aided scheduling in public transport.Previous workshops and conferences were held in • Chicago (1975), • Leeds (1980), • Montreal (1983 and 1990), • Hamburg (1987), • Lisbon (1993) and • Cambridge, Mass. (1997).1 With CASPT 2000, our series of workshops and conferences celebrated th its 25 anniversary. Starting with a Workshop on Automated Techniques [or Scheduling 0/ Vehicle Operators [or Urban Public Transportation Services in 1975 the scope and purpose has broadened since and still continues to do so. The previous workshops and conferences were focused on public mass transit, and while this remained the primary focus ofthe 2000 conference, it included also computer-aided scheduling methods being developed and applied in re lated means of passenger transport systems. Commonalities regarding op erations research techniques such as, e.g., column generation techniques and 1 While there were no formal proceedings for the first workshop but only a p- printed copy of all papers issued to participants on arrival, the subsequent ones are weil documented as folIows: Wren, A. (Ed.) (1981). Computer Scheduling 0/ Public Transport. North Holland, Amsterdam.

This proceedings volume consists of papers presented at the Sixth International Workshop on Computer-Aided Scheduling of Public Transpon, which was held at the Fund~lio Calouste Gulbenkian in Lisbon from July 6th to 9th, 1993. In the tradition of alternating Workshops between North America and Europe - Chicago (1975), Leeds (1980), Montreal (1983), Hamburg (1987) and again Montreal (1990), the European city of Lisbon was selected as the venue for the Workshop in 1993. As in earlier Workshops, the central theme dealt with vehicle and duty scheduling problems and the employment of operations-research-based software systems for operational planning in public transport. However, as was initiated in Hamburg in 1987, the scope of this Workshop was broadened to include topics in related fields. This fundamental alteration was an inevitable consequence of the growing demand over the last decade for solutions to the complete planning process in public transport through integrated systems. Therefore, the program of this workshop included sections which dealt with scheduling problems and computerized systems for operational planning as well as sections on network planning and data management.

This volume consists of papers presented at the Fourth International Workshop on Computer-Aided Scheduling of Public Transport, which was held in Hamburg from 28th to 31st July 1987. The first of this series of Workshops was held in Chicago in 1975. Papers presented then tended to look forward to what might be done in the future application of computers to problems in transit scheduling. No presentations described systems which had been implemented and were being used on a regular basis, although a few papers discussed apparently successful once-off applications in both bus scheduling and bus crew scheduling (or run-cutting). However, within a few months of the end of that first workshop some systems had been implemented, both in Europe and in North America. By the time of the second Workshop, in Leeds in 1980, several systems were in regular use. Most of the crew scheduling implementations were based on heuristic methods (e.g., RUCUS), although mathematically based methods were being used in Quebec City and in Hamburg, and several papers described further mathematical methods in the course of development. A wide variety of bus scheduling approaches was reported, many of them being in regular use.

This volume consists of papers presented at the Fifth International Workshop on Computer Aided Scheduling of Public Transport, which was held in Montreal from August 19th to the 23rd, 1990. Since the first Workshop in Chicago in 1975 the field had matured considerably. In 1975, there were no presentations that described systems which had been implemented and used on a regular basis. By 1980, in Leeds, and certainly by 1983, in Montreal, several systems were in regular use. They were based on both heuristics and mathematical programming techniques. In 1990, there were more than one hundred transit companies using computer-aided scheduling tools in their regular operations. The scope of the Workshop was broadened in 1987, in Hamburg, so that topics related to scheduling may be introduced. We find, for example, in this book several papers on the technology related to the collection of data and/or the data bases required for scheduling and planning activities.

Combinatorial (or discrete) optimization is one of the most active fields in the interface of operations research, computer science, and applied math ematics. Combinatorial optimization problems arise in various applications, including communications network design, VLSI design, machine vision, air line crew scheduling, corporate planning, computer-aided design and man ufacturing, database query design, cellular telephone frequency assignment, constraint directed reasoning, and computational biology. Furthermore, combinatorial optimization problems occur in many diverse areas such as linear and integer programming, graph theory, artificial intelligence, and number theory. All these problems, when formulated mathematically as the minimization or maximization of a certain function defined on some domain, have a commonality of discreteness. Historically, combinatorial optimization starts with linear programming. Linear programming has an entire range of important applications including production planning and distribution, personnel assignment, finance, alloca tion of economic resources, circuit simulation, and control systems. Leonid Kantorovich and Tjalling Koopmans received the Nobel Prize (1975) for their work on the optimal allocation of resources. Two important discover ies, the ellipsoid method (1979) and interior point approaches (1984) both provide polynomial time algorithms for linear programming. These algo rithms have had a profound effect in combinatorial optimization. Many polynomial-time solvable combinatorial optimization problems are special cases of linear programming (e.g. matching and maximum flow). In addi tion, linear programming relaxations are often the basis for many approxi mation algorithms for solving NP-hard problems (e.g. dual heuristics).

Researchers in management, industrial engineering, operations, and computer science have intensely studied scheduling for more than 50 years, resulting in an astounding body of knowledge in this field. Handbook of Scheduling: Algorithms, Models, and Performance Analysis, the first handbook on scheduling, provides full coverage of the most recent and advanced topics on the subject. It assembles researchers from all relevant disciplines in order to facilitate cross-fertilization and create new scheduling insights. The book comprises six major parts, each of which breaks down into smaller chapters: · Part I introduces materials and notation, with tutorials on complexity theory and algorithms for the minimization of makespan, total completion time, dual objectives, maximum lateness, the number of late jobs, and total tardiness. · Part II is devoted to classical scheduling problems. · Part III explores scheduling models that originate in computer science, operations research, and management science. · Part IV examines scheduling problems that arise in real-time systems, focusing on meeting hard deadline constraints while maximizing machine utilization. · Part V discusses stochastic scheduling and queueing networks, highlighting jobs that are not deterministic. · Part VI covers applications, discussing scheduling problems in airline, process, and transportation industries, as well as in hospitals and educational institutions.