Honoring Access Restrictions For All Truck Types

Product Used: Route Optimization API

Background

A waste collection company services both urban and suburban areas in a large metropolitan city. In certain dense urban neighborhoods, narrow streets, sharp turns, and low overpasses make it difficult for larger trucks to navigate safely. In these areas, the company has experienced issues with trucks being unable to complete routes as planned due to inaccessible streets, especially during peak hours when streets are crowded with parked cars. Additionally, suburban zones with older infrastructure may have low bridges, restricting the passage of taller trucks.

Problem Statements

The waste collection company wants to overcome:

Route Accessibility Challenges: The standard routing algorithm does not account for vehicle size restrictions, leading larger trucks to attempt routes they can’t complete, resulting in inefficient rerouting and missed pickups.
Delays and Service Interruptions: Larger trucks frequently need to turn back or re-route, causing delays, incomplete pickups, and increased operational costs.
Safety Concerns: Attempting to navigate trucks in areas with tight clearances and limited access puts drivers and other vehicles at risk, increasing the likelihood of accidents and damage to both infrastructure and trucks.

Solution

With the NextBillion.ai Route Optimization API’s feature that allows routing based on specific truck dimensions—height, length, width—and truck weight, the waste collection company can ensure that each truck is assigned to routes that accommodate its size.

Configuring Routes by Truck Dimensions

The routing algorithm considers the dimensions of each vehicle when planning routes. In dense neighborhoods with narrow streets and sharp turns, the system automatically assigns smaller trucks with better maneuverability. Larger trucks are reserved for wider streets or suburban routes without restrictive infrastructure. To configure truck dimensions, we can use the truck_size parameter. In order to give individual dimensions for each truck type, we can use profiles as well. An example for configuring the dimensions of a flatbed truck:

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“truck_size”: “152,259,1463”

Setting Weight Limits for Routes

For suburban routes with low bridges, the system routes taller trucks on alternate paths, ensuring they avoid low-clearance areas and reducing the need for sudden detours or missed stops.

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“truck_weight”: 21772

Improving Collection Times with Optimized Assignments

By matching truck size to the right area, the company can efficiently complete routes without delays, ensuring timely collections and reducing fuel usage associated with unplanned detours.

Sample API request and response

Here is a complete JSON request that we built for this case and the corresponding response.

API Request

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curl --location 'https://api.nextbillion.io/optimization/v2?key=<your_api_key>' --header 'Content-Type: application/json' --data '{...}'

API Response

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{
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    "description": "Honoring Access Restrictions For All Truck Types",
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    "result": '{...}',
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    "status": "Ok",
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    "message": ""

We can see from the response that only the appropriate vehicles were assigned to pick-up waste from access controlled regions. Dimension-based truck routing enables waste collection companies to avoid inaccessible routes, improve safety, and optimize operations. By assigning trucks to routes compatible with their size and capabilities, companies can enhance both efficiency and customer service in diverse urban and suburban environments.