Double coverage ambulance location modeling using fuzzy traveling time

Abstract

In this paper, one of the novel issues of the world regarding the location of ambulance stations within a given area to cover the maximum amount of demand is studied. In this study, the classic version of location problem is improved using the double coverage models so that two radii are considered for covering. Furthermore, the developed study contains the meaningful factors indicating the demand for each patient location covered by each station (vehicle location). In the proposed model, the uncertainty existed in the travel time between the patient locations and vehicle locations have been considered as triangular fuzzy numbers. To solve the proposed model, the goal programming approach is applied in the GAMS software and desired outputs have been achieved. The obtained results represent a significant improvement compared to the past models with uncertainty.