This thesis explores waiting and rebalancing strategies in urban waterborne transport, intending to improve the efficiency and operational performance of water transportation systems. The study is based on a review of the literature on waterborne transport and waiting and rebalancing strategies. This is followed by a case study where the found strategies will be implemented for the water taxi case in Rotterdam.

The literature review provides an overview of the current state of research on waterborne transport, highlighting its potential as a sustainable and efficient mode of urban mobility. The review also identifies waiting and rebalancing strategies as key factors for improving the performance of water transportation systems. Waiting strategies involve managing the distribution of slack time in the route of the vehicle, while rebalancing strategies aim to optimize the use of resources by redistributing vessels across the service area.

The implementation of waiting and rebalancing strategies on the water taxi system in Rotterdam provides a practical example of how waiting and rebalancing strategies can be implemented in a real-world context. This study analyzes the performance of the water taxi system using the actual data provided by Flying Fish. The analysis results in a clear overview of the requirements of the experimental setup that is needed to evaluate the strategies in this specific waterborne transport environment.

A detailed description of the simulation model is given. The simulation model is based on a mobility-on-demand simulation model. Multiple modifications needed to be made in order to fit the model to the water taxi scenario. After a working simulation model has been created, a benchmark is created to make a comparison between the strategies.

The experiments reveal that waiting and rebalancing strategies can be effective in improving the performance of water transportation systems, but their implementation requires careful planning and coordination. The study identifies several strategies that improve the systems performance in terms of one factor, but deteriorate other performance factors. The trade-off between pick-up delay on one side and the vehicle usage and traveled distance on the other side is a recurring theme when looking at the results of the strategies.

Overall, the findings of this research contribute to the growing body of knowledge on innovative solutions for urban mobility and provide a basis for further exploration and implementation of waiting and rebalancing strategies in waterborne transport systems. The study highlights the potential of these strategies to improve the efficiency of urban transport and underscores the importance of considering waterborne transport as a viable and valuable mode of urban mobility.