Guest lecture: A Ride through Flix Optimization Universe

This talk offers a tour of Flix’s optimization universe and the role of Operations Research and AI in large-scale transportation. We present two use cases: bus optimization, showcasing iterative algorithm development, and seasonality optimization, highlighting a multidisciplinary approach combining OR and user research. We also discuss architectural challenges at the interface of machine learning and OR.

Sander Van Aken is Staff Operations Research Engineer at Flix SE (known from FlixBus, FlixTrain, Greyhound US and Kamil Koc). As part of the network planning optimization team, he designs, develops and tests custom-built OR-algorithms for timetable, bus and driver scheduling, in close collaboration with both tech- and business stakeholders. These get embedded in a software product owned and developed by the team. Sander holds a MSc. in Traffic and Logistics Engineering and prior to joining Flix worked as advanced analytics consultant mainly in the public transportation industry on simulation-, data science and optimization-based projects.