Depots¶

A depot is a location where vehicles start or end their routes, or visit mid-route to reload. Depots represent warehouses, distribution centres, or any other facility that serves as a base of operations.

Time window¶

A depot can have a time window that models the depot's opening hours. Vehicles may depart from and arrive at the depot only during these opening hours. When no time window is specified, the depot is available at all times.

Load duration¶

The load duration defines how long a vehicle spends at the depot for loading activities, such as loading pallets onto a truck. This duration is incurred at the start of a route when loading initial goods, and during mid-route depot visits when the vehicle replenishes its load. See the Reloading tutorial for a worked example.

Relationship to vehicle types¶

Depots are referenced by vehicle types as start depot, end depot, or reload depots. For example, a parcel delivery fleet might start each morning at the distribution centre, serve deliveries throughout the day, and return to another centre in the evening. A waste collection vehicle could visit a nearby transfer station mid-route to empty its load before continuing its collection round. See Vehicle types for more details, and the Start and end locations and Reloading tutorials for worked examples.