Question

Avis Company is a car rental company that is located three miles from the Los Angeles airport (LAX). Avis is dispatching a bus from its offices to the airport every 2 minutes. The average traveling time (round-trip) is 20 minutes. How many Avis buses are traveling to and from the airport? The branch manager wants to improve the service and suggests dispatching buses every 0.5 minutes. She argues that this will reduce the average traveling time from the airport to Avis offices to 2.5 minutes. Is she correct? If your answer is negative, then what will the average traveling time be?

Answer 1

Answer:

Answer explained below

Explanation:

a.

The throughput rate, TR is 30 buses per hour.

The throughput time, TR is 20 mins = 20/60 = 1/3 hours

Number of buses travelling to and from airport, WIP = ??

Hence, from the formula

TT = WIP / TR

TT * TR = WIP  

30 * 1/3 = 10

10 buses are traveling to and from the airport.

b.

This reduces the average waiting time, but has no effect on the average traveling time. The average traveling time does not change and will remain 20 min.