ASSIGNMENT 1 DUE 13 NOVEMBER 2020

1. Smalltown Taxi operates one vehicle during the 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. period. Currently,
consideration is being given to the addition of a second vehicle to the fleet. The demand for
taxis follows the distribution shown:

Time Between Calls 15 20 25 30 35

(Minutes)
Probability 0.14 0.22 0.43 0.17 0.04

The distribution of time to complete a service is as follows:

Service Time (Minutes) 5 15 25 35 45

Probability 0.12 0.35 0.43 0.06 0.04

Simulate 5 individual days of operation of the current system and of the system with an additional
taxicab. Compare the two systems with respect to the waiting times of the customers and any other
measures that might shed light on the situation. [10]

2. A self-service car wash has 4 washing stalls. When in a stall, a customer may choose from among
three options: 1 rinse only,
2 wash and rinse,
3 wash, rinse, and wax.
Each option has a fixed time to complete: rinse only, 3 minutes; wash and rinse, 7 minutes;
wash, rinse, and wax, 12 minutes. The owners have observed that 20% of customers choose
rinse only; 70% wash and rinse; and 10% wash, rinse, and wax. There are no scheduled
appointments, and customers arrive at a rate of about 34 cars per hour. There is room for only 3
cars to wait in the parking lot, so, currently, many customers are lost. The owners wants to
know how much more business they will do if they add another stall. Adding a stall will take
away one space in the parking lot.
Develop a queueing model of the system. Estimate the rate at which customers will be lost in
the current and proposed system. Carefully state any assumptions or approximations you make.
[15]