On one practical method to solve the transportation problem with ecological criterion

A practical method of solving a transportation problem with «ecological» criterion, including additional rates not proportional to cargo (“penalty”) is considered. Based on a priori integral estimates of the relationship between the estimates of these two parts of transportation costs, it is proposed to: preliminarily estimate the quantitative role of the “penalty” component and the degree of need to build a special plan taking it into account. If it is essential to take this component into account, then it is proposed to obtain a chain of successive solutions to classical transport problems with tunable prices until the moment of its cycling (repetition). These chains form cycles allowing to get the optimal solution of the problem or the close to this one, that can be improved using standard methods of solving the transportation problem.