TY - JOUR
T1 - Bike-share rebalancing strategies, patterns, and purpose
AU - Médard de Chardon, Cyrille
AU - Caruso, Geoffrey
AU - Thomas, Isabelle
PY - 2016/7/1
Y1 - 2016/7/1
N2 - We provide a first spatio-temporal exploration of bicycle sharing system (BSS) rebalancing patterns from data extracted for individual stations at a fine temporal scale and operator interviews. Analyzing rebalancing operations for nine BSS, we describe implications for operators, municipalities, and future optimization work. We find that stations adjacent to transit hubs receive disproportionate amounts of rebalancing relative to trips and that rebalancing is more often responding to morning and afternoon demand exceeding station dock capacities rather than longer term accumulations of bicycles. More importantly, we observe some operator’ rebalancing behaviors constrained between opposing goals of maximizing trips, profits, and service level agreements. Many BSS have no explicitly defined purpose, but existing rebalancing strategies can support or clash with the purpose or suggested benefits of a BSS.
AB - We provide a first spatio-temporal exploration of bicycle sharing system (BSS) rebalancing patterns from data extracted for individual stations at a fine temporal scale and operator interviews. Analyzing rebalancing operations for nine BSS, we describe implications for operators, municipalities, and future optimization work. We find that stations adjacent to transit hubs receive disproportionate amounts of rebalancing relative to trips and that rebalancing is more often responding to morning and afternoon demand exceeding station dock capacities rather than longer term accumulations of bicycles. More importantly, we observe some operator’ rebalancing behaviors constrained between opposing goals of maximizing trips, profits, and service level agreements. Many BSS have no explicitly defined purpose, but existing rebalancing strategies can support or clash with the purpose or suggested benefits of a BSS.
KW - Bicycle sharing systems
KW - Bike-share
KW - Rebalancing
KW - Spatial analysis
UR - http://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/bikeshare-rebalancing-strategies-patterns-purpose
U2 - 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2016.07.003
DO - 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2016.07.003
M3 - Article
SN - 0966-6923
VL - 55
SP - 22
EP - 39
JO - Journal of Transport Geography
JF - Journal of Transport Geography
ER -