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The Sustainable Existence of China’s Bicycle-Sharing Market: To Oversupply or to Disappear

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  • Xi Chen

    (School of Business and Tourism Management, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China)

  • Qixing Qu

    (School of Information, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing 100029, China)

  • Ming-Hsiang Chen

    (School of Hospitality Business Management, Carson College of Business, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4742, USA)

  • Shaofen Fang

    (School of Business and Tourism Management, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China)

  • Yi Cheng

    (School of Business and Tourism Management, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China)

Abstract

Most cities in China benefit from having a commercial and public bicycle-sharing system. However, the bicycle-sharing markets still face unbalanced development problems, i.e., initial rapid expansion in most areas, and a recent disappearance in some local areas. Thus, the economic features and rules of this market need further exploration to introduce better management measures. Based on agent-based modeling, the current paper stimulated the interactions between supply and demand with two models to illuminate the supply characteristics of the bicycle-sharing market. The main findings included the following: (1) the bicycle-sharing market is governed by a set of objective laws which naturally require an oversupply, meaning that the attainment of a high level of user satisfaction depends on high supply; (2) based on each customer’s tolerance level, there is a supply density threshold that determines the existence and disappearance of the market; and (3) the width and elasticity of the supply density threshold are influenced by the tolerance of the customers, which, in turn, reflects their values and attitudes. The current research is a preliminary exploration of the interactive characteristics of supply and demand in the bicycle-sharing market. We believe that the current paper provides insights and implications to illuminate the law of existence in the bicycle-sharing market. It also includes a discussion on the sustainable development of the bicycle-sharing market in China.

Suggested Citation

  • Xi Chen & Qixing Qu & Ming-Hsiang Chen & Shaofen Fang & Yi Cheng, 2018. "The Sustainable Existence of China’s Bicycle-Sharing Market: To Oversupply or to Disappear," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-16, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:11:p:4214-:d:183092
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    Cited by:

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    3. Daozhi Zhao & Di Wang, 2019. "The Research of Tripartite Collaborative Governance on Disorderly Parking of Shared Bicycles Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior and Motivation Theories—A Case of Beijing, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-21, September.

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