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The Structure of Spatial Networks and Communities in Bicycle Sharing Systems

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  • Martin Zaltz Austwick
  • Oliver O’Brien
  • Emanuele Strano
  • Matheus Viana

Abstract

Bicycle sharing systems exist in hundreds of cities around the world, with the aim of providing a form of public transport with the associated health and environmental benefits of cycling without the burden of private ownership and maintenance. Five cities have provided research data on the journeys (start and end time and location) taking place in their bicycle sharing system. In this paper, we employ visualization, descriptive statistics and spatial and network analysis tools to explore system usage in these cities, using techniques to investigate features specific to the unique geographies of each, and uncovering similarities between different systems. Journey displacement analysis demonstrates similar journey distances across the cities sampled, and the (out)strength rank curve for the top 50 stands in each city displays a similar scaling law for each. Community detection in the derived network can identify local pockets of use, and spatial network corrections provide the opportunity for insight above and beyond proximity/popularity correlations predicted by simple spatial interaction models.

Suggested Citation

  • Martin Zaltz Austwick & Oliver O’Brien & Emanuele Strano & Matheus Viana, 2013. "The Structure of Spatial Networks and Communities in Bicycle Sharing Systems," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(9), pages 1-17, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0074685
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0074685
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    Cited by:

    1. Todd, James & O'Brien, Oliver & Cheshire, James, 2021. "A global comparison of bicycle sharing systems," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    2. Stanislav Kubaľák & Alica Kalašová & Ambróz Hájnik, 2021. "The Bike-Sharing System in Slovakia and the Impact of COVID-19 on This Shared Mobility Service in a Selected City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-20, June.
    3. Zhang, Yongping & Mi, Zhifu, 2018. "Environmental benefits of bike sharing: A big data-based analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 296-301.
    4. Justine I Blanford & MGIS Geog 586 Students, 2020. "Pedal Power: Explorers and commuters of New York Citi Bikesharing scheme," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(6), pages 1-15, June.
    5. Dafeng Xu, 2020. "Free Wheel, Free Will! The Effects of Bikeshare Systems on Urban Commuting Patterns in the U.S," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(3), pages 664-685, June.
    6. Zheng, Zhiguo & Chen, Yunfeng & Zhu, Debao & Sun, Huijun & Wu, Jianjun & Pan, Xing & Li, Daqing, 2021. "Extreme unbalanced mobility network in bike sharing system," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 563(C).
    7. Builes-Jaramillo, Alejandro & Lotero, Laura, 2022. "Spatial-temporal network analysis of the public bicycle sharing system in Medellín, Colombia," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    8. Yang, Xu-Hua & Chen, Guang & Chen, Sheng-Yong & Wang, Wan-Liang & Wang, Lei, 2014. "Study on some bus transport networks in China with considering spatial characteristics," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 1-10.
    9. Mateo-Babiano, Iderlina & Bean, Richard & Corcoran, Jonathan & Pojani, Dorina, 2016. "How does our natural and built environment affect the use of bicycle sharing?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 295-307.
    10. Song, Jie & Zhang, Liye & Qin, Zheng & Ramli, Muhamad Azfar, 2022. "Spatiotemporal evolving patterns of bike-share mobility networks and their associations with land-use conditions before and after the COVID-19 outbreak," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 592(C).
    11. Yi Yao & Yifang Zhang & Lixin Tian & Nianxing Zhou & Zhilin Li & Minggang Wang, 2019. "Analysis of Network Structure of Urban Bike-Sharing System: A Case Study Based on Real-Time Data of a Public Bicycle System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-17, September.
    12. Saberi, Meead & Ghamami, Mehrnaz & Gu, Yi & Shojaei, Mohammad Hossein (Sam) & Fishman, Elliot, 2018. "Understanding the impacts of a public transit disruption on bicycle sharing mobility patterns: A case of Tube strike in London," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 154-166.
    13. Sarah C. Gadd & Alexis Comber & Mark S. Gilthorpe & Keiran Suchak & Alison J. Heppenstall, 2022. "Simplifying the interpretation of continuous time models for spatio-temporal networks," Journal of Geographical Systems, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 171-198, April.
    14. Rayane El Sibai & Khalil Challita & Jacques Bou Abdo & Jacques Demerjian, 2021. "A New User-Based Incentive Strategy for Improving Bike Sharing Systems’ Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-18, March.
    15. Elżbieta Macioszek & Paulina Świerk & Agata Kurek, 2020. "The Bike-Sharing System as an Element of Enhancing Sustainable Mobility—A Case Study based on a City in Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-29, April.
    16. Advait Sarkar & Neal Lathia & Cecilia Mascolo, 2015. "Comparing cities’ cycling patterns using online shared bicycle maps," Transportation, Springer, vol. 42(4), pages 541-559, July.
    17. Wu, Chunliang & Kim, Inhi, 2020. "Analyzing the structural properties of bike-sharing networks: Evidence from the United States, Canada, and China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 52-71.
    18. Médard de Chardon, Cyrille & Caruso, Geoffrey, 2015. "Estimating bike-share trips using station level data," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 260-279.
    19. Xiao Zhou & Lu Huang & Yi Zhang & Miaomiao Yu, 2019. "A hybrid approach to detecting technological recombination based on text mining and patent network analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 121(2), pages 699-737, November.
    20. Chanuki Illushka Seresinhe & Helen Susannah Moat & Tobias Preis, 2018. "Quantifying scenic areas using crowdsourced data," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 45(3), pages 567-582, May.
    21. Song, Jie & Zhang, Liye & Qin, Zheng & Ramli, Muhamad Azfar, 2021. "Where are public bikes? The decline of dockless bike-sharing supply in Singapore and its resulting impact on ridership activities," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 72-90.
    22. Zhan Gao & Sheng Wei & Lei Wang & Sijia Fan, 2020. "Exploring the Spatial-Temporal Characteristics of Traditional Public Bicycle Use in Yancheng, China: A Perspective of Time Series Cluster of Stations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-17, August.
    23. Goodman, Anna & Cheshire, James, 2014. "Inequalities in the London bicycle sharing system revisited: impacts of extending the scheme to poorer areas but then doubling prices," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 272-279.

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