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Bike-share Rebalancing Strategies, Patterns, and Purpose

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  • Cyrille MÉDARD DE CHARDON
  • Geoffrey CARUSO
  • Isabelle THOMAS

Abstract

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.
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Suggested Citation

  • Cyrille MÉDARD DE CHARDON & Geoffrey CARUSO & Isabelle THOMAS, 2016. "Bike-share Rebalancing Strategies, Patterns, and Purpose," LIDAM Reprints CORE 2760, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    • Handle: RePEc:cor:louvrp:2760
    Note: In : Journal of Transport Geography, 55, 22-39, 2016
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    Cited by:

    1. Jiaoe Wang & Jie Huang & Michael Dunford, 2019. "Rethinking the Utility of Public Bicycles: The Development and Challenges of Station-Less Bike Sharing in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-20, March.
    2. Carlos M. Vallez & Mario Castro & David Contreras, 2021. "Challenges and Opportunities in Dock-Based Bike-Sharing Rebalancing: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-26, February.
    3. Médard de Chardon, Cyrille & Caruso, Geoffrey & Thomas, Isabelle, 2017. "Bicycle sharing system ‘success’ determinants," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 202-214.
    4. Wang, Mingshu & Zhou, Xiaolu, 2017. "Bike-sharing systems and congestion: Evidence from US cities," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 147-154.
    5. Gilbert Laporte & Frédéric Meunier & Roberto Wolfler Calvo, 2018. "Shared mobility systems: an updated survey," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 271(1), pages 105-126, December.
    6. Qian, Xiaodong & Jaller, Miguel & Niemeier, Debbie, 2020. "Enhancing equitable service level: Which can address better, dockless or dock-based Bikeshare systems?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    7. Yuanyuan Zhang & Yuming Zhang, 2018. "Associations between Public Transit Usage and Bikesharing Behaviors in The United States," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-20, June.
    8. Oviedo, Daniel & Sabogal-Cardona, Orlando, 2022. "Arguments for cycling as a mechanism for sustainable modal shifts in Bogotá," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    9. Neumann-Saavedra, Bruno Albert & Mattfeld, Dirk Christian & Hewitt, Mike, 2021. "Assessing the operational impact of tactical planning models for bike-sharing redistribution," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 216-235.
    10. Yixiao Liu & Wenshan Liu & Rui Zhao & Lixin Tian, 2023. "Can Docked Bike-Sharing Systems Reach Their Dual Sustainability in Terms of Environmental Benefits and Financial Operations? A Comparative Study from Nanjing, 2017 and 2023," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-39, December.
    11. Yang, Yuanxuan & Beecham, Roger & Heppenstall, Alison & Turner, Andy & Comber, Alexis, 2022. "Understanding the impacts of public transit disruptions on bikeshare schemes and cycling behaviours using spatiotemporal and graph-based analysis: A case study of four London Tube strikes," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    12. Papaix, Claire & Eranova, Mariya & Zhou, Li, 2023. "Shared mobility research: Looking through a paradox lens," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 156-167.
    13. Daniel Freund & Shane G. Henderson & Eoin O’Mahony & David B. Shmoys, 2019. "Analytics and Bikes: Riding Tandem with Motivate to Improve Mobility," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 49(5), pages 310-323, September.
    14. Yu, Qing & Xie, Yingkun & Li, Weifeng & Zhang, Haoran & Liu, Xiaolei & Shang, Wen-Long & Chen, Jinyu & Yang, Dongyuan & Yan, Jinyue, 2022. "GPS data in urban bicycle-sharing: Dynamic electric fence planning with assessment of resource-saving and potential energy consumption increasement," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 322(C).
    15. Bruno Albert Neumann-Saavedra & Teodor Gabriel Crainic & Bernard Gendron & Dirk Christian Mattfeld & Michael Römer, 2020. "Integrating Resource Management in Service Network Design for Bike-Sharing Systems," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 54(5), pages 1251-1271, September.
    16. Gu, Wei & Yu, Xiaoru & Zhang, Shichen & Yan, Xiangbin & Wang, Chen, 2023. "To outsource or not: Bike-share rebalancing strategies under the service quality deviation of a third party," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 310(2), pages 847-859.
    17. Fabio Kon & Éderson Cássio Ferreira & Higor Amario Souza & Fábio Duarte & Paolo Santi & Carlo Ratti, 2022. "Abstracting mobility flows from bike-sharing systems," Public Transport, Springer, vol. 14(3), pages 545-581, October.
    18. Xie, Xiao-Feng & Wang, Zunjing Jenipher, 2018. "Examining travel patterns and characteristics in a bikesharing network and implications for data-driven decision supports: Case study in the Washington DC area," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 84-102.
    19. Jialing Zhao & Hongwei Wang & Yuxin Huang & Yuan Meng, 2020. "Does Massive Placement of Bicycles Win the Market for the Bicycle-Sharing Company in China?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-14, June.
    20. Li, Xiang & Wang, Xianzhe & Feng, Ziyan, 2024. "Dynamic repositioning in bike-sharing systems with uncertain demand: An improved rolling horizon framework," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    21. Guillermo Cabrera-Guerrero & Aníbal Álvarez & Joaquín Vásquez & Pablo A. Maya Duque & Lucas Villavicencio, 2022. "A VNS-Based Matheuristic to Solve the Districting Problem in Bicycle-Sharing Systems," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(22), pages 1-15, November.
    22. Médard de Chardon, Cyrille, 2019. "The contradictions of bike-share benefits, purposes and outcomes," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 401-419.

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