Trip chain based usage patterns analysis of the round-trip carsharing system: A case study in Beijing

摘要

In recent years, the concept of carsharing is rapidly gaining popularity in China, and the roundtrip carsharing has become a common mode. However, few studies have revealed the role of round-trip carsharing in users' travel. In this study, the round-trip GPS data provided by a car sharing company in Beijing, China is used to analyze the users' usage patterns based on their trip chains. Through the extraction and analysis of trip information, all trip chains are grouped into three clusters, each of which has a different usage pattern. Then the consumption features and the shared car pick-up and return time of these three patterns are discussed. Further, the Bayes' rule is used to predict the activity purpose, and the proportion and spatial distribution of different purposes are analyzed. Results reveal that the carsharing program presents multiple usage patterns to meet the different travel needs of users. Price incentives like coupons, discounts, and packages can attract more shared car trips. Users' demand for price incentives increases with longer travel distance and time. Also, users' usage of vehicles and parking spaces has obvious peak hours. The spatial distribution of user activities has distinctly different hotspots. This paper can be beneficial for operators to set a reasonable pricing plan and provide better services.