Equitable distribution of bikeshare stations: An optimization approach

Xiaodong Qian, Miguel Jaller and Giovanni Circella

Journal of Transport Geography, 2022, vol. 98, issue C

Abstract: Bikeshare systems have attracted increased research interest ranging from bikeshare planning analyses to operational improvement studies (e.g., rebalancing, or station optimization). However, the interaction between bikeshare station spatial distribution and actual bikeshare activities when addressing equity issues has not been thoroughly considered. Moreover, there is a paucity of research helping governments develop incentive programs for equitable bikeshare services. To fill this research gap, we develop a model to estimate the potential demand (i.e., bikeshare trip production and attraction) and its distribution, and evaluate performance over a set of objectives (e.g., maximization of annual revenue, accessibility improvements) to find the most equitable distribution of stations. We build a genetic algorithm to solve this multi-objective optimization. The study uses the Divvy bikeshare system in Chicago as a case study, and compares the solutions of the model with the system's expansion (new stations added) in 2016, which targeted disadvantaged areas. When selecting accessibility as the main objective, the results indicate the need to provide more stations in disadvantaged areas and those results overlap with the system's expansion in 2016. On the contrary, the goal of revenue maximization results in a smaller network of stations and fewer accessibility improvements, especially in disadvantaged communities. A sensitivity analysis uncovers the greatest obstacle (i.e., station cost) to adding more stations in disadvantaged areas. More importantly, a Pareto frontier of this multi-objective optimization supports several policy suggestions for incentivizing private bikeshare companies to target more disadvantaged populations. Our results show the importance of considering accessibility and other equity constraints in developing a more inclusive, equitable and sustainable transportation system, and we provide several planning suggestions.

Keywords: Bikeshare system; Multi-objective optimization; Disadvantaged communities; Sensitivity analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692321002271

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:98:y:2022:i:c:s0966692321002271

DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2021.103174

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Transport Geography is currently edited by Frank Witlox

More articles in Journal of Transport Geography from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().