Identifying and Predicting the Expenditure Level Characteristics of Car-Sharing Users Based on the Empirical Data

Qiuyue Sai, Jun Bi, Dongfan Xie and Wei Guan
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Qiuyue Sai: School of Traffic and Transportation, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China
Jun Bi: School of Traffic and Transportation, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China
Dongfan Xie: School of Traffic and Transportation, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China
Wei Guan: School of Traffic and Transportation, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 23, 1-21

Abstract: Car-sharing plays a positive role in reducing vehicle ownership and greenhouse gas emissions. However, the developmental contradictions between high investment and low revenues hinder the development of the car-sharing industry. Fully understanding car-sharing users can effectively ensure the healthy development of car-sharing companies and promote the development of the entire industry. To this end, this study attempts to develop a user management method that is based on user layering and prediction methods. By using order data from the Lan Zhou car-sharing company in China, this paper develops a clustering method for layering car-sharing users. A multi-layer perceptron model is also developed to categorize these users into different expenditure level categories while considering periodic features. Results show that new users can be divided into three categories according to their expenditures to car-sharing companies within 84 days. After 5 weeks of observation, the 84-day category of new users can be predicted with an accuracy of over 85%. These results provide scientific decision support for the user management and profitability of car-sharing companies.

Keywords: car-sharing users; clustering method; car-sharing usage; multi-layer perceptron; classification prediction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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