Examining spatio-temporal mobility patterns of bike-sharing systems: the case of BiciMAD (Madrid)

Abstract

Over the past decades, Bike-Sharing Systems have been implemented in hundreds of cities all around the world. During this time, numerous academic studies have been published with analyses from different perspectives. The aim of this study is to build upon this research by bringing together a spatial and a temporal analysis of the cycling flow of BiciMAD, the Madrid Bike-Sharing System. By combining over 21 million GPS records and various maps the study visually explores cycling mobility patterns across the city on three different temporal scales: over the course of the day, during working days or weekends and over the course of a whole year to provide a better understanding of the season-dependent demand. The study also reveals the most important flows between origin-destination pairs and uncovers the radically different spatio-temporal travel patterns of frequent users and occasional users.