A Spatio-Temporal Flow Model of Urban Dockless Shared Bikes Based on Points of Interest Clustering

Abstract

With the advantages of convenient access and free parking, urban dockless shared bikes are favored by the public. However, the irregular flow of dockless shared bikes poses a challenge for the research of flow pattern. In this paper, the flow characteristics of dockless shared bikes are expounded through the analysis of the time series location data of ofo and mobike shared bikes in Beijing. Based on the analysis, a model called DestiFlow is proposed to describe the spatio-temporal flow of urban dockless shared bikes based on points of interest (POIs) clustering. The results show that the DestiFlow model can find the aggregation areas of dockless shared bikes and describe the structural characteristics of the flow network. Our model can not only predict the demand for dockless shared bikes, but also help to grasp the mobility characteristics of citizens and improve the urban traffic management system.