Better Understanding the Characteristics and Influential Factors of Different Travel Patterns in Free-Floating Bike Sharing: Evidence from Nanjing, China

In recent years, free-floating bike sharing (FFBS) has become a significant travel mode to satisfy urban residents' travel demands in China. This paper was designed to better understand the characteristics and influential factors of different travel patterns in FFBS. Firstly, travel patterns were divided into three categories: Origin to Destination Pattern (ODP), Travel Cycle Pattern (TCP) and Transfer Pattern (TP). Then, the characteristics of these patterns were analyzed based on a survey of 4939 valid questionnaires in Nanjing, China. A multinomial logit (MNL) model was established to explore the influential factors associated with the three patterns. The results showed the following. (1) Employees and students were more inclined to choose TP and ODP, and the selection probability of employees was larger than that of students. (2) The evening peak was more significant than the morning peak. (3) Residents with short travel distances were more likely to choose TCP and ODP, and when the travel distance reached 4 km, there was a significant transfer to TP. (4) Price had an impact on residents' travel patterns, with residents showing an inclination toward FFBS when making short distance trips, if they were quickly found. Malfunctioning bicycles were an important factor restricting FFBS development. Several policy recommendations are proposed based on these results, for government and FFBS businesses to improve their management of FFBS systems.