Modeling Spatial Riding Characteristics of Bike-Sharing Users Using Hotspot Areas-Based Association Rule Mining

This study aims to investigate the spatial riding characteristics under different demand scenarios using association rule mining with hotspot detection, and to establish the subordinate rules between bike-sharing demand and land elements and between land elements. To reduce deviation from modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP) and improve objectivity and accuracy, we impose spatial constraints using the hotspot detection model instead of the square grid and traditional traffic zone. The bike-sharing trajectory-based kernel density algorithm is employed to explore the optimum analysis locations and the analysis areas with the relatively high demand. More importantly, the research featured here involves five demand scenarios for the differentiation of riding characteristics. The results show that the most significant influencers on bike-sharing demand include financial insurance facilities, dining facilities, and landscapes. As for characteristics of riding destination, the combinations between landscapes and financial insurance facilities, between landscapes and companies/enterprises, and between companies/enterprises and financial insurance facilities are more likely to be visited simultaneously. These findings make us understand urban spatial structure in response to traffic plan and provide evidence for bike-sharing dispatch optimization.