Locating Station of One-Way Carsharing Based on Spatial Demand Characteristics

This study aims to explore factors that affect carsharing demand characteristics in different time periods based on EVCARD transaction data, which is the largest station-based one-way carsharing program in Shanghai, China. Monthly usage intensity and degree of usage imbalance are used as proxies of demand. This study uses three groups of independent variables: carsharing station attributes, built environment (density, diversity, design, and destination accessibility), and transportation facilities. The adaptive elastic net regression is developed to identify factors that influence carsharing usage intensity and degree of usage imbalance after factor selection using extra-randomized-tree algorithm. Finally, a station layout is proposed according to both usage intensity and degree of imbalance. The main results of this study are presented as follows: (1) different effects of built environment and transportation factors cause dynamic demand across different time periods; (2) factors with positive and negative effect on carsharing demand are divided clearly for guidance of the carsharing station layout; (3) public parking space leads to more personal vehicle trip compared to a carsharing trip; and (4) as public transportation, the relationship of the metro and carsharing is complementary. However, the bus stop and carsharing have a competitive relationship. This study provides a carsharing layout method based on both usage intensity and degree of imbalance. Furthermore, several policies concerning carsharing are proposed.