Investigating the influential factors of shared travel behavior: Comparison between app-based third taxi service and free-floating bike sharing in Nanjing, China

Abstract

In recent years, app-based third taxi service (ATTS) and free-floating bike sharing (FFBS) have become significant travel modes to satisfy travel demands of urban residents. In order to explore the mechanism of their modes selection, firstly, based on 595 valid samples, differences between ATTS and FFBS in original modes, travel distance, geographical position distribution, and travel emergency degree were compared. Then, a multinomial logistic model was established to investigate the factors influencing the choice among ATTS, FFBS, and traditional travel modes (TTM). The results show that: (1) FFBS attracts users whose original modes are walking, private bicycle and bus, while ATTS has a certain competition effect on cruising taxi and bus. (2) Residents are more likely to change from bus to FFBS on weekends, while this competitive relationship between ATTS and bus has no significant difference in different dates. (3) Compared with TTM, residents are more inclined to utilize shared modes to participate in flexible activities, especially in suburb. (4) Interestingly, ATTS is more likely to be utilized in emergency travel, and the residents without registered permanent residences tend to use FFBS and ATTS. Finally, some suggestions and policies were proposed for the government and enterprises to improve operation managements.