Dynamic repositioning problem of dockless electric scooter sharing systems

ABSTRACT

Shared mobility systems have been adopted in urban areas around the world to relieve parking problems caused by private vehicles. Among these systems, dockless electric scooter sharing systems (DESSSs) have been implemented in many large cities due to their advantages of environmental friendliness and convenience. However, the repositioning of dockless scooters is vital for the quality of service of these systems because the demand for shared scooters is temporally and spatially imbalanced. An optimization model and solution algorithm are developed in this study to solve the operator-based dynamic repositioning problem of DESSS. Dynamic repositioning refers to the scenario where the operator repositions scooters while users utilize scooters. A mixed-integer programming model for the dynamic repositioning problem of DESSS is proposed for the first time along with a heuristic algorithm in this study. The proposed methodology, which is tested using numerical examples, demonstrates high potential in assisting DESSS operations.

KEYWORDS:

• Shared mobility
• electric scooter
• dynamic repositioning
• mixed-integer programming
• pickup-and-delivery vehicle routing problem

Acknowledgments

The authors are supported by the Minister of Science and Technology of Taiwan through research grant MOST 108-2628-E-002-003-MY3 and National Taiwan University through research grant NTUCDP-110L7721.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, J. C. Chu, upon reasonable request.