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PhD Project

Mixed e-Bike Sharing Systems as a solution for bicycle unbalance problems and parking disarray

Although bike-sharing systems (BSSs) have existed over a half-century, the minimization of the occurrence of the unbalance status (user doesn’t access to the bike or empty dock), and the problem of dropping bikes anywhere in a city are the most challengeable problems in BSS management. These two problems are more severe in areas with variable topography. The idea of combining station-based BSSs (SBSSs) and dockless BSSs (DBSSs) along with the usage of e-bikes can diminish the mentioned problems and is referenced in this project as “Mixed e-Bike Sharing System” (MeBSS). By using a “smart lock” and the concept of “dynamic virtual station” (DVS), it’s possible to combine SBSSs with DBSSs to have a new BSS model (MeBSS) that reduces the mentioned problems. A DVS is a location within the operation area that is marked by horizontal and vertical signs and is equipped with dynamic QR codes. Users will be able to pick and return bikes from both SBSSs and DBSSs to DVSs. To ensure that a bike is parked in a DVS, the user must scan the dynamic QR code inside the DVS to complete the bicycle hiring process.
Projects > PhD Sadegh Bahadori

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Sadegh Bahadori

PhD Candidate

Filipe Moura

Supervisor

Alexandre Gonçalves

Co-supervisor

Keywords

Bike sharing systems (BSS) · Dockless · Rebalancing strategies · Bike parking disarray · Virtual station

Funding

This research was supported by the Thales Portugal, through the Ph.D. grant PRT-Thales 4853.

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