Spatio-Temporal Differences in Bike Sharing Usage: A Tale of Six Cities

This study investigates the spatio-temporal patterns of Bike Sharing System (BSS) usage in six major cities: New York, London, Tokyo, Boston, Chicago and Washington D.C. By analyzing data over a 30-day period with comparable climate and average temperatures, we explored differences in BSS usage between weekdays and weekends in those cities using Jensen-Shannon divergence (JSD) and rank distribution analysis. Our findings reveal significant temporal differences in BSS usage that were commonly observed in all cities, with weekday patterns dominated by commute peaks and weekend patterns reflecting recreational activities. Friday emerges as a transitional day, sharing the characteristics of both weekdays and weekends. Meanwhile, docking station usage rank distributions show remarkable consistency between weekdays and weekends for most cities, with London being a unique anomaly. This study highlights the potential of BSS data to uncover urban mobility patterns and the underlying structures of cities. The results suggest that BSS usage reflects both intrinsic user behavior and external influences such as urban planning.