Bike3S: A tool for bike sharing systems simulation. Issue 4 (1st October 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Fernández, Alberto; Billhardt, Holger; Ossowski, Sascha; Sánchez, Óscar
• Is Part Of: Journal of simulation. Volume 14:Issue 4(2020)
• Page Start: 278
• Page End: 294
• Publication Date: 2020-10-01
• Subjects: Bike sharing -- agent-based simulation -- smart transportation -- smart mobility -- multi-agent systems; Operations research -- Periodicals; Mathematical models -- Periodicals; Simulation methods -- Periodicals; 511.805
• DOI: 10.1080/17477778.2020.1718022
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1747-7778

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Vehicle sharing systems are becoming increasingly popular. The effectiveness of such systems depends, among other factors, on different strategic and operational management decisions and policies, like the dimension of the fleet or the distribution of vehicles. It is of foremost importance to be able to anticipate and evaluate the potential effects of such strategies before they can be successfully deployed. In this paper we present Bike3S, a simulator for a station-based bike sharing system. The simulator performs semi-realistic simulations of the operation of a bike sharing system and allows for evaluating and testing different management decisions and strategies. In particular, the simulator has been designed to test different station capacities, station distributions, and balancing strategies. The simulator carries out microscopic agent-based simulations, where users of different types can be defined that act according to their individual goals and objectives which influences the overall dynamics of the whole system.