Mapping the bike sharing research published from 2010 to 2018: A scientometric review

An increasing number of studies since 2010 have examined bike sharing from diverse perspectives to provide the best travel practices of “the last mile”. However, few studies have attempted to comprehensively review existing literature over the past decade. The present study aims to map bike sharing research published between 2010 and 2018. A total of 208 relevant articles were collected to conduct scientometric analysis. The results revealed that the most significant contributions in bike sharing research primarily originated from the US, China, Canada, England and Australia. Critical institutions, publications and articles were also identified. The knowledge domains of bike sharing research focus mainly on topic categories of factors & barrier, system optimization, behavior & impact, safety & health, and sharing economy. Evolutionary trends in bike sharing research tend to move from the safety and benefits of bike usage to more complex external impacts, system optimization, design and integration with public transit. Furthermore, increasing interests and outputs in the new generation of dockless bike sharing programs were observed from the research community for the past two years. The present study contributes to the existing body of knowledge on bike sharing by presenting a new, integrated and holistic knowledge map. This study offers valuable guidance and in-depth understanding to researchers, operators and policy makers who wish to promote bike sharing sustainability, as well as for follow-up studies, updates and management.