Mitigation strategies for overuse of Chinese bikesharing systems based on game theory analyses of three generations worldwide.

As a new cleaner man-powered product service system, bikesharing could make full use of idle bicycles, reduce traffic congestion and environmental pollution, so it contributes to develop eco-friendly urban transport system and thus has a significant increase in number and scope. However, one of the most critical issues in many Chinese bikesharing systems is the overuse, inspired by the development history of three generations of bikesharing systems worldwide, we involve various management modes to deal with the overuse problem. The paper firstly carries out the game theory analyses about three generations of bikesharing systems, and concludes that (1) the overuse will occur if adopting the management modes in the first- and second-generations (i.e. no fee with no restrictions and no fee with restrictions), or one kind in the third-generation (i.e. a low fee with few restrictions); (2) the overuse can be controlled effectively by the mode of a low fee with strict restrictions or a high fee management mode in the third-generation. Finally, under the context of Chinese bikesharing systems, these analyses results can help to design some feasible strategies to mitigate or prevent the overuse problem. • Overuse is one of the most important issues faced by Chinese bikesharing systems. • Beneficial lessons are learnt from three generations of bikesharing systems. • Game theory is employed to explore the root causes of the overuse. • Three feasible strategies are proposed to address the issue of overuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]