As the COVID-19 pandemic worsened, many people saw bikes as one of the safest means of transportation in the hard-hit cities. All the bike sharing utilization patterns during the pandemic are worthy of careful attention. However, there is still a lack of comprehensive understanding of niche but notable cycling behaviors, such as multi-person round trip (MPRT), defined as two or more cyclists intentionally riding together then returning bikes to the original docking station. This study extends the relevant literature by firstly proposing a MPRT identification framework based on individual bike sharing trip records, with consideration of interpersonal relationships between co-travelers, as well as the specificity of round trips against one-way trips. Taking New York City as a case study, this study examines the changes over space and time of MPRT frequencies from 2019 (i.e. pre-pandemic period) to 2020 (i.e. pandemic period), and the reasons for it. Notably, special consideration of the aforementioned analysis is paid to the influence of the real-time situation of COVID-19 in terms of cases, deaths, hospitalizations, and tests. Results reveal that (1) the MPRT frequencies obey a long tail distribution, both prior to and during the COVID-19 outbreak; (2) the group size, temporal patterns and co-traveler community are profoundly affected by the COVID-19 outbreak; (3) four indicators related to COVID-19 show different influences on co-travelers over time; (4) bike sharing availability and personal economic situation are closely related with MPRT frequencies. These findings can help develop more targeted strategies for improving the operation of a bike sharing system to meet the possible diversified demands of cyclists during the future pandemics.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 大流行期间自行车共享系统联合出行行为的调查：来自纽约市的见解


随着 COVID-19 大流行的恶化，许多人将自行车视为受灾严重的城市中最安全的交通工具之一。疫情期间共享单车的使用模式都值得关注。然而，对于小众但值得注意的骑行行为仍然缺乏全面的理解，例如多人往返（MPRT），定义为两个或更多骑行者有意一起骑行，然后将自行车返回到原来的停靠站。本研究扩展了相关文献，首先提出了一种基于个人共享单车出行记录的 MPRT 识别框架，考虑了共同出行者之间的人际关系，以及往返与单程出行的特殊性。本研究以纽约市为案例，考察了2019年（即疫情前期）至2020年（即疫情期间）MPRT频率的时空变化及其原因。值得注意的是，上述分析特别考虑了COVID-19实时情况对病例、死亡、住院和检测的影响。结果表明：(1) 在 COVID-19 爆发之前和爆发期间，MPRT 频率均服从长尾分布； (2) 团体规模、时间模式和共同旅行者社区受到 COVID-19 疫情的深刻影响； (3) 与COVID-19相关的四项指标随着时间的推移对共同旅行者显示出不同的影响； (4)共享单车的可用性和个人经济状况与MPRT频率密切相关。这些发现可以帮助制定更有针对性的策略，以改善自行车共享系统的运营，以满足未来大流行期间骑行者可能的多样化需求。