Characteristics and Comparison of Spatiotemporal Dynamic Fluctuation of Subway Passenger Flow: A Case Study of Shenzhen

Abstract

Objective changes in people's lifestyles at different times of the day lead to changes in metro travel with respect to space and mode. Distinguishing the spatiotemporal heterogeneity characteristics of subway passenger flows at different times of the day can help guide urban functional renewal and intensive growth. Taking Shenzhen as a case study, this study examines the spatiotemporal dynamic fluctuation characteristics of subway passenger flow in terms of volume, direction, connection, and structure on weekdays, weekends, and holidays through spatiotemporal data mining and geospatial analysis from the network, station, and OD(Origin and Destination) perspectives. The results indicate the following: (1) From an overall perspective, three different types of subway passenger flow patterns exist on weekdays, holidays, and weekends: bimodal, flat peak, and small bimodal and flat peak composite patterns, respectively. Weekday subway ridership is significantly higher compared with weekends and holidays. The proportion of short-distance short-time and long-distance long-time trips increases slightly on holidays and weekends, conforming to the beta distribution. By contrast, commuter traffic remains the focus of the current subway operating system service. (2) From the station perspective, Shenzhen has only a few stations with significant differences in weekday and non-weekday patronage and sharing rates. Weekday passenger traffic is highly concentrated in residential and employment-oriented stations. Non-weekday passenger traffic is concentrated in transportation hubs and integrated stations. The high mix of land use around stations helps disperse passenger traffic and resist disturbance at different times. (3) From the OD perspective, OD passenger flow on the subway network has a power law distribution and significant hierarchical differentiation. On weekdays, subway OD passenger flow forms groups with business offices, higher education institutions, and popular business districts. On weekends, the intensity of subway OD passenger flow linkages shows varying degrees of attenuation, and the OD linkage for short-distance travel is more intense. On holidays, subway OD passenger flows form spatial linkage groups with external transportation hubs, popular scenic spots, and commercial centers as the core stations. The center of the metro topological network and that of passenger flow under different time periods are all characterized by spatial coupling. The diversification of travel on weekends and holidays, as well as the high-density mixed-development pattern in urban centers, has weakened the dependence of passenger flows on specific routes, showing a tendency to transition from the linear and multi-block on weekdays to the linear and whole block structure on holidays. This study is expected to provide a reference for the fine operation and organization of subways and the improvement of the quality of urban activity spaces.

Keywords

• subway passenger flow
• weekdays
• weekends
• holidays
• spatiotemporal heterogeneity
• multi-perspective
• od passenger flow
• community discovery
• shenzhen