Understanding Taxi Drivers’ Multi-day Cruising Patterns

Fang Zong
Jilin University

Xiao Sun
Jilin University

Huiyong Zhang
Jilin University

Xiumei Zhu
Jilin University

Wentian Qi
Suzhou Institute of Construction and Communications

Abstract

This study investigates taxi drivers’ multi-day cruising behaviours with GPS data collected in Shenzhen, China. By calculating the inter-daily variability of taxi drivers’ cruising behaviours, the multi-day cruising patterns are investigated. The impacts of learning feature and habitual feature on multi-day cruising behaviours are determined. The results prove that there is variability among taxis’ day-to-day cruising behaviours, and the day-of-week pattern is that taxi drivers tend to cruise a larger area on Friday, and a rather focused area on Monday. The findings also indicate that the impacts of learning feature and habitual feature are more obvious between weekend days than among weekdays. Moreover, learning feature between two sequent weeks is found to be greater than that within one week, while the habitual feature shows recession over time. By revealing taxis' day-to-day cruising pattern and the factors influencing it, the study results provide us with crucial information in predicting taxis' multi-day cruising locations, which can be applied to simulate taxis' multi-day cruising behaviour as well as to determine the traffic volume derived from taxis' cruising behaviour. This can help us in planning of transportation facilities, such as stop stations or parking lots for taxis. Moreover, the findings can be also employed in predicting taxis' adjustments of multi-day cruising locations under the impact of traffic management strategies.