The Role of Network Robustness in Bike-Sharing Location Choice: A Multicriteria Approach

The Role of Network Robustness in Bike-Sharing Location Choice: A Multicriteria Approach | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The Role of Network Robustness in Bike-Sharing Location Choice: A Multicriteria Approach Michele Rabasco, Rebecca Rossetti, Roberto Patuelli, Caterina Malandri, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9260066/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Shared mobility services, such as bike-sharing (BS), are becoming integral components of increasingly complex urban transport systems. Beyond theirwell-established environmental advantages, these services can play a vital role in preserving network connectivity and enhancing the adaptive capacity of transport systems. This study proposes a new framework for selecting the location of bike-sharing stations (BSSs), emphasizing the enhancement of public transport network (PTN) resilience, defined as the capacity of a transport network to withstand, adapt to, and quickly recover from disruptive events while maintaining functionality. In the last decade, there has been an increase in contributions to resilience in transport systems, mostly regarding its principal dimension, such as robustness. Robustness specifically describes the network’s capacity to maintain functional performance despite localized failures or disturbances. Starting from the premise that BS can enhance robustness by providing supplementary connections between key nodes and effectively creating new links within the transport network, this paper investigates how PTN robustness can inform the strategic allocation of BSSs. Our analytical framework employs Multicriteria Analysis (MCA). Within this approach, areas located near PTN stops are evaluated as potential sites for new BSS implementations. The selection criteria, derived from the literature, include proximity to key points of interest, socio-demographic indicators and air pollution levels. To align with the objective of this study, we also incorporate a network-based criterion – betweenness centrality – to assess the strategic centrality of candidate stops. We consider high-betweenness stops as potential locations, in order to strengthen the regular operation of the PTN and to increase its resilience. In order to assign weights to the criteria, we employ the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). To illustrate our approach, we apply MCA in a case study for the city of Munich, Germany. Our results show that including the betweenness centrality criterion significantly affects the ranking of potential BSS locations. Moreover, an analysis of the existing BSSs in Munich suggests that different criteria may have been considered in practice and indicates potential opportunities for improvement. Bike-sharing Public Transport Network Network Robustness/Resilience Multicriteria Analysis Munich Case Study Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 13 May, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 21 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 06 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 06 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 29 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9260066","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":628532182,"identity":"bede8c4f-906b-424c-9f8c-df13a9eddbe2","order_by":0,"name":"Michele Rabasco","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Bologna","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Michele","middleName":"","lastName":"Rabasco","suffix":""},{"id":628532183,"identity":"e9fd52ce-f30b-4d98-a384-482024dd711d","order_by":1,"name":"Rebecca Rossetti","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Bologna","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Rebecca","middleName":"","lastName":"Rossetti","suffix":""},{"id":628532184,"identity":"1ed73e73-efbb-434d-9aaf-569a8acf0e48","order_by":2,"name":"Roberto Patuelli","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA9ElEQVRIie2QsQrCMBCGI0K7nHRNsfgMkUJroeCrVAqdqnTULZMuuvdxLAGnomtX6eqguCg4eK0iUomuDvkg5BLy5b+EEIXiL4H3RTIAAyfR3P9Ugqpo42AUTP5U5E5DIWz9KKUx7mKVlbOLT1x9t6FHRi27GGcimRJrKFGsfBv28yAi3jLUzBQbc4pJINJc3hilsWPyQGA/odaFWomZ6My/Ku61Vnal1r2hYqe/FadVKwWmVD/G6C8FtqHJowi8tLS9JSo0PzB8CwVYSxR9lZ247/dcY7QvLlN/aCxi+5xgoXNJzBNgzbu+n69oKgqFQqF4cQdCIkq7ZIYurwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"University of Bologna","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Roberto","middleName":"","lastName":"Patuelli","suffix":""},{"id":628532185,"identity":"70e7e0e4-eced-4250-9a88-b937087d5f57","order_by":3,"name":"Caterina Malandri","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Bologna","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Caterina","middleName":"","lastName":"Malandri","suffix":""},{"id":628532186,"identity":"ea2a2627-b3e7-4bc2-8ebc-8cf3a428324c","order_by":4,"name":"Aura Reggiani","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Bologna","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Aura","middleName":"","lastName":"Reggiani","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-29 16:24:47","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9260066/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9260066/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":107707137,"identity":"b6a15314-e665-4c16-aa8b-43812e9abef9","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-24 09:19:36","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":914052,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"TheRoleofNetworkRobustnessinBikeSharingLocationChoice.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9260066/v1_covered_2dde452c-47dd-4a44-b590-45b81222b381.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"The Role of Network Robustness in Bike-Sharing Location Choice: A Multicriteria Approach","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"networks-and-spatial-economics","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"nets","sideBox":"Learn more about [Networks and Spatial Economics](http://link.springer.com/journal/11067)","snPcode":"11067","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11067/3","title":"Networks and Spatial Economics","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Bike-sharing, Public Transport Network, Network Robustness/Resilience, Multicriteria Analysis, Munich Case Study","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9260066/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9260066/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eShared mobility services, such as bike-sharing (BS), are becoming integral components of increasingly complex urban transport systems. 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