  Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has triggered a worldwide outbreak of
pandemic, and transportation services have played a key role in coronavirus
transmission. Although not crowded in a confined space like a bus or a metro
car, bike sharing users will be exposed to the bike surface and take the
transmission risk. During the COVID-19 pandemic, how to meet user demand and
avoid virus spreading has become an important issue for bike sharing. Based on
the trip data of bike sharing in Nanjing, China, this study analyzes the travel
demand and operation management before and after the pandemic outbreak from the
perspective of stations, users, and bikes. Semi-logarithmic
difference-in-differences model, visualization methods, and statistic indexes
are applied to explore the transportation service and risk prevention of bike
sharing during the pandemic. The results show that pandemic control strategies
sharply reduced user demand, and commuting trips decreased more significantly.
Some stations around health and religious places become more important. Men and
older adults are more dependent on bike sharing systems. Besides, the trip
decrease reduces user contact and increases idle bikes. And a new concept of
user distancing is proposed to avoid transmission risk and activate idle bikes.
This study evaluates the role of shared micro-mobility during the COVID-19
pandemic, and also inspires the blocking of viral transmission within the city.
