Research Article
RFMModeland K-MeansClusteringAnalysisofTransitTraveller
Profiles: A Case Study
Angela H. L. Chen ,
1
Yun-Chia Liang ,
2
Wan-Ju Chang,
1
Hsuan-Yuan Siauw,
1
and Vanny Minanda
2
1
Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan 320, Taiwan
2
Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Yuan Ze University, Taoyuan 320, Taiwan
Correspondence should be addressed to Angela H. L. Chen; achen@cycu.edu.tw and Yun-Chia Liang; ycliang@saturn.yzu.edu.tw
Received 4 April 2022; Revised 6 July 2022; Accepted 7 July 2022; Published 8 August 2022
Academic Editor: Zhixiang Fang
Copyright © 2022 Angela H. L. Chen et al. is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.
Public transportation users increase as the population grows. In Taipei, Taiwan,this tendency is observed by analyzing historical
data from the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and economy-shared bicycle (known as YouBike) riders. While this trend exists, the
Taipei City government promotes green transportation by providing discounts to users who transfer from MRTor bus to YouBike
within a particular period. erefore, this study focuses on analyzing the patterns of users in order to identify possible clusters.
Clusters of customers can be considered fundamental and competitive factors for the Ministry of Transportation to encourage the
use of green transportation and promote a sustainable environment. Based on big data smart card information, this paper
proposes using the RFM and K-means clustering algorithm to analyze and construct mode-switching traveller profiles on MRT
and YouBike riders. As a result, three distinct clusters of MRT-YouBike riders have been identified: potential, vulnerable, and
loyal. ere are also suggestions regarding the most profitable groups, which customers to focus on, and to whom give special
offers or promotions to foster loyalty among transit travellers.
1.Introduction
Public transport, defined as high-capacity vehicle sharing
with fixed routes and schedules, will remain an essential
engine to economic activities, social connections, and the
standard of living. Due to traffic density and the demands on
road infrastructure, land, material, energy, and workforce
have been invested in providing transport services and
developing its infrastructure. As transport demand con-
tinues growing, particularly in fast-developing nations,
many cities expand their transportation networks and
support infrastructure, indicating how vital the transport
system is to economies and social welfare. A 2018 McKinsey
report[1] concluded that wealthier cities have greater op-
portunities to build advanced transportation systems, but
such prosperity does not guarantee the successful devel-
opment of such systems. According to the 2020 “Foresight
Research Survey,” as many as 81.1% of Taiwanese people
have access to private transportation and only 44.4% rely on
public transport for their daily commute. In addition, over
80% of those aged 18 or older rely on private transportation,
primarily gasoline-powered motorcycles. Evidence has
shown that people prefer to travel using their vehicles, which
imposes considerable challenges to reducing private trans-
portation dependence and encouraging the use of public
transportation. However, since people naturally avoid
transit they perceive as incompatible with their demands,
such transformations are fraught with difficulty.
Taipei’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), the first subway
system built in Taiwan, has already become a hallmark of
Taipei City. Residents in Taipei welcomed its arrival and
viewed it as an example of the city’s bright future. e Taipei
Metro, once known as the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation
(TRTC), is a city government public transit operator. e
MRT has made commuting more accessible for people in
Taipei; however, its annual ridership from 770 million visits
Hindawi
Journal of Advanced Transportation
Volume 2022, Article ID 1108105, 14 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/1108105