{
  "abstract": "The intrinsic attributes of different transportation modes render travel distance a major factor of intercity passenger mode share; yet systematic examination of how this distance effect varies across multiscale contexts remains limited. Therefore, this study investigates how travel distance regulates the shares of highway, railway, and aviation modes in intercity transportation system, and examines the underlying dynamics across multiscale socioeconomic and spatiotemporal contexts. Using nationwide Location-based Services (LBS) data collected from China, polynomial fitting models were constructed to establish the relationship between travel distance and multi-modal shares. Our results demonstrate the significant role of travel distance in shaping intercity passenger mode shares, with effects that vary substantially across different contexts. Temporally, highway mode share rises for short-to-medium trips during holiday periods such as Spring Festival Travel Rush, while aviation always dominates for long trips. Spatially, Northeast China exhibits railway dominance, coastal regions concentrate aviation flows, while Southwest China depends on highways for short-distance connectivity. From the socioeconomic perspective, urban areas with higher economic level, administrative rank, and larger population exhibit elevated aviation shares and diminished highway shares. Our empirical findings advance understanding of nonlinear distance-modal share relationships considering socioeconomic and spatiotemporal features, thereby informing multimodal transport planning and cross-regional resource optimization in intercity transportation system.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "College of City Construction, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China",
    "School of Transportation, Southeast University, Nanjing, China",
    "School of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, China",
    "School of Architecture and Engineering, Jiangxi Modern Polytechnic College, Nanchang, China",
    "College of Automobile and Traffic Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China"
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yun Xiang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Tao Zeng"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Weijie Yu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Longfei Ye"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Wei Wang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Wenyun Tang"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8mezwbjhg7se1.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0352112",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "8mezwbjhg7se1",
  "issns": [
    "1932-6203"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0352112",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "3313|Transportation Planning and Optimization"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Earth sciences/Geography/Human geography/Human mobility"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Earth sciences/Geography/Human geography/Urban geography/Cities"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Earth sciences/Geography/Regional geography/Geographical regions/Coastal regions"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Earth sciences/Seasons/Spring"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Earth sciences/Seasons/Winter"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Engineering and technology/Aerospace engineering/Aviation"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Engineering and technology/Civil engineering/Transportation infrastructure/Roads/Highways"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Engineering and technology/Transportation/Transportation infrastructure/Roads/Highways"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Physical sciences/Mathematics/Algebra/Polynomials"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Human geography/Human mobility"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Human geography/Urban geography/Cities"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7213464422",
  "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0352112&type=printable",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-17",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8mezwbjhg7se1.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:49Z",
      "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pone.0352112",
      "source": "plos",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0352112"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "mathematics",
      "origin": "plos:algebra",
      "subfield": "algebra-number-theory"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Distance-dependent patterns of intercity passenger mode share: A multiscale analysis of socioeconomic and spatiotemporal heterogeneity",
  "title_text": "Distance-dependent patterns of intercity passenger mode share: A multiscale analysis of socioeconomic and spatiotemporal heterogeneity",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:49Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8mezwbjhg7se1",
  "venue": "PLOS One",
  "versions": []
}