Mapping the Shared Mobility Research Scape: A Bibliometric Exploration of Evolution, Thematic Transitions, and Intellectual Structure

As a transformative urban transportation paradigm, shared mobility has spurred extensive interdisciplinary research. This study employs bibliometric analysis via VOSviewer to systematically map the intellectual landscape of 5,010 publications from the Web of Science Core Collection (1977–2025). The analysis uncovers four distinct developmental stages: Embryonic Exploration (1977–2010), marked by theoretical foundational work; Initial Accumulation (2011–2016), driven by the rise of ride-hailing and bike-sharing platforms; Explosive Growth (2017–2022), characterized by technological innovation and market expansions; and Deepening and Adjustment (2023–2025), focusing on specialized optimization and sustainability. Journal co-citation clustering forms an academic communication matrix centred on the Transportation Research series and integrated with multidisciplinary journals. Keyword co-occurrence analysis reveals thematic shifts from early “car sharing” and “GIS” to recent “deep learning”, “dockless bike-sharing”, and “mobility as a service”, underscoring responses to technological advancements and real-world challenges such as COVID-19. The study distils four core potential directions for further research. This study presents the first systematic bibliometric analysis spanning the most extended period in this field, providing quantitative evidence for understanding research frontiers and informing policy-making.