JP7573694B2 - Vehicle allocation management device, vehicle allocation management method, and vehicle allocation management system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle dispatch management device, a vehicle dispatch management method, and a vehicle dispatch management system for managing the dispatch of taxis.

Conventionally, systems for managing taxi dispatch are known. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a system that manages the taxi status, which indicates whether the taxi is available or not, and the taxi's location information, and when it receives the current location from a taxi user, searches for taxis in the vicinity of the current location and notifies the user of the search results.

JP 2011-248848 A

In the system shown in Patent Document 1, if there are no available taxis near the user's current location, the user must search again for available taxis or look for available taxis directly, which places a burden on the user.

The present invention was made in consideration of these points, and aims to reduce the burden on users when requesting a vehicle dispatch.

The vehicle dispatch management device according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a request acquisition unit that acquires a vehicle dispatch request and the boarding position of a user from a terminal of a user requesting dispatch of a vehicle to transport the user, an empty vehicle detection unit that detects an empty vehicle and the position of the empty vehicle, a request transmission unit that transmits a dispatch request to an empty vehicle located within an empty vehicle search range that is a predetermined range from the boarding position, and a setting unit that sets the operation mode of the request transmission unit when the request acquisition unit acquires the dispatch request from the terminal to an empty vehicle waiting mode when a predetermined condition is satisfied, and when the operation mode is set to the empty vehicle waiting mode, the request transmission unit continues to transmit the dispatch request for a longer period of time compared to when the operation mode is not set to the empty vehicle waiting mode.

When at least a portion of the search ranges corresponding to multiple users who are set to the vacant vehicle waiting mode overlap, if the vacant vehicle detection unit detects an empty vehicle within the overlapping search range, the request transmission unit may transmit a vehicle dispatch request for a user who was set to the vacant vehicle waiting mode relatively earlier to the vehicle with the empty vehicle.

When the vacant vehicle waiting mode is set for a first user and the vacant vehicle waiting mode is not set for a second user whose search range overlaps at least a portion with that of the first user, if the vacant vehicle detection unit detects an vacant vehicle within the overlapping search range, the request transmission unit may transmit a vehicle dispatch request for the first user to the vacant vehicle.

The setting unit may receive an instruction to set the available vehicle waiting mode from the user's terminal, and set the operation mode when the request acquisition unit acquires the vehicle dispatch request from the user to the available vehicle waiting mode.

The vehicle dispatch management device may further include a charging unit that, when the setting unit receives an instruction to set the vacant vehicle waiting mode from the user's terminal, charges the user for setting the vacant vehicle waiting mode.
The setting unit may determine a fee corresponding to the setting of the vacant vehicle waiting mode based on the supply amount of vehicles relative to the amount of vehicle dispatch requests in the area to which the user belongs.

When the supply of vehicles relative to the amount of dispatch requests in the area to which the user belongs is equal to or greater than a first amount, the setting unit may set the operation mode corresponding to the user to the waiting for available vehicles mode without receiving a setting instruction from the user.

When the request acquisition unit acquires the dispatch request from the user's terminal, if the operation mode corresponding to another user within the search range corresponding to the user is set to a waiting for an available vehicle mode, the setting unit may display a setting screen on the user's terminal that accepts the setting of the waiting for an available vehicle mode, and set the operation mode corresponding to the user to the waiting for an available vehicle mode by accepting a setting instruction for the waiting for an available vehicle mode via the setting screen.

The request acquisition unit may calculate an expected vehicle confirmation time, which is the expected time from when the operation mode is set to the waiting for available vehicle mode until the vehicle is confirmed, based on the number of users who have set the waiting for available vehicle mode and who are located within the search range corresponding to the user's boarding location and the supply of vehicles, and display the calculated expected vehicle confirmation time on the terminal.

When the vehicle is confirmed, the request acquisition unit may calculate an expected arrival time for the vehicle to arrive at the boarding location based on the supply of vehicles relative to the amount of dispatch requests within a predetermined range including the boarding location, and display the calculated expected arrival time on the terminal.

When an available vehicle that has accepted the dispatch request sent by the request sending unit is found, the request acquisition unit may cause the terminal to display an estimated arrival time calculated based on the location of the available vehicle instead of the expected arrival time.

The vehicle dispatch management method according to the second aspect of the present invention includes the steps of: acquiring, from a terminal of a user requesting dispatch of a vehicle transporting the user, a request for dispatch of the vehicle and the boarding position of the user, executed by a computer; detecting an empty vehicle and the position of the empty vehicle; transmitting a dispatch request to an empty vehicle located within a search range for the empty vehicle, which is a predetermined range from the boarding position; and, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, setting the operation mode of the computer in the step of transmitting the dispatch request when the dispatch request is obtained from the terminal to an empty vehicle waiting mode, and in the step of transmitting the dispatch request, when the operation mode is set to the empty vehicle waiting mode, the computer continues transmitting the dispatch request for a longer period of time when the operation mode is set to the empty vehicle waiting mode compared to when the operation mode is not set to the empty vehicle waiting mode.

The vehicle dispatch management system according to the second aspect of the present invention is a vehicle dispatch management system including a terminal of the user requesting dispatch of a vehicle to transport the user, and a vehicle dispatch management device, the terminal having a dispatch request unit that receives a boarding location from the user and transmits the boarding location and a request to dispatch the vehicle to the boarding location to the vehicle dispatch management device, the vehicle dispatch management device having a request acquisition unit that acquires the vehicle dispatch request and the user's boarding location from the terminal, an empty vehicle detection unit that detects an empty vehicle and the location of the empty vehicle, a request transmission unit that transmits a dispatch request to an empty vehicle located within an empty vehicle search range that is a predetermined range from the boarding location, and a setting unit that sets the operation mode of the request transmission unit when the request acquisition unit acquires the dispatch request from the terminal to an empty vehicle waiting mode when a predetermined condition is satisfied, and the request transmission unit continues to transmit the dispatch request for a longer period when the operation mode is set to the empty vehicle waiting mode compared to when the operation mode is not set to the empty vehicle waiting mode.

The present invention has the effect of reducing the burden on users when requesting vehicle dispatch.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of a vehicle dispatch management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a vehicle dispatch management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of taxi information according to the embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a user terminal according to the present embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a boarding position reception screen according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a vehicle dispatch request reception screen according to the embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen for a waiting for vacant vehicle mode according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of vacant vehicle waiting information according to the embodiment; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a waiting screen for an empty vehicle according to the present embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing a process flow in the vehicle dispatch management device according to the present embodiment.

[Overview of the vehicle allocation management system]
1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of a vehicle dispatch management system according to this embodiment. The vehicle dispatch management system is a system for managing the dispatch of taxis, and includes a vehicle dispatch management device 1, a user terminal 2, and a driver terminal 3. The vehicle dispatch management system may also include other devices such as a server and a terminal.

The vehicle dispatch management device 1 is a computer such as a server that manages the dispatch of taxis. The vehicle dispatch management device 1 accepts dispatch requests from users, selects a vehicle that can be dispatched in response to the dispatch request, and issues a dispatch request. The vehicle dispatch management device 1 is connected to multiple user terminals 2 and multiple driver terminals 3 via a communication network such as the Internet.

The user terminal 2 is an information terminal such as a smartphone or tablet terminal used by a user (also called a customer or passenger) who uses a taxi. The user terminal 2 has a display unit such as a liquid crystal display capable of displaying information, and an operation unit such as a touch panel capable of receiving operations by a human. A vehicle dispatch application that receives input of taxi dispatch conditions from a user is installed on the user terminal 2.

The crew terminal 3 is an information terminal such as a smartphone or tablet terminal used by the taxi crew (also called the driver) and is provided in each taxi. The crew terminal 3 may be a device integrated with the vehicle, such as a car navigation system. The crew terminal 3 has a display unit such as an LCD display capable of displaying information, and an operation unit such as a touch panel capable of receiving operations by a human. A crew application is installed on the crew terminal 3, which displays a request for dispatch to the crew and receives approval for dispatch from the crew.

An overview of the processing executed by the vehicle dispatch management system according to this embodiment is provided below. The user terminal 2 executes a vehicle dispatch application and transmits a dispatch request for dispatching a taxi to the vehicle dispatch management device 1 in response to a user operation.

The vehicle dispatch management device 1 accepts a dispatch request from the user terminal 2. The vehicle dispatch management device 1 has a normal mode and a waiting mode for an available vehicle as operation modes for the function of making a dispatch request. The normal mode is an operation mode in which a dispatch request continues to be sent for a first period (e.g., 1 minute and 30 seconds).

When the vehicle dispatch management device 1 is operating in the normal operation mode, if an available taxi is not found within a first period, or if an available taxi does not agree to dispatch within the first period, the operation mode of the function for making a dispatch request can be changed from the normal mode to the available taxi waiting mode. The available taxi waiting mode is an operation mode in which dispatch requests are continued to be sent when the available taxi waiting mode is not set, that is, for a longer period than in the normal mode (i.e., a second period longer than the first period).

For example, if an empty taxi does not agree to dispatch within a first hour, the vehicle dispatch management device 1 displays information on the user terminal 2 recommending switching to an empty taxi waiting mode, and switches to the empty taxi waiting mode when the user performs an operation to switch to the empty taxi waiting mode. While operating in the empty taxi waiting mode, the vehicle dispatch management device 1 continues to send a delivery request to an empty taxi until an agreement is obtained for the dispatch request, and when an agreement is obtained from the empty taxi, a dispatch instruction is issued to the empty taxi. By the vehicle dispatch management device 1 operating in this manner, the user does not need to search for a taxi using other means when an empty taxi cannot be arranged in the normal mode, so the vehicle dispatch management device 1 can reduce the burden on the user when requesting a vehicle dispatch.

[Configuration of vehicle allocation management device 1]
Next, a description will be given of the configuration of the vehicle dispatch management device 1. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle dispatch management device 1 according to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 2, the vehicle dispatch management device 1 includes a communication unit 11, a storage unit 12, and a control unit 13. The control unit 13 includes a state identification unit 131, a request acquisition unit 132, a request transmission unit 133, a setting unit 134, a billing unit 135, and a vehicle dispatch instruction unit 136.

The communication unit 11 is a communication interface for communicating with the user terminal 2 and the crew terminal 3 via a communication network such as the Internet.
The storage unit 12 is a storage medium including a read only memory (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM), etc. The storage unit 12 stores a program executed by the control unit 13. For example, the storage unit 12 stores a vehicle dispatch request program that causes the control unit 13 to function as a state identification unit 131, a request acquisition unit 132, a request transmission unit 133, a setting unit 134, and a billing unit 135.

The memory unit 12 also stores taxi information that associates vehicle identification information for identifying a taxi, vehicle location information indicating the location of the taxi, and status information indicating the status of the taxi. The vehicle location information is, for example, information indicating the longitude and latitude at which the taxi is located. The status information includes "available," "dispatched," and "occupied." The status information may be, for example, code information that combines numbers and symbols.

Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of taxi information according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 3, it can be seen that vehicle identification information, vehicle position information, and status information are associated with each of a plurality of taxis. In this embodiment, the taxi information is divided by region, and the vehicle dispatch management device 1 determines the region based on the user's boarding position and refers to the taxi information corresponding to that region.

The control unit 13 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 13 executes the vehicle dispatch management program stored in the storage unit 12, thereby functioning as a state identification unit 131, a request acquisition unit 132, a request transmission unit 133, a setting unit 134, a billing unit 135, and a vehicle dispatch instruction unit 136.

The status identification unit 131 manages the status of each of the multiple taxis by updating the taxi information stored in the memory unit 12. Specifically, the status identification unit 131 receives taxi information from each of the multiple crew terminals 3 and identifies the vehicle identification information included in the received taxi information. For example, the status identification unit 131 functions as an empty vehicle detection unit that detects empty vehicles, and by receiving taxi information, detects taxis whose status information included in the taxi information is "empty" and the location of the empty taxi. In the memory unit 12, the status identification unit 131 updates the vehicle position information and status information associated with the identified vehicle identification information to the vehicle position information and status information included in the received taxi information. This allows the taxi information to always be kept up to date.

The functions of the request acquisition unit 132, the request transmission unit 133, the setting unit 134, the billing unit 135, and the dispatch instruction unit 136 will be described in detail later.

[Configuration of User Terminal 2]
Next, a description will be given of the configuration of the user terminal 2. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the user terminal 2 according to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 4, the user terminal 2 includes a communication unit 21, an operation unit 22, a display unit 23, a storage unit 24, and a control unit 25.

The communication unit 21 is a communication interface for communicating with the vehicle dispatch management device 1 via a communication network such as the Internet.
The operation unit 22 is, for example, a touch panel provided so as to be superimposed on the display unit 23, and receives operation inputs from the user.
The display unit 23 is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display, etc. The display unit 23 displays various information according to the control of the control unit 25.

The memory unit 24 is a storage medium including a ROM, a RAM, etc. The memory unit 24 stores a program executed by the control unit 25. For example, the memory unit 24 stores a passenger program that causes the control unit 25 to function as a dispatch request unit 251.

The control unit 25 is, for example, a CPU. The control unit 25 functions as a dispatch request unit 251 by executing a passenger program stored in the memory unit 24.

[Details of the control unit]
Next, the request acquisition unit 132, the request transmission unit 133, the setting unit 134, and the billing unit 135 included in the control unit 13, and the vehicle dispatch request unit 251 included in the control unit 25 will be described in detail.

The dispatch request unit 251 accepts a taxi boarding location from the user of the user terminal 2, and requests a taxi to be dispatched to the boarding location by transmitting dispatch request information including boarding location information indicating the boarding location to the dispatch management device 1. The request acquisition unit 132 acquires a taxi dispatch request and the user's boarding location by receiving the dispatch request information from the user terminal 2.

When the dispatch request unit 251 receives an operation to start a dispatch request from a user on the operation unit 22, it displays on the display unit 23 a boarding position reception screen for receiving the user's boarding position and a dispatch request reception screen for receiving a dispatch request, and receives the boarding position and the dispatch request via the screens. The request acquisition unit 132 acquires a taxi dispatch request and the user's boarding position in response to the dispatch request operation being performed on the dispatch request reception screen.

Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of a boarding position reception screen according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 5 (a), the boarding position reception screen displays a map of the area around the position P of the user terminal 2 and a boarding position determination button B1 for determining the boarding position. When the dispatch request unit 251 receives the user's boarding position on the map, it displays a mark M indicating the boarding position on the map as shown in Figure 5 (b), and transmits boarding position information indicating the boarding position to the dispatch management device 1.

When the request acquisition unit 132 of the vehicle dispatch management device 1 acquires boarding position information via the boarding position reception screen, it calculates the expected arrival time, which is the time it takes for an available taxi to arrive at the boarding position after acquiring the dispatch request.

The request acquisition unit 132 calculates the expected arrival time based on the supply of taxis relative to the amount of dispatch requests in a predetermined range including the boarding position. For example, the area to which the vehicle dispatch management device 1 sends dispatch requests is divided into mesh areas (multiple predetermined ranges) of 1 km square, and the request acquisition unit 132 generates relationship information indicating the relationship between the statistical value of the taxi supply and demand balance value indicating the supply of vacant taxis relative to the amount of dispatch requests in each of multiple time periods for each of the multiple mesh areas and the expected arrival time. The request acquisition unit 132 then identifies the supply and demand balance value corresponding to the current time in the mesh including the boarding position, and identifies the expected arrival time corresponding to the identified supply and demand balance value by referring to the relationship information. In this way, the vehicle dispatch management device 1 can accurately calculate the expected arrival time at the current time for the user's boarding position.

The request acquisition unit 132 notifies the user terminal 2 of the calculated expected arrival time, thereby displaying the expected arrival time on the user terminal 2. The dispatch request unit 251 displays the expected arrival time notified by the dispatch management device 1 on the boarding position reception screen, as shown in FIG. 5(b).

When the boarding position determination button B1 is pressed, the dispatch request unit 251 displays a dispatch request reception screen on the display unit 23 and accepts a dispatch request from the user. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the dispatch request reception screen according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the dispatch request reception screen displays the position P of the user terminal 2, a mark M indicating the boarding position of the taxi, and a dispatch request reception button B2 for accepting a taxi dispatch request. When the dispatch request reception button B2 is pressed, the dispatch request unit 251 transmits dispatch request information indicating a request to dispatch a taxi to the dispatch management device 1, the dispatch request information including the boarding position of the taxi and user identification information for identifying the user. The request acquisition unit 132 acquires a taxi dispatch request and the boarding position of the user by receiving the dispatch request information from the user terminal 2.

Here, the user identification information is, for example, the user's name. The user identification information is notified to the taxi driver when a vehicle dispatch request is made. Note that the user identification information is not limited to the name, and may also include information that allows the taxi driver to identify the user of the user terminal 2, such as age and gender.

The request sending unit 133 sends a dispatch request to an empty taxi located within an empty taxi search range, which is a predetermined range from the boarding position acquired by the request acquisition unit 132. When the request acquisition unit 132 acquires dispatch request information, the request sending unit 133 first operates in normal mode. Specifically, when operating in normal mode, the request sending unit 133 refers to the taxi information stored in the memory unit 12 and identifies taxis whose status information is "empty" and whose vehicle position information is located within the empty taxi search range, which is a circular area within a predetermined distance from the boarding position acquired by the request acquisition unit 132.

When operating in normal mode, if an empty vehicle located within the search range for an empty vehicle is detected within the first time period, the request sending unit 133 sends a dispatch request to the empty taxi. If multiple taxis are located within the search range for an empty vehicle corresponding to the boarding position acquired by the request acquisition unit 132, the request sending unit 133 sends a dispatch request to the taxi closest to the boarding position. The request sending unit 133 sends a dispatch request including the user's boarding position and user identification information to the driver terminal 3 used by the driver of the taxi. Here, the request sending unit 133 may notify the driver terminal 3 of the optimal route from the taxi's position to the user's boarding position.

After the request sending unit 133 sends a dispatch request to an empty taxi, the driver terminal 3 of the empty taxi receives from the taxi driver whether or not to accept the dispatch of a taxi corresponding to the dispatch request. When the driver terminal 3 receives the acceptance of the dispatch, it transmits acceptance information indicating that the dispatch has been accepted. When the dispatch instruction unit 136 receives the acceptance information from the driver terminal 3 of the empty taxi, it transmits an instruction to dispatch the taxi to the driver terminal 3.

However, in the conventional technology, if an empty vehicle located within the search range for an empty vehicle is not detected within the first time, or if a dispatch request is sent to one or more empty taxis within the first time and acceptance information is not received from these empty taxis, information indicating that the dispatch request could not be sent to the taxi is displayed on the user terminal 2, and the dispatch request is acquired again from the user terminal 2. In contrast, in the dispatch management device 1 according to this embodiment, the setting unit 134 can change the operation mode from the normal mode to the empty vehicle waiting mode, so that the request sending unit 133 continues to send the dispatch request for a longer period of time than when the empty vehicle waiting mode is not set.

When the operation mode is set to the vacant vehicle waiting mode, the request sending unit 133 continues to send the dispatch request for a longer period of time than when the operation mode is not set to the vacant vehicle waiting mode. When the operation mode is set to the vacant vehicle waiting mode, the request sending unit 133 sends the dispatch request in response to detection of an empty vehicle for a longer period of time than when the operation mode is not set to the vacant vehicle waiting mode, by sending the dispatch request to an empty taxi even after a first time has elapsed since obtaining the dispatch request.
The process for setting the vacant vehicle waiting mode will be described below.

When a predetermined condition is satisfied, the setting unit 134 sets the operation mode of the request transmission unit 133 when the request acquisition unit 132 acquires a vehicle dispatch request from a user to a vehicle waiting mode. Specifically, the request acquisition unit 132 first causes the user terminal 2 to display a setting screen for the vehicle waiting mode on the condition that no vehicle located within the vehicle search range has been detected within a first time period, or the request transmission unit 133 has transmitted a vehicle dispatch request to one or more vehicle taxis within the first time period and has not received acceptance information from these vehicle taxis. The request acquisition unit 132 causes the user terminal 2 to display a setting screen for the vehicle waiting mode by transmitting, to the user terminal 2, instruction information for displaying a setting screen for accepting the setting of the vehicle waiting mode from the user on the user terminal 2.

Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen for the waiting for available vehicle mode according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 7, the setting screen for the waiting for available vehicle mode displays a setting acceptance button B3 for accepting the setting of the waiting for available vehicle mode, along with a message "Would you like to set the waiting for available vehicle mode?". Note that in the example shown in Figure 7, the setting screen for the waiting for available vehicle mode displays the message "Would you like to set the waiting for available vehicle mode?", but this is not limited to this. For example, a message different from the name of the system, mechanism, service, etc., such as "Would you like to request priority vehicle dispatch?" or "Would you like to wait for vehicle dispatch?" may be displayed.

The request acquisition unit 132 causes the user terminal 2 to display a setting screen for the waiting for available vehicle mode, including an expected vehicle confirmation time, which is the expected time from when the operation mode is set to the waiting for available vehicle mode until a taxi that transmits a dispatch request is confirmed. For example, the request acquisition unit 132 calculates the expected vehicle confirmation time, which is the expected time from when the operation mode is set to the waiting for available vehicle mode until a taxi that transmits a dispatch request is confirmed, based on the number of users who have set the waiting for available vehicle mode located within a search range corresponding to the user's boarding position and the supply of taxis.

For example, the area where the vehicle dispatch management device 1 sends a vehicle dispatch request is divided into mesh areas (multiple predetermined ranges) of 1 km square, and the request acquisition unit 132 generates relationship information for each of the multiple mesh areas that indicates the relationship between the number of users who have set the vacant vehicle waiting mode in each of multiple time periods, the statistical value of the taxi supply and demand balance value indicating the supply of vacant taxis, and the expected vehicle confirmation time. The request acquisition unit 132 then identifies the supply and demand balance value that corresponds to the current time in the mesh that includes the boarding position, and refers to the relationship information to identify the expected vehicle confirmation time that corresponds to the identified supply and demand balance value and the number of users who have set the vacant vehicle waiting mode.

When the request acquisition unit 132 calculates the expected vehicle confirmation time, it includes the expected vehicle confirmation time in instruction information for displaying the setting screen for the waiting for an available vehicle mode. The dispatch request unit 251 of the user terminal 2 displays the expected vehicle confirmation time included in the instruction information on the setting screen for the waiting for an available vehicle mode. In FIG. 7, it can be seen that "Can be arranged in about 10-15 minutes" is displayed above the setting acceptance button B3 as the expected vehicle confirmation time. In this way, the dispatch management device 1 allows the user to understand the expected vehicle confirmation time. By checking the expected vehicle confirmation time displayed on the user terminal 2, the user can decide whether to continue the dispatch request or to search for a taxi by other means.

When the setting acceptance button B3 is pressed, the dispatch request unit 251 sends a setting request for the vacant vehicle waiting mode to the dispatch management device 1, including the taxi boarding position, the user identification information, and the terminal identification information that identifies the user terminal 2. Here, the terminal identification information is, for example, character string information unique to the user terminal 2 that is set when the passenger application is installed.

The request acquisition unit 132 receives a request to set the vacant vehicle waiting mode from the user terminal 2. When the request acquisition unit 132 receives a request to set the vacant vehicle waiting mode, it instructs the setting unit 134 to set the vacant vehicle waiting mode. By accepting the request to set the vacant vehicle waiting mode from the user terminal 2, the setting unit 134 sets the operation mode when the request acquisition unit 132 acquires a dispatch request from the user to the vacant vehicle waiting mode. Specifically, when the request acquisition unit 132 receives a request to set the vacant vehicle waiting mode, the setting unit 134 associates the setting time, which is the time when the request to set the vacant vehicle waiting mode was received, the user identification information of the user who set the vacant vehicle waiting mode, the terminal identification information that identifies the user terminal 2, and the boarding position information indicating the boarding position, and stores them in the storage unit 12 as vacant vehicle waiting information. Here, the boarding position information is, for example, information indicating longitude and latitude.

Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of available vehicle waiting information according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 8, it can be seen that the setting time of the available vehicle waiting mode, the riding position of the user who has been set to the available vehicle waiting mode, the user identification information of the user, and the terminal identification information of the user terminal 2 are associated with each other.

When the operation mode corresponding to the user is set to the waiting for available vehicle mode, the request acquisition unit 132 causes the user terminal 2 to display a waiting for available vehicle screen including the expected vehicle confirmation time. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the waiting for available vehicle screen according to this embodiment. In FIG. 9, it can be seen that the expected vehicle confirmation time is displayed along with the elapsed time since the operation mode corresponding to the user was set to the waiting for available vehicle mode. By displaying the expected vehicle confirmation time, the user can easily understand how much longer it will take for a taxi to be assigned.

After that, when an available taxi that has accepted the dispatch request sent by the request sending unit 133 is found and the taxi agrees to dispatch a taxi corresponding to the dispatch request and the taxi is confirmed, the request acquisition unit 132 causes the user terminal 2 to display the estimated arrival time of the taxi calculated based on the location of the available vehicle and the user's boarding location, instead of the expected arrival time or expected vehicle confirmation time. This allows the user to easily know how long it will take for the taxi to arrive.

The setting unit 134 may also set the waiting mode for an available taxi for a fee if the balance between supply and demand of taxis is tight in the area to which the user belongs. The example shown in FIG. 7 shows a setting screen for when the balance between supply and demand of taxis is tight in the area to which the user belongs, and it can be seen that "A dispatch fee of 980 yen will be charged upon confirmation" is displayed above the setting acceptance button B3.

Here, the setting fee for the vacant vehicle waiting mode when the supply and demand balance of taxis is tight in the area to which the user belongs is a fixed fee determined in advance, but the setting unit 134 may determine the fee corresponding to the setting of the vacant vehicle waiting mode based on the supply of vehicles relative to the amount of dispatch requests in the area to which the user belongs, that is, the supply and demand balance of taxis. For example, a fee is determined in advance for the ratio of the supply of vehicles to the amount of dispatch requests in the area to which the user belongs. Then, the setting unit 134 determines the fee corresponding to the setting of the vacant vehicle waiting mode based on the ratio of the supply of vehicles to the amount of dispatch requests at the time when the request acquisition unit 132 acquires the dispatch request. The request acquisition unit 132 includes the fee in the instruction information for displaying the setting screen for the vacant vehicle waiting mode. The dispatch request unit 251 of the user terminal 2 displays the fee included in the instruction information on the setting screen for the vacant vehicle waiting mode. In this way, the dispatch management device 1 can flexibly set the fee for the vacant vehicle waiting mode in accordance with the supply and demand balance of taxis.

Next, the process of the request transmission unit 133 transmitting a dispatch request will be described in detail. When an empty vehicle waiting mode is set for a first user and an empty vehicle waiting mode is not set for a second user whose search range overlaps at least partially with the first user, the request transmission unit 133 transmits a dispatch request for the first user to the empty vehicle when an empty vehicle is detected within the overlapping search range between the first user and the second user. That is, when an empty vehicle waiting mode is set for the first user and an empty vehicle waiting mode is not set for a second user whose search range overlaps at least partially with the first user, the request transmission unit 133 prioritizes the first user and transmits a dispatch request corresponding to the first user to an empty taxi. In this way, even if an empty vehicle is detected within the overlapping search range between the first user and the second user at the moment when the second user makes a dispatch request, a dispatch request can be transmitted to the empty taxi corresponding to the first user.

In addition, when at least a part of the search ranges corresponding to multiple users set to the empty vehicle waiting mode overlap, when an empty vehicle is detected within the overlapping search ranges between the multiple users, the request sending unit 133 may send a dispatch request to the empty vehicle for the user who set the empty vehicle waiting mode relatively early. Specifically, the request sending unit 133 refers to the taxi information stored in the memory unit 12 and the boarding location included in the empty vehicle waiting information, and determines whether or not there is a taxi whose status information is "empty" in the empty vehicle search range, starting from the user who set the earliest time. When an empty vehicle located within the empty vehicle search range is detected, the request sending unit 133 sends a dispatch request to the empty taxi. In this way, when an empty taxi is detected within the overlapping search ranges between the multiple users, the dispatch management device 1 can fairly send a dispatch request based on the set time.

[Another example of setting to vacant vehicle waiting mode]
In the above example, the setting unit 134 sets the operation mode when the request acquisition unit 132 acquires a vehicle dispatch request from the user to the vehicle waiting mode by accepting a request to set the vehicle waiting mode via the setting screen, but the condition for setting the vehicle waiting mode is not limited to this. The setting unit 134 may accept an instruction to set the vehicle waiting mode from the user terminal 2 on the condition that the supply of taxis relative to the amount of vehicle dispatch requests in the area to which the user belongs is less than a first amount, that is, that the balance between supply and demand of taxis is tight.

In addition, when the balance between supply and demand of taxis is not tight, the setting unit 134 may set the operation mode when a vehicle dispatch request is acquired to the waiting for available vehicle mode without accepting a request to set the waiting for available vehicle mode from the user terminal 2. In this way, the user can wait for a vehicle to be dispatched without performing an operation to set the waiting for available vehicle mode even if the first period or more has passed since making the vehicle dispatch request.

The setting unit 134 sets the waiting mode for an empty vehicle via a setting screen that accepts the setting of the waiting mode on the condition that an empty vehicle is not detected within a first time after the request acquisition unit 132 acquires a dispatch request from the user terminal 2, or an agreement to dispatch a vehicle is not obtained from an empty taxi, but this is not limited to the above. When an operation mode corresponding to another user within the search range corresponding to the user is set to the waiting mode for an empty vehicle, the setting unit 134 may cause the user terminal 2 to display a setting screen that accepts the setting of the waiting mode for an empty vehicle at the timing when the request acquisition unit 132 acquires a dispatch request from the user terminal 2. In this way, the dispatch management device 1 can dispatch vehicles with priority to users who have set the waiting mode for an empty vehicle.

[Charges when using vacant vehicle waiting mode]
When the charging unit 135 receives an instruction to set the vacant vehicle waiting mode from the user terminal 2, the charging unit 135 charges the user for the setting of the vacant vehicle waiting mode. For example, the charging unit 135 notifies the driver terminal 3 of the vacant taxi that transmitted the dispatch request of the fee corresponding to the vacant vehicle waiting mode, so that the fee corresponding to the setting of the vacant vehicle waiting mode can be collected at the time of payment of the fare. Note that, if the user has registered credit card information or the like in the dispatch application, the charging unit 135 may charge the user for the fee corresponding to the setting of the vacant vehicle waiting mode using the credit card information.

[Processing flow in vehicle dispatch management device 1]
Next, a description will be given of the flow of processing in the vehicle dispatch management device 1. Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the vehicle dispatch management device 1 according to this embodiment. Note that in parallel with the processing in this flowchart, the state identification unit 131 updates the taxi information stored in the storage unit 12, so that the taxi information is always kept up to date.

First, the request acquisition unit 132 acquires a taxi dispatch request from the user terminal 2 (S1).
Next, the request sending unit 133 determines whether or not there is an available taxi within a search range for an available taxi, which is a predetermined range from the boarding position acquired together with the dispatch request by the request acquiring unit 132 (S2). If the request sending unit 133 determines that there is an available taxi, it proceeds to S3, and if it determines that there is no available taxi, it proceeds to S6.

In S3, the request sending unit 133 sends a dispatch request to an empty taxi. Next, the request sending unit 133 determines whether or not dispatch has been approved from the driver terminal 3 of the empty taxi that sent the dispatch request (S4). If the request sending unit 133 determines that dispatch has been approved, it proceeds to S5, and if it determines that dispatch has not been approved, it proceeds to S6.

In S5, the dispatch instruction unit 136 transmits a dispatch instruction to the driver terminal 3 of the vacant taxi that has agreed to dispatch.
In S6, the request sending unit 133 determines whether or not a first period has elapsed since the request acquiring unit 132 acquired the dispatch request. If the request sending unit 133 determines that the first period has elapsed, the process proceeds to S7, and if the request sending unit 133 determines that the first period has not elapsed, the process proceeds to S2.

In S7, the request acquisition unit 132 displays a setting screen for the waiting for vacant vehicles mode on the user terminal 2. Next, the request acquisition unit 132 determines whether or not a setting request for the waiting for vacant vehicles mode has been acquired from the user terminal 2 within a predetermined period of time (S8). If the request acquisition unit 132 determines that a setting request for the waiting for vacant vehicles mode has been acquired, it proceeds to S9, and if it determines that a setting request for the waiting for vacant vehicles mode has not been acquired, it terminates the processing related to this flowchart.

In S9, the setting unit 134 sets the operation mode of the request sending unit 133 when the request acquiring unit 132 acquires a vehicle dispatch request from a user to a vehicle waiting mode.
Thereafter, the request transmission unit 133 judges whether or not there is an available taxi within a search range for an available taxi, which is a predetermined range from the user's boarding position (S10). If the request transmission unit 133 judges that there is an available taxi, it proceeds to S11, and if it judges that there is no available taxi, it executes S10 again.

In S11, the request transmission unit 133 transmits a dispatch request to an empty taxi. The request transmission unit 133 then determines whether or not dispatch has been approved from the driver terminal 3 of the empty taxi that transmitted the dispatch request (S12). If the request transmission unit 133 determines that dispatch has been approved, it proceeds to S13, and if it determines that dispatch has not been approved, it proceeds to S10.
In S13, the dispatch instruction unit 136 transmits a dispatch instruction to the driver terminal 3 of the vacant taxi that has agreed to dispatch.

[Modification]
In the above embodiment, the description is given on the assumption that a taxi is running in the area to which the user belongs, but this is not limited to the above. The request acquisition unit 132 may accept the setting of the vacant vehicle waiting mode for a fee or free of charge when there is no vacant taxi in the area to which the user belongs. In this case, the setting unit 134 may store the vacant vehicle waiting information in the storage unit 12 in response to accepting the setting of the vacant vehicle waiting mode. Then, in response to detection of an vacant taxi in the area to which the user belongs, the request transmission unit 133 may refer to the vacant vehicle waiting information stored in the storage unit 12 and instruct an vacant taxi to dispatch a taxi corresponding to a user who has the earliest setting time among the users present in the area. In this way, when a taxi is not running in the area to which the user belongs, the user can wait for a taxi to be dispatched without performing multiple operations.

In addition, when the request acquisition unit 132 acquires the boarding position information via the boarding position reception screen, the request acquisition unit 132 calculates the expected arrival time based on the supply of taxis relative to the amount of dispatch requests in a predetermined range including the boarding position, but this is not limited to this. The request acquisition unit 132 may calculate the expected arrival time based on the taxi information stored in the memory unit 12, the boarding position indicated by the boarding position information, and the number of users who have set the vacant vehicle waiting mode and are located within the search range corresponding to the boarding position indicated by the boarding position information. In this way, the expected arrival time can be calculated with high accuracy, taking into account the number of users who have set the vacant vehicle waiting mode.

In addition, if the expected vehicle confirmation time until an available taxi is arranged exceeds a second threshold, the request acquisition unit 132 may determine that the dispatch is not successful and may not display the setting screen for the available taxi waiting mode on the user terminal 2. In this case, the request acquisition unit 132 controls so as not to send instruction information for displaying the setting screen for the available taxi waiting mode to the user terminal 2 when the expected vehicle confirmation time exceeds the second threshold.

The setting unit 134 may also accept cancellation of the vacant vehicle waiting mode setting after accepting the setting of the vacant vehicle waiting mode. For example, the setting unit 134 accepts cancellation of the vacant vehicle waiting mode setting free of charge from the time when the setting of the vacant vehicle waiting mode is accepted until a dispatch request corresponding to the vacant vehicle waiting is sent to an empty taxi. Furthermore, the request acquisition unit 132 accepts cancellation of the vacant vehicle waiting mode setting for a fee after a dispatch request corresponding to the setting of the vacant vehicle waiting mode is sent to an empty taxi.

The setting unit 134 may accept from the user a choice of whether or not to continue waiting for an available vehicle when a dispatch request is not sent even after a second predetermined time has elapsed since accepting the setting of the waiting for an available vehicle mode. For example, the setting unit 134 refers to the waiting for an available vehicle information, identifies the terminal identification information of a user for whom a second predetermined time (e.g., 15 minutes) has elapsed since the set time, and causes the user terminal 2 of the terminal identification information to display a continuation acceptance screen that accepts the choice of whether to continue waiting for an available vehicle or to cancel the waiting for an available vehicle mode setting. In this case, the setting unit 134 accepts the cancellation of the waiting for an available vehicle mode setting free of charge.

When the request acquisition unit 132 receives a selection on the continuation reception screen indicating that the setting of the waiting for vacant vehicles mode is to be cancelled, it erases the waiting for vacant vehicles information corresponding to the user who cancelled the setting from the storage unit 12. In this case, the vehicle dispatch management device 1 may give a benefit such as a coupon to the user who cancelled the setting of the waiting for vacant vehicles mode. In this way, the vehicle dispatch management device 1 can reduce user dissatisfaction and reduce the number of users who have the waiting for vacant vehicles mode set.

[Effects of this embodiment]
As described above, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, the vehicle dispatch management device 1 according to this embodiment sets the operation mode of the request sending unit 133 to the waiting for available vehicles mode when the request acquiring unit 132 acquires a vehicle dispatch request from the user terminal 2. When the operation mode is set to the waiting for available vehicles mode, the request sending unit 133 continues to send the vehicle dispatch request for a longer period of time compared to when the operation mode is not set to the waiting for available vehicles mode. In this way, the vehicle dispatch management device 1 can reduce the burden on the user when requesting a vehicle dispatch.

Although the present invention has been described above using embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention. For example, all or part of the device can be configured by distributing or integrating functionally or physically in any unit. In addition, new embodiments resulting from any combination of multiple embodiments are also included in the embodiments of the present invention. The effect of the new embodiment resulting from the combination also has the effect of the original embodiment.

Reference Signs List 1 Vehicle dispatch management device 11 Communication unit 12 Memory unit 13 Control unit 131 Status identification unit 132 Request acquisition unit 133 Request transmission unit 134 Setting unit 135 Charging unit 136 Vehicle dispatch instruction unit 2 User terminal 21 Communication unit 22 Operation unit 23 Display unit 24 Memory unit 25 Control unit 251 Vehicle dispatch request unit 3 Driver terminal S Vehicle dispatch management system

Claims (7)

A request acquisition unit that acquires a request for dispatching a vehicle to transport a user and a boarding position of the user from a terminal of the user who requests the dispatch of the vehicle;
an empty vehicle detection unit that detects an empty vehicle and a position of the empty vehicle;
a request transmission unit that operates in one of two operation modes : a normal mode in which the system continues to transmit a vehicle dispatch request to an available vehicle located within the available vehicle search range, which is within a predetermined range from the boarding position , for a first time in response to the user's vehicle dispatch request, and an available vehicle waiting mode in which the system continues to transmit the vehicle dispatch request for a second time that is longer than the first time in response to the user's vehicle dispatch request, and that transmits the vehicle dispatch request in the normal mode when the request acquisition unit acquires a vehicle dispatch request from the terminal ;
a setting unit that changes an operation mode of the request transmission unit for the user's vehicle dispatch request from the normal mode to the vacant vehicle waiting mode when a predetermined condition is satisfied while the request transmission unit is transmitting the vehicle dispatch request in the normal mode;
A vehicle dispatch management device having the above configuration. the setting unit sets the operation mode for the vehicle dispatch request to the vehicle waiting mode when the request acquisition unit acquires the vehicle dispatch request from the user by receiving an instruction to set the vehicle waiting mode from the user's terminal;
The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 1 . When the supply amount of the vehicles for the amount of the vehicle dispatch requests in the area to which the user belongs is equal to or greater than a first amount, the setting unit sets the operation mode for the vehicle dispatch request when the request acquisition unit acquires the vehicle dispatch request from the user to the vacant vehicle waiting mode without accepting a setting instruction from the user.
The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 2 . When the request acquisition unit acquires the vehicle dispatch request from the user's terminal, if the operation mode corresponding to another user within the search range corresponding to the user is set to an available vehicle waiting mode, the setting unit displays a setting screen for accepting the setting of the available vehicle waiting mode on the user's terminal, and sets the operation mode corresponding to the user to the available vehicle waiting mode by accepting a setting instruction for the available vehicle waiting mode via the setting screen.
The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 2 or 3 . The request acquisition unit causes the terminal to display an expected vehicle confirmation time, which is an expected time from when the operation mode is set to the waiting mode for an available vehicle to when the vehicle is confirmed, based on the number of users who have set the waiting mode for an available vehicle located within the search range corresponding to the boarding position of the user and the supply amount of vehicles.
The vehicle dispatch management device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 . The computer executes
A step of acquiring a request for dispatching a vehicle for transporting a user and a riding position of the user from a terminal of the user who requests dispatching the vehicle;
detecting an empty vehicle and a location of the empty vehicle;
a step of operating in either a normal mode in which, in response to a request for dispatch of the user, a dispatch request is continued for a first time to an available vehicle located within a search range for an available vehicle that is within a predetermined range from the boarding position, or an available vehicle waiting mode in which, in response to a request for dispatch of the user, a dispatch request is continued for a second time that is longer than the first time, and when a request for dispatch of the vehicle is obtained from the terminal, the dispatch request is transmitted in the normal mode ;
a step of changing an operation mode of the computer in a step of transmitting the vehicle dispatch request in response to the vehicle dispatch request of the user from the normal mode to the vacant vehicle waiting mode when a predetermined condition is satisfied while the vehicle dispatch request is being transmitted in the normal mode;
A vehicle dispatch management method having the above structure. A vehicle dispatch management system including a terminal of a user that requests dispatch of a vehicle for transporting a user, and a vehicle dispatch management device,
The terminal includes:
a vehicle dispatch request unit that receives a boarding location from the user and transmits the boarding location and a request to dispatch the vehicle to the boarding location to the vehicle dispatch management device;
The vehicle dispatch management device includes:
A request acquisition unit that acquires a request for dispatching the vehicle and a boarding position of the user from the terminal;
an empty vehicle detection unit that detects an empty vehicle and a position of the empty vehicle;
a request transmission unit that operates in one of two operation modes : a normal mode in which the system continues to transmit a vehicle dispatch request to an available vehicle located within the available vehicle search range, which is within a predetermined range from the boarding position , for a first time in response to the user's vehicle dispatch request, and an available vehicle waiting mode in which the system continues to transmit the vehicle dispatch request for a second time that is longer than the first time in response to the user's vehicle dispatch request, and that transmits the vehicle dispatch request in the normal mode when the request acquisition unit acquires a vehicle dispatch request from the terminal ;
a setting unit that changes an operation mode of the request transmission unit for the user's vehicle dispatch request from the normal mode to the vacant vehicle waiting mode when a predetermined condition is satisfied while the request transmission unit is transmitting the vehicle dispatch request in the normal mode;
having
Vehicle dispatch management system.

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