Ride-sharing vehicle and operation management system

Abstract

The present invention relates to a shared vehicle and an operation management system. An in-vehicle image recognition unit (66) recognizes passengers included in an in-vehicle image captured by a ceiling camera (18) as a camera during the process of the shared vehicle (10) departing from the current stop and heading to the next stop. A congestion rate calculation unit (69) calculates the congestion rate of the vehicle based on the recognized passengers. An in-vehicle display (47B) and an in-vehicle speaker (45) as notification units can issue a getting-off guidance notification for notifying the situation of a passenger getting off at the next stop and the seat information of the passenger when the congestion rate exceeds a specified congestion threshold. On the other hand, when the congestion rate is below the congestion threshold, no getting-off guidance notification is issued during the process of the shared vehicle heading to the next stop.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-107861 filed on June 29, 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference including the specification, claims, drawings, and abstract. Technical Field

[0002] This specification discloses a carpool vehicle and an operation management system including the carpool vehicle. Background Art

[0003] In the past, there is a known system that assists passengers when getting on or off a shared vehicle. For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-134687, when the scheduled stop for getting off input by a passenger in a shared vehicle is the next stop of the shared vehicle, a notification for getting off assistance is displayed on the display unit of a portable terminal owned by the passenger. The notification for getting off assistance includes, for example, a message urging passengers to get off at the next stop or a message urging passengers to press a get off button.

[0004] In addition, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2008-65759, when the scheduled stop reserved by the passenger is the next stop, the display unit in the car displays a screen urging passengers to get off at the next stop. By displaying the getting off guidance on the display unit in the car, the getting off environment can be improved by causing other passengers to move their standing positions.

[0005] In addition, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2008-120574 discloses an elevator entry and exit guidance device. The guidance device receives the exit floor information from the portable terminal carried by the passenger in advance. And if the stopping floor of the elevator car that the passenger is riding on is consistent with the exit floor information, a message such as "exiting the elevator" and a voice such as "welcome to the guests exiting the elevator at this floor" are reported in the elevator car.

[0006] Among them, by notifying other passengers in the car that there are passengers who will get off at the next stop, the getting-off environment can be improved, such as standing passengers moving to ensure the movement line (get-off movement line) to the getting-off entrance. On the other hand, if the getting-off guidance notification is issued when the low congestion of the getting-off movement line is ensured, there is a concern that passengers will be urged to move unnecessarily. Summary of the invention

[0007] In view of this, the present specification discloses an operation management system and a carpool vehicle that can issue a getting-off guidance notice corresponding to the riding conditions in the vehicle.

[0008] In this specification, a operation management system including a shared vehicle and an operation management device is disclosed. The shared vehicle travels on a specified route and can stop at a stop provided along the specified route. The operation management device manages the operation of the shared vehicle. The shared vehicle is equipped with a camera that captures the interior of the vehicle. The operation management device includes an image recognition unit and a congestion rate calculation unit. The image recognition unit identifies the passengers included in the interior image of the shared vehicle captured by the camera during the process of the shared vehicle departing from the current stop and heading to the next stop. The congestion rate calculation unit calculates the congestion rate of the vehicle interior based on the identified passengers. Further, the shared vehicle is equipped with a notification unit. When the congestion rate exceeds a specified congestion threshold, the notification unit can issue a getting-off guidance notification that notifies the fact that there is a passenger getting off at the next stop and the seat information of the passenger. On the other hand, when the congestion rate is below the congestion threshold, the notification unit does not issue a getting-off guidance notification during the process of the shared vehicle heading to the next stop.

[0009] According to the above structure, at a low congestion rate where the congestion rate is below the congestion threshold, the getting-off guidance notification is shelved. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the so-called useless movement requirement that urges passengers to make unnecessary movements.

[0010] In addition, in the above structure, the operation management device includes a storage unit, a determination unit, and an instruction unit. The storage unit stores the getting-off scheduled stop of the shared vehicle and the reservation for getting on and off at the assigned seat. The determination unit can refer to the getting-on and off reservation to perform a getting-off determination, which determines whether the next stop of the shared vehicle is set as the getting-off scheduled stop. When the result of the getting-off determination is that the next stop of the shared vehicle is set as the getting-off scheduled stop, the instruction unit instructs the notification unit to issue a getting-off guidance notification. Further, the determination unit performs the getting-off determination when the congestion rate exceeds the congestion threshold. On the other hand, the determination unit does not perform the getting-off determination when the congestion rate is below the congestion threshold.

[0011] According to the above structure, by shelving the getting-off determination at a low congestion rate, the processing burden on the operation management device as the determination subject can be reduced.

[0012] In addition, in the above structure, the operation management device includes a storage unit, a determination unit, and an instruction unit. In the storage unit, the pick-up and drop-off reservation of the shared vehicle, including the scheduled drop-off stop and the pick-up and drop-off reservation of the assigned seat, is stored. The determination unit makes a drop-off determination with reference to the pick-up and drop-off reservation, and this drop-off determination determines whether the next stop of the shared vehicle is set as the scheduled drop-off stop. When the result of the drop-off determination is that the next stop of the shared vehicle is set as the scheduled drop-off stop, the instruction unit can instruct the notification unit to issue a drop-off guidance notification. In addition, when the congestion rate exceeds the congestion threshold, the instruction unit instructs the notification unit to issue a drop-off guidance notification. On the other hand, when the congestion rate is below the congestion threshold, the instruction unit does not instruct the notification unit to issue a drop-off guidance notification.

[0013] According to the above structure, by suppressing the issuance instruction of the drop-off guidance notification by the instruction unit at a low congestion rate, the notification unit of the shared vehicle can be shelved from issuing the drop-off guidance notification.

[0014] In addition, in the above structure, the determination unit may not target the pick-up and drop-off reservation that sets the seats included within a prescribed range near the drop-off opening of the shared vehicle as assigned seats for the drop-off determination.

[0015] According to the above structure, when a passenger sitting in a seat near the drop-off opening with a short drop-off activity line gets off, the issuance of the drop-off guidance notification can be suppressed.

[0016] In addition, in the above structure, the age information of the passenger wishing to board can be stored in the pick-up and drop-off reservation in association with the scheduled drop-off stop and the assigned seat. In this case, the determination unit does not target the pick-up and drop-off reservation that sets the seats included within a prescribed range near the drop-off opening of the shared vehicle as assigned seats and the age of the passenger wishing to board exceeds the prescribed age threshold for the drop-off determination.

[0017] According to the above structure, in the case of a low-age person such as a young child, regardless of the seat position, they are regarded as the object of drop-off guidance. Thus, smooth drop-off of low-age persons can be achieved.

[0018] In addition, in the present specification, a shared vehicle that travels on a specified route and can stop at a stop provided along the specified route is disclosed. The shared vehicle includes a camera, an image recognition unit, a congestion rate calculation unit, and a notification unit. The camera captures the interior of the vehicle compartment. The image recognition unit identifies the passengers included in the image of the interior of the vehicle compartment captured by the camera during the process of departing from the current stop and heading to the next stop. The congestion rate calculation unit calculates the congestion rate of the vehicle compartment based on the identified passengers. When the congestion rate exceeds a specified congestion threshold, the notification unit can issue a getting-off guidance notification notifying the situation that there is a passenger getting off at the next stop and the seat information of the passenger. On the other hand, when the congestion rate is below the congestion threshold, the notification unit does not issue a getting-off guidance notification during the process of heading to the next stop.

[0019] In addition, in the above structure, the shared vehicle may include a storage unit, a determination unit, and an instruction unit. The storage unit stores a boarding and alighting reservation that sets a reserved getting-off stop and a designated seat. The determination unit can refer to the boarding and alighting reservation to perform a getting-off determination, which determines whether the next stop is set as a reserved getting-off stop. When the result of the getting-off determination is that the next stop is set as a reserved getting-off stop, the instruction unit instructs the notification unit to issue a getting-off guidance notification. In addition, the determination unit performs the getting-off determination when the congestion rate exceeds the congestion threshold. On the other hand, the determination unit does not perform the getting-off determination when the congestion rate is below the congestion threshold.

[0020] In addition, in the above structure, the shared vehicle may include a storage unit, a determination unit, and an instruction unit. The storage unit stores a boarding and alighting reservation that sets a reserved getting-off stop and a designated seat. The determination unit refers to the boarding and alighting reservation to perform a getting-off determination, which determines whether the next stop is set as a reserved getting-off stop. When the result of the getting-off determination is that the next stop is set as a reserved getting-off stop, the instruction unit can instruct the notification unit to issue a getting-off guidance notification. In addition, the instruction unit instructs the notification unit to issue a getting-off guidance notification when the congestion rate exceeds the congestion threshold. On the other hand, the instruction unit does not instruct the notification unit to issue a getting-off guidance notification when the congestion rate is below the congestion threshold.

[0021] In addition, in the above structure, the determination unit may not use the boarding and alighting reservation that sets the seat within a specified vicinity range from the getting-off opening as a designated seat as an object of the getting-off determination.

[0022] In addition, in the above structure, age information of the passenger who wishes to board can be stored in the boarding and alighting reservation in association with the reserved getting-off stop and the designated seat. In this case, the determination unit does not use the boarding and alighting reservation that sets the seat within a specified vicinity range from the getting-off opening as a designated seat and the age of the passenger who wishes to board exceeds a specified age threshold as an object of the getting-off determination.

[0023] According to the carpooling vehicle and operation management system disclosed in this specification, it is possible to issue a getting-off guidance notice corresponding to the riding situation in the vehicle. Description of the Drawings

[0024] Figure 1 It is a diagram illustrating the transportation service provided by the operation management system according to this embodiment.

[0025] Figure 2 It is a diagram illustrating the hardware structure of the operation management system according to this embodiment.

[0026] Figure 3 It is a diagram illustrating the functional modules of the operation management system according to this embodiment.

[0027] Figure 4 It is a diagram illustrating the operation schedule.

[0028] Figure 5 It is a diagram illustrating the appearance of the carpooling vehicle according to this embodiment.

[0029] Figure 6 It is a diagram illustrating the interior of the carpooling vehicle according to this embodiment.

[0030] Figure 7 It is a diagram illustrating the interior image.

[0031] Figure 8 It is a diagram showing an example when image recognition based on the SSD algorithm is performed on the interior image.

[0032] Figure 9 It is a flowchart illustrating the getting-off guidance determination process.

[0033] Figure 10 It is a diagram illustrating the operation schedule of the carpooling vehicle running on a specified route.

[0034] Figure 11 It is a flowchart showing another example of the getting-off guidance determination process.

[0035] Figure 12 It is a diagram illustrating the functional modules of the operation management system according to another example of this embodiment. Detailed Embodiments

[0036] Hereinafter, embodiments of the operation management system according to this specification will be described with reference to the drawings. The shapes, materials, numbers, and numerical values described below are illustrative examples for explanation and can be appropriately changed according to the specifications of the operation management system. In addition, the same reference numerals are assigned to equivalent elements in all the drawings below.

[0037] <Transportation Service>

[0038] Figure 1 The outline of the transportation service provided by the operation management system according to this embodiment is illustrated. The operation management system includes a plurality of shared vehicles 10-1 to 10-8 and an operation management device 50 that manages the operation of the shared vehicles 10-1 to 10-8.

[0039] In Figure 1 In the illustrated transportation service, the shared vehicle 10 travels on a specified path 90 as an operation path, transporting an indefinite large number of users. The specified path 90 can be, for example, a circular path. The shared vehicle 10 circulates unidirectionally along the illustrated arrow on the specified path 90. Also, the shared vehicle 10 can stop at the stops ST1 to ST3 provided along the specified path 90.

[0040] The specified path 90 can be, for example, a dedicated road where only the shared vehicle 10 is allowed to travel. When the shared vehicle 10 is a railway vehicle, the specified path 90 can be a loop line. Alternatively, the specified path 90 can be a route set on a general road where vehicles other than the shared vehicle 10 can also pass.

[0041] In addition, a garage 92 is provided connected to the specified path 90. Figure 1 The shared vehicles 10-5 to 10-8 waiting in the garage 92 are illustrated. As connection points with the garage 92, a recovery point Pout and a delivery point Pin are provided on the specified path 90.

[0042] In addition, an operation schedule update point Pu for conveying the respective operation schedules to the running shared vehicles 10-1 to 10-4 is provided on the specified path 90. At the schedule update point Pu, the operation management device 50 provides the shared vehicle 10 passing through this point with a one-week amount of the operation schedule of the shared vehicle 10 starting from the operation schedule update point Pu.

[0043] As will be described later, in the operation management system according to this embodiment, it is determined whether to notify the getting-off guidance based on the occupancy rate in the vehicle. The getting-off guidance notification means that when there is a pick-up and drop-off reservation in the operation schedule as illustrated in Figure 4 and the next stop is set as the scheduled getting-off stop, the passengers (getting-off passengers) getting off at the next stop and the seat information of the getting-off passengers are notified inside the vehicle.

[0044] This getting-off guidance notification is issued while the shared vehicle 10 departs from the current stop and heads towards the next stop. By issuing the getting-off guidance notification before arriving at the next stop, for example, standing passengers can be urged to move to ensure the getting-off activity line. In addition, by including the seat information where the getting-off passengers are seated in the getting-off guidance notification, the passengers in the vehicle can understand the starting point of the getting-off activity line with the getting-off gate as the end point (i.e., the seats of the getting-off passengers).

[0045] Moreover, in the operation management system according to this embodiment, when the congestion rate in the vehicle is low, i.e., lower than a specified congestion threshold, the issuance of the getting-off guidance notification is suppressed. By not issuing the getting-off guidance notification when the getting-off activity line is ensured to be uncongested, unnecessary movement of standing passengers can be suppressed.

[0046] <Overall Structure of the Operation Management System>

[0047] Figure 2 The hardware structures of the operation management system according to this embodiment and the portable terminal 70 that can access the system are illustrated. Additionally, Figure 3 The functional modules of the operation management system and the portable terminal 70 are illustrated. As described above, the operation management system is configured to include the shared vehicle 10 and the operation management device 50. The shared vehicle 10, the operation management device 50, and the portable terminal 70 can communicate with each other using communication means such as the Internet 95.

[0048] <Portable Terminal>

[0049] The portable terminal 70 can be operated by a passenger who wishes to board the shared vehicle 10. The portable terminal 70 can be, for example, a smartphone, and as its hardware structure, it includes an input / output controller 71 that controls the input and output of data. Additionally, the portable terminal 70 includes a CPU 72 as an arithmetic device, and a ROM 75, a RAM 76, and a storage device 77 as storage units. The storage device 77 can be, for example, an SSD (Solid State Drive).

[0050] Moreover, the portable terminal 70 includes an input unit 73 and a display unit 74. For example, a touch panel in which the input unit 73 and the display unit 74 are integrated is provided in the portable terminal 70. Also, the portable terminal 70 includes a positioning unit 78 and a clock 80. The positioning unit 78 is, for example, a receiver that receives positioning signals from satellites in the GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). Various hardware components of the portable terminal 70 are connected to the internal bus 79.

[0051] A program is stored in at least one of the ROM 75 and the storage device 77 as a storage device, and by the CPU 72 executing this program, the portable terminal 70 is configuredFigure 3 The illustrated bus application 81. The bus application 81 is software for enhancing the convenience of the transportation service according to the present embodiment, and includes an operation schedule display unit 82 and a boarding / reserving input unit 84.

[0052] The operation schedule display unit 82 displays the operation schedule (e.g., timetable) of the shared vehicle 10 and the actual operation status on the display unit 74. For example, the operation schedule and the actual operation status of the stops ST1 to ST3 closest to the current position of the portable terminal 70 received by the positioning unit 78 are displayed on the display unit 74.

[0053] The boarding / reserving input unit 84 makes a reservation for boarding at the assigned seats 42A to 42F (refer to Figure 6 ) of the shared vehicle 10. For example, a passenger wishing to board can make a reservation for the assigned seats 42A to 42F by inputting the boarding date and time, the boarding stop ST1 to ST3, and the alighting stop ST1 to ST3 from the input unit 73.

[0054] <Shared Vehicle>

[0055] Figure 5 The appearance of the shared vehicle 10 is illustrated, Figure 6 and the inside of the cabin 40 of the shared vehicle 10 is illustrated. Among them, in Figure 5 , Figure 6 , the front-rear direction of the vehicle body is represented by the axis indicated by the symbol FR, the vehicle width direction is represented by the axis indicated by the symbol RW (Right Width), and the vehicle height direction is represented by the axis indicated by the symbol UP.

[0056] Refer to Figure 5 , the shared vehicle 10 is used as a shared bus, and a pair of doors 41, 41 serving as the boarding and alighting openings are provided on the left side. In addition, an external vehicle display 47A is provided in front of the vehicle. The external vehicle display 47A is also called a so-called digital signboard and is composed of a liquid crystal display or an LED display.

[0057] Refer to Figure 6 , a plurality of seats for passengers are provided along the wall surface inside the cabin 40. For example, regarding the seats, assigned seats 42A to 42F that can be reserved in advance and non-reservable free seats 49 are provided. In addition, a plurality of hanging handles 44 are provided on the ceiling for supporting standing passengers. In addition, armrests 46 are provided on the side walls of the cabin 40.

[0058] Above the doors 41, 41, an in-vehicle display 47B serving as a notification unit is provided. The in-vehicle display 47B, like the out-vehicle display 47A, is composed of a liquid crystal display or an LED display. As will be described later, the in-vehicle display 47B displays a text message as a way of issuing a getting-off guidance notification. Such a text message is, for example, a message urging standing passengers to form a getting-off activity line, such as "The passenger sitting in seat XX will get off at the next stop. Please help to complete a smooth getting-off." Among them, this getting-off guidance message can also be output as a voice guidance from an in-vehicle speaker 45 serving as a notification unit provided on the ceiling of the carriage 40.

[0059] On the central part of the ceiling of the carriage 40, a ceiling camera 18 serving as a camera is provided. For example, the ceiling camera 18 is provided at the center in the vehicle width direction and the center in the vehicle longitudinal direction of the carriage 40. For example, the ceiling camera 18 is equipped with an image sensor such as a CMOS sensor or a CCD sensor.

[0060] For example, the ceiling camera 18 can be a so-called 360° camera and can capture the entire passenger space of the carriage 40. For example, the ceiling camera 18 includes the entire floor 43 of the carriage 40 in its field of view.

[0061] The in-carriage image captured by the ceiling camera 18 is, for example, Figure 7 such a top-down image. Based on such an in-carriage image, the congestion rate A of the carriage 40 can be obtained.

[0062] In addition, as will be described later, when calculating the congestion rate A, the number of passengers in the carriage 40 is calculated. When calculating the number of passengers, instead of the ceiling camera 18 provided on the ceiling, for example, the in-carriage image of a side camera (not shown) provided above the side wall of the carriage 40 can be used.

[0063] <Ride-sharing vehicle's autonomous driving control mechanism>

[0064] Refer to Figure 2 、 Figure 3 , the ride-sharing vehicle 10 is, for example, an autonomous driving vehicle with an autonomous driving function. For example, when providing transportation services, when the ride-sharing vehicle 10 is traveling on a specified route 90 (refer to Figure 1 ), based on the standards of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) in the United States, the ride-sharing vehicle 10 can achieve Level 4 or Level 5 autonomous driving.

[0065] The shared vehicle 10 is utilized as a shared bus that travels along a specified route 90 through autonomous driving and stops at stops ST1 to ST3 to pick up and drop off passengers. For example, the shared vehicle 10 is an electric vehicle (BEV, Battery Electric Vehicle) that uses a rotary electric machine 17 (motor) as a drive source and an unillustrated storage battery as a power source. Additionally, the shared vehicle 10 includes a braking mechanism 14A, a steering control mechanism 14B, and an inverter 14C that controls the output of the rotary electric machine 17 as a driving control mechanism.

[0066] Moreover, the shared vehicle 10 includes an external camera 11A, a lidar unit 11B, a proximity sensor 12, a positioning unit 13, a clock 15, and a control unit 20 as mechanisms for obtaining the vehicle's own position and grasping the surrounding conditions. For example, in the shared vehicle 10, sensor units are provided on its front surface, rear surface, and both side surfaces. The sensor unit is configured to include the external camera 11A and the lidar unit 11B.

[0067] The lidar unit 11B is a sensor unit for autonomous driving and is a ranging unit capable of measuring the distance between the vehicle and objects in its vicinity. In the lidar unit 11B, lidar (LiDAR, Light Detection and Ranging), that is, a technology using laser to measure the distance to surrounding objects, can be used. The lidar unit 11B is, for example, a solid-state type unit, and three-dimensional point cloud data related to the surrounding environment of the shared vehicle 10 can be obtained through this unit.

[0068] The external camera 11A captures the same field of view as the lidar unit 11B. The external camera 11A includes, for example, an image sensor such as a CMOS sensor or a CCD sensor. The proximity sensor 12 is, for example, an infrared sensor and is provided, for example, at the four corners of the shared vehicle 10 in a top view. For example, when the shared vehicle 10 arrives at the boarding location, the proximity sensor 12 detects protrusions such as the curb of the sidewalk. Through this detection, precise arrival control for parking the shared vehicle 10 close to the curb can be achieved. The positioning unit 13 is a system that performs positioning through artificial satellites, and for example, a global navigation satellite system can be used.

[0069] The control unit 20 can be, for example, the electronic control unit (ECU) of the shared vehicle 10 and is composed of a computer (electronic computer). Refer to Figure 2, the control unit 20 has an input / output controller 21 for controlling data input / output as its hardware structure. In addition, the control unit 20 has a CPU 22, a GPU 23 (Graphics Processing Unit), and a DLA 24 (Deep Learning Accelerators) as computing devices. In addition, the control unit 20 has a ROM 25, a RAM 26, and a hard disk drive 27 (HDD) as storage units. In addition, a storage device such as an SSD (Solid State Drive) can be used instead of the hard disk drive 27. These components are connected to the internal bus 28.

[0070] A program for autonomous driving control of the shared vehicle 10 is stored in at least one of the ROM 25 and the hard disk drive 27 as storage devices. By executing the above program by the CPU 22 etc. of the control unit 20, the following Figure 3 function modules as exemplified are formed in the control unit 20. Alternatively, by the CPU 22 reading a non-temporary storage medium such as a DVD storing the program and executing it, the following Figure 3 function modules as exemplified can also be formed in the control unit 20.

[0071] That is, the control unit 20 has a scan data analysis unit 30, a self-position estimation unit 31, an autonomous driving control unit 32, and a driving guidance unit 33 as function modules. In addition, the control unit 20 has a dynamic map storage unit 34 and a driving schedule storage unit 35 as storage units.

[0072] The scan data analysis unit 30 acquires the captured image taken by the vehicle exterior camera 11A. The scan data analysis unit 30 performs image recognition using a known deep learning algorithm on the acquired captured image. Through this image recognition, object detection and its attribute (vehicle, pedestrian, structure, etc.) recognition in the captured image are performed.

[0073] In addition, the scan data analysis unit 30 acquires three-dimensional point cloud data from the lidar unit 11B. And the scan data analysis unit 30 creates peripheral data in which the captured image after image recognition and the coordinates of the three-dimensional point cloud data are overlapped. Through the peripheral data, it is possible to detect how far away an object of which attribute is from the shared vehicle 10. This peripheral data is transmitted to the autonomous driving control unit 32.

[0074] The self-position estimation unit 31 acquires self-position information (latitude, longitude) from the positioning unit 13. For example, the self-position estimation unit 31 acquires self-position information from artificial satellites. The self-position information (own vehicle position information) thus obtained is transmitted to the autonomous driving control unit 32.

[0075] The dynamic map storage unit 34 stores the driving route map data created by the driving route creation unit 62 of the operation management device 50. The driving route map data includes the dynamic map data described later. In addition, the operation schedule storage unit 35 stores the operation schedule created by the operation schedule creation unit 61 of the operation management device 50 (refer to Figure 4 ).

[0076] The autonomous driving control unit 32 performs driving control of the shared vehicle 10 based on the driving route map data stored in the dynamic map storage unit 34, the self-position information (own vehicle position information) sent from the self-position estimation unit 31, and the surrounding data sent from the scan data analysis unit 30. In addition, when the shared vehicle 10 arrives at the stops ST1 to ST3, it stands by at the stops ST1 to ST3 until the departure time set in the operation schedule.

[0077] <Operation Management Device>

[0078] Refer to Figure 1 , the operation management device 50 is provided, for example, in a management company that provides a transportation service using a plurality of shared vehicles 10. The operation management device 50 is constituted by a computer (electronic computer), for example. Refer to Figure 2 , the operation management device 50 includes an input / output controller 51 that controls the input / output of data as its hardware configuration. In addition, the operation management device 50 includes a CPU 52A, a GPU 52B, a DLA 52C, an input unit 53, a display unit 54, a ROM 55, a RAM 56, a hard disk drive 57 (HDD), and a clock 59. In addition, a storage device such as an SSD (Solid State Drive) can be used instead of the hard disk drive 57. These constituent components are connected to the internal bus 58.

[0079] A program for performing operation management is stored in at least one of the ROM 55 and the hard disk drive 57 as a storage device. By executing the above program by the CPU 52A etc. of the operation management device 50, function modules as exemplified in Figure 3 are formed in the operation management device 50. In addition, by the CPU 52A reading a non-temporary storage medium such as a DVD storing the program and executing it, function modules as exemplified in Figure 3 can also be formed in the operation management device 50.

[0080] That is, the operation management device 50 includes an operation schedule storage unit 68 and a dynamic map storage unit 67 as storage units. In addition, the operation management device 50 includes an operation schedule creation unit 61, a driving route creation unit 62, a boarding reservation setting unit 63, an alighting guidance determination unit 64, an alighting guidance instruction unit 65, an in-vehicle image recognition unit 66, and a congestion rate calculation unit 69 as functional units.

[0081] Dynamic map data as map data is stored in the dynamic map storage unit 67. The dynamic map is a three-dimensional map, and stores, for example, the position and shape (three-dimensional shape) of lanes. The three-dimensional shape of the lane includes, for example, slope, width, etc. In addition, the positions of lane lines, crosswalks, stop lines, etc. extending along the lane are also stored in the dynamic map. In addition, the positions and shapes (three-dimensional shapes) of structures such as bus stops, buildings, traffic lights, etc. around the road are also stored in the dynamic map. Also, the position and shape of the parking lot are stored in the dynamic map.

[0082] For example, in the dynamic map, a geographic coordinate system including latitude and longitude is used. When the shared vehicle 10 performs autonomous driving, the travel route creation unit 62 extracts dynamic map data from the dynamic map storage unit 67 to create travel map data including the travel route and the positions of bus stops.

[0083] The operation schedule creation unit 61 creates an operation schedule (i.e., operation timetable) for the shared vehicle 10. For example, if receiving travel map data from the travel route creation unit 62, the operation schedule creation unit 61 creates an operation schedule based on the travel route, the rated speed of the shared vehicle 10, and the standard parking time at bus stops ST1 to ST3, etc.

[0084] Figure 4 An example of the operation schedule provided to the shared vehicle 10 is shown. In the operation schedule, in addition to setting the scheduled arrival time and scheduled departure time of each bus stop ST1 to ST3, the passing time of the operation schedule update point Pu (refer to Figure 1 ) and the scheduled passing time of the pick-up point Pout and the scheduled passing time of the drop-off point Pin are also set.

[0085] In addition, columns for recording the actual passing / arrival / departure times of each point and columns for inputting the congestion rate are provided in the operation schedule. In addition, columns for recording the presence or absence of boarding reservations and alighting reservations and the age information of the passengers wishing to ride are also provided in the operation schedule.

[0086] The designated seat numbers that have been reserved are recorded in the columns for boarding reservations and alighting reservations. In addition, as will be described later, for example, the age of the passenger wishing to ride is recorded in order to determine whether the passenger is a young child. For example, as will be described later, when alighting, instead of a young child who is difficult to make a sound to urge standing passengers to move, a disembarkation guidance notice is issued inside the vehicle.

[0087] For example, the operation schedule creation unit 61 creates for a specified path 90 (refer to Figure 1A schedule (overall schedule) for one round of the specified route 90 starting from the operation schedule update point Pu for all the shared vehicles 10-1 to 10-4 in operation. This overall schedule is stored in the operation schedule storage unit 68.

[0088] In addition, the operation schedule creation unit 61 creates individual operation schedules (individual schedules) for each of the shared vehicles 10-1 to 10-4 based on the overall schedule. As Figure 4 illustrated, as an individual schedule, a schedule for one week of the shared vehicle 10 starting from the operation schedule update point Pu can be created. When the shared vehicle 10 passes through the operation schedule update point Pu, the created individual schedule is provided to the shared vehicle 10. The provided operation schedule (individual schedule) is stored in the operation schedule storage unit 35 within the shared vehicle 10.

[0089] Refer to Figure 3 , the boarding and alighting reservation setting unit 63 accepts the boarding reservation information input from the portable terminal 70 (such as a smart phone) of the passenger who wishes to board, and stores it in the operation schedule storage unit 68. The boarding reservation information includes the stop where the passenger who wishes to board is scheduled to board, that is, the boarding scheduled stop, the stop where the passenger is scheduled to alight, that is, the alighting scheduled stop, and the designated seat number where the passenger is scheduled to sit. In addition, the age information of the passenger who wishes to board is included in the boarding reservation information in association with the above items. And, in addition to this, the boarding desired time, the vehicle desired to board, etc. may also be included in the boarding reservation information.

[0090] For example, refer to Figure 4 , in this operation schedule, the boarding reservation information of a 9-year-old passenger who is scheduled to board at the stop ST2 and sit in the designated seat 42B is set. In addition, in this operation schedule, the boarding reservation information of 65-year-old and 63-year-old passengers who are scheduled to board at the stop ST3 and sit in the designated seats 42D and 42E, and the alighting reservation information of the 9-year-old passenger sitting in the designated seat 42B who is scheduled to alight at the stop ST3 are set. In this way, the boarding reservation information set by the boarding and alighting reservation setting unit 63 is stored in the operation schedule storage unit 68.

[0091] The alighting guidance determination unit 64 makes an alighting determination, which determines whether the next stop of the shared vehicle 10 is set as the alighting scheduled stop. For example, this alighting determination is executed while the shared vehicle 10 is traveling from the current stop to the next stop. At this alighting determination, the alighting guidance determination unit 64 refers to the boarding and alighting reservation information stored in the operation schedule storage unit 68. The detailed content of the alighting determination will be described later.

[0092] The getting-off guidance instruction unit 65 determines whether to issue a getting-off guidance notification based on the getting-off determination result of the getting-off guidance determination unit 64 and the congestion rate A calculated by the congestion rate calculation unit 69 of the shared vehicle 10.

[0093] The details of this determination process will be described later. However, when it is determined through the getting-off determination that getting-off reservation information with the next stop as the reserved getting-off stop is set and the congestion rate A exceeds the specified congestion threshold K1, the getting-off guidance instruction unit 65 instructs the notification unit to issue a getting-off guidance notification via the operation guidance unit 33 of the shared vehicle 10. Here, the notification unit includes at least one of the in-vehicle speaker 45 and the in-vehicle display 47B. The in-vehicle speaker 45 and the in-vehicle display 47B as the notification unit receive the above notification instruction and output an operation guidance message (voice message and text message).

[0094] On the other hand, even if the next stop is set as the reserved getting-off stop, but in the case of a low congestion state where the congestion rate A is below the specified congestion threshold K1, the getting-off guidance instruction unit 65 does not instruct the notification unit (in-vehicle speaker 45 and in-vehicle display 47B) to issue a getting-off guidance notification. By not performing a getting-off guidance notification when the getting-off activity line can be ensured in a low congestion situation, unnecessary movement of standing passengers can be suppressed.

[0095] <Calculation of Congestion Rate 1>

[0096] The in-vehicle image recognition unit 66 acquires the in-vehicle image captured by the ceiling camera 18 of the shared vehicle 10 and recognizes the image areas of the passengers included in the image. For example, the in-vehicle image recognition unit 66 is equipped with an SSD (Single Shot Multibox Detector) using supervised learning as the image recognition algorithm.

[0097] Since the SSD algorithm is a known technology, it will be briefly described here. In the SSD algorithm, position inference and clustering inference are performed in the captured image. That is, both inferences of where an object exists in the image and what the attributes (clustering) of the object are are performed simultaneously in parallel, that is, through a single operation (SingleShot) using a neural network.

[0098] In the SSD algorithm, when detecting a person, instead of extracting the boundary between the person and the outside, the boundary of the person is divided by the "bounding box" of the Figure 8 rectangular box as exemplified. For example, in the SSD algorithm, when performing position inference, multiple (e.g., nearly 10,000) rectangular boxes called default boxes with different sizes and shapes are nested on the image, and it is calculated which box exactly includes the object. And the attributes (clustering) of the object captured by the box are displayed in each bounding box.

[0099] The in-vehicle image recognition unit 66 recognizes passengers 101A and 101B in the captured image and surrounds them with frames 111A and 111B, and assigns the value of the attribute "Passenger" to the recognized passengers. In order to achieve such image recognition, for example, the SSD algorithm is learned using teaching data. The teaching data has a pair of teaching data sets that take the images of standing and seated persons as input data and the position parameters of the cluster "Passenger" and the frames surrounding the passengers as output data.

[0100] Position parameters are assigned to each frame. That is, the center coordinates C [Cx, Cy] of the frame in the plane coordinates of the captured image, the frame width W, and the frame height H are assigned as the position parameters of the frame.

[0101] The occupancy rate calculation unit 69 counts the number Np of passengers recognized by the in-vehicle image recognition unit 66. And, the occupancy rate calculation unit 69 refers to the seating capacity Nc of the shared vehicle 10. The seating capacity Nc is stored, for example, in a storage unit (not shown) of the shared vehicle 10. The occupancy rate calculation unit 69 obtains the occupancy rate A [%] (A = Np / Nc) based on the ratio of the number of passengers Np to the seating capacity Nc. The obtained occupancy rate A is transmitted to the alighting guidance determination unit 64 of the operation management device 50.

[0102] <Calculation of Occupancy Rate 2>

[0103] In addition, instead of using the number of passengers to obtain the occupancy rate A, the occupancy rate A can be obtained using the occupied area of the frame. As described above, the frame includes the frame width W and the frame height H as its position parameters. The area Sb of the frame can be obtained based on the product of the frame width W and the frame height H. The area Sb of this frame is used as the occupied area of the person. In addition, compared with the side view image of the side camera that captures the inside of the vehicle from the side of the vehicle, by using the top view image of the ceiling camera 18, the occupied area of the person can be obtained with high accuracy.

[0104] The occupancy rate calculation unit 69 obtains the sum ΣSb of the areas Sb of the frames that divide the passengers recognized by the in-vehicle image recognition unit 66. And, the occupancy rate calculation unit 69 obtains the occupancy rate in the vehicle 40 based on the sum of areas ΣSb and the floor area Sa of the vehicle 40. Specifically, the occupancy rate calculation unit 69 obtains the ratio (ΣSb / Sa) × 100 [%] of the total occupied area ΣSb of the passengers to the floor area Sa of the vehicle as the occupancy rate A.

[0105] <Alighting Guidance Determination Process>

[0106] Figure 9 The alighting guidance determination process in the operation management system according to the present embodiment is illustrated. Among them, each step of this process is executed within the operation management device 50.

[0107] This is executed, for example, when the shared vehicle 10 departs from the current stop and heads for the next stop. For example, it is executed at the departure time from the current stop. Figure 9 The alighting guidance determination process. For example, the operation guidance unit 33 of the shared vehicle 10 transmits the departure time from the current stop to the operation management device 50. This process is executed by taking the reception of this departure time as a trigger. Figure 9 The process.

[0108] In addition, as follows Figure 10 For the operation schedule, the current stop is taken as stop ST2 and the next stop is taken as stop ST3 to explain the process. In addition, for the sake of easy explanation, in the following description, the alighting guidance process executed for the shared vehicle 10-1 among the shared vehicles 10-1 to 10-4 in motion is described. In addition, Figure 1 The alighting guidance process of course can be executed for all the shared vehicles 10-1 to 10-8. Figure 9

[0109] When the shared vehicle 10-1 departs from the current stop ST2, the in-vehicle image recognition unit 66 acquires the in-vehicle image captured by the ceiling camera 18 as the in-vehicle camera (S10). This in-vehicle image is captured by the ceiling camera 18 while the shared vehicle 10-1 departs from the current stop ST2 and heads for the next stop ST3. And the in-vehicle image recognition unit 66 performs Figure 8 The image recognition of the passengers in the in-vehicle image as exemplified (S12).

[0110] Next, the occupancy rate calculation unit 69 calculates the occupancy rate A of the vehicle compartment 40 based on the passengers recognized by the in-vehicle image recognition unit 66. For example, the occupancy rate calculation unit 69 calculates the occupancy rate A [%] (= Np / Nc) based on the number of passengers Np and the seating capacity Nc of the shared vehicle 10 (S14). Or, the occupancy rate calculation unit 69 calculates the total sum ΣSb of the areas of the frames of the passengers, and calculates the ratio of the total area sum ΣSb to the vehicle compartment floor area Sa, that is, the occupancy rate A [%].

[0111] Next, the occupancy rate calculation unit 69 determines whether the occupancy rate A of the received shared vehicle 10-1 exceeds a specified occupancy threshold K1 (S16). The occupancy threshold K1 can be, for example, a value of 70% or more and 100% or less.

[0112] Figure 9 When the occupancy rate A is below the occupancy threshold K1, Figure 9The alighting guidance determination process ends. That is, the alighting guidance determination unit 64 does not perform the alighting determination. On the other hand, when the congestion rate A exceeds the congestion threshold K1, the congestion rate calculation unit 69 sends a notice indicating that the vehicle is congested to the alighting guidance determination unit 64. The alighting guidance determination unit 64 receives this notice and performs the alighting determination with reference to the operation schedule of the shared vehicle 10-1 stored in the operation schedule storage unit 68, and particularly refers to the boarding and alighting reservation information.

[0113] Here, the alighting guidance determination unit 64 performs its pre-processing (S18, S20) before the alighting determination described below. In this pre-processing, the seats included within a specified vicinity range starting from the alighting opening (door 41) of the shared vehicle 10-1 are set such that the boarding and alighting reservations for the designated seats do not become the object of the alighting determination performed in step S22. For example, as the seats near such an alighting opening, referring to Figure 6 , the designated seats 42A to 42C opposite the alighting opening are set such that the boarding and alighting reservations for the designated seats do not become the object of the alighting determination.

[0114] In addition, hereinafter, in order to avoid verbose descriptions, "setting the seats (designated seats 42A to 42C) included within a specified vicinity range starting from the alighting opening (door 41) of the shared vehicle 10-1 as the boarding and alighting reservations for the designated seats" is appropriately described as "reservation near the alighting opening".

[0115] The alighting guidance determination process is a process for urging the smooth formation of an alighting activity line when the vehicle is congested. For the designated seats 42A to 42C near the alighting opening (door 41), even when it is congested, the alighting activity line is short, and the alighting passengers can form the alighting activity line only by greeting a few standing passengers near the boarding and alighting opening (door 41).

[0116] In this way, by excluding the reservation near the alighting opening where it is easy to form the alighting activity line from the object of the alighting determination, the number of times of issuing the alighting guidance notice can be reduced, and the quietness inside the vehicle can be maintained accordingly.

[0117] The alighting guidance determination unit 64 refers to the operation schedule of the shared vehicle 10-1 stored in the operation schedule storage unit 68. Moreover, the alighting guidance determination unit 64 extracts the reservation near the alighting opening (S18).

[0118] Here, between step S18 (extraction of the reservation near the alighting opening) and step S22 (alighting determination), a step S20 for confirming the age of the passenger who wishes to board can be arbitrarily set. When the passengers sitting on the designated seats 42A to 42C near the alighting opening are infants, it is difficult for the infants to greet the standing passengers, and there is also a concern that it is difficult to form the alighting activity line.

[0119] In view of this, in step S20, the getting-off guidance determination unit 64 confirms the age of the passenger who wishes to board and is reserved near the getting-off port. Moreover, the boarding and alighting reservation in which the age of the passenger who wishes to board exceeds the specified age threshold K2 (for example, 15 years old) is excluded from the object of getting-off determination (S22). The boarding and alighting reservation in which the age of the passenger who wishes to board is below the age threshold K2 is set as the object of getting-off determination.

[0120] Next, the getting-off guidance determination unit 64 performs a getting-off determination, which determines whether there is boarding and alighting reservation information in which the next stop ST3 of the shared vehicle 10-1 is set as the reserved getting-off stop (S22). For example, in Figure 10 the example, the reserved getting-off stop of the passenger in seat 42B is set as the next stop ST3 of the shared vehicle 10-1. In this case, the getting-off guidance determination unit 64 sends the determination result of getting-off setting to the getting-off guidance instruction unit 65.

[0121] On the other hand, in the case where there is no boarding and alighting reservation information in which the next stop ST3 of the shared vehicle 10-1 is set as the reserved getting-off stop, the getting-off guidance determination unit 64 sends the determination result of no getting-off setting to the getting-off guidance instruction unit 65.

[0122] In the case of receiving the determination result of no getting-off setting, the getting-off guidance instruction unit 65 causes Figure 9 the getting-off guidance determination process to end. As a result, since no release instruction is input to the in-vehicle speaker 45 and the in-vehicle display 47B, which are notification units, the in-vehicle speaker 45 and the in-vehicle display 47B do not issue getting-off guidance notifications during the process of the shared vehicle 10-1 heading to the next stop.

[0123] On the other hand, in the case of receiving the determination result of getting-off setting from the getting-off guidance determination unit 64, the getting-off guidance instruction unit 65 instructs the in-vehicle speaker 45 and the in-vehicle display 47B, which are notification units, to issue getting-off guidance notifications via the operation guidance unit 33 of the shared vehicle 10-1 (S24). In addition, at this time, the seat information (for example, seat number) of the passengers sitting in the seats where the next stop ST3 is the reserved getting-off stop can also be transmitted to the operation guidance unit 33. The in-vehicle speaker 45 and the in-vehicle display 47B receive the release instruction and the seat information and output a getting-off guidance notification indicating that the passengers who received the received seat information will get off at the next stop ST3.

[0124] According to the alighting guidance process as described above, when the vehicle compartment 40 is crowded (crowding rate A > crowding threshold K1), the in-vehicle speaker 45 and the in-vehicle display 47B, which serve as the notification units, issue alighting guidance notifications. On the other hand, when the vehicle compartment 40 is empty (crowding rate A ≤ crowding threshold K1), the in-vehicle speaker 45 and the in-vehicle display 47B do not issue alighting guidance notifications during the process of the shared vehicle 10 traveling towards the next stop. In particular, in the latter case, unnecessary movement of passengers, especially standing passengers, can be suppressed.

[0125] <Other Examples of the Alighting Guidance Determination Process>

[0126] In Figure 9 's example, alighting determination and its pre-processing (S18 - S22) are performed based on whether the crowding rate A exceeds the crowding threshold K1, but the order can also be reversed. Other examples of such alighting guidance determination processes are illustrated, for example, in Figure 11 In this process, the departure time from the current stop is transmitted by the travel guidance unit 33 of the shared vehicle 10 to the traffic management device 50. Taking the reception of this departure time as a trigger, the process of Figure 11 is executed.

[0127] In this process, first, the alighting guidance determination unit 64 performs alighting determination and its pre-processing (S18 - S22). When the alighting guidance determination unit 64 determines that there is no alighting setting, the process can end directly. On the other hand, when the alighting guidance determination unit 64 determines that there is an alighting setting, the in-vehicle image recognition unit 66 and the crowding rate calculation unit 69 of the shared vehicle 10 calculate the crowding rate A (S10 - S14).

[0128] Then, when the crowding rate A exceeds the crowding threshold K1 (S16), the alighting guidance instruction unit 65 instructs the in-vehicle speaker 45 and the in-vehicle display 47B, which serve as the notification units, to issue alighting guidance notifications (S24).

[0129] On the other hand, when the crowding rate A is below the crowding threshold K1, the alighting guidance instruction unit 65 does not instruct the in-vehicle speaker 45 and the in-vehicle display 47B to issue alighting guidance notifications (postponed issuance). Since no issuance instruction is input, the in-vehicle speaker 45 and the in-vehicle display 47B do not issue alighting guidance notifications during the process of the shared vehicle 10 traveling towards the next stop.

[0130] According to Figure 11In the process, first, wait for the result of the alighting determination and calculate the congestion rate A. Since, based on the result of the alighting determination, that is, when the determination result of no alighting setting is obtained, the image recognition process required for calculating the congestion rate A can be omitted, the arithmetic load on the operation management device 50 can be reduced.

[0131] <Other Examples of the Operation Management System>

[0132] Figure 12 illustrates Figure 3 other examples of the illustrated operation management system. Figure 3 The alighting guidance determination unit 64, the alighting guidance instruction unit 65, the in-vehicle image recognition unit 66, and the congestion rate calculation unit 69 provided in the operation management device 50 in Figure 12 are provided in the shared vehicle 10. Other structures are the same as Figure 3 the same.

[0133] Figure 12 Function modules such as Figure 3 are the same as those in

[0134] In such a structure, the shared vehicle 10 independently executes Figure 9 , Figure 11 the alighting guidance determination process in Figure 9 , Figure 11 That is, all steps in Figure 9 , Figure 11 are executed inside the shared vehicle 10. Additionally, for example, after the process ends,

[0135] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and also includes all changes and modifications without departing from the technical scope or substantial content of the present disclosure defined by the technical solutions.

Claims

1. A ride management system, comprising: a shared vehicle that travels on a specified route and can stop at a stop provided along the specified route; and a ride management device that manages the operation of the shared vehicle, wherein, the shared vehicle is provided with a camera for photographing the interior of the vehicle compartment, the ride management device is provided with: an image recognition unit that recognizes passengers included in an interior image of the vehicle compartment during the process of the shared vehicle departing from the current stop and heading to the next stop, which is photographed by the camera; and a congestion rate calculation unit that calculates the congestion rate of the vehicle compartment based on the recognized passengers, and, the shared vehicle is provided with a notification unit that can issue a getting-off guidance notification for notifying the situation that there is a passenger getting off at the next stop and the seat information of the passenger when the congestion rate exceeds a specified congestion threshold. On the other hand, when the congestion rate is below the congestion threshold, the getting-off guidance notification is not issued during the process of the shared vehicle heading to the next stop.

2. The ride management system according to claim 1, wherein, the ride management device is provided with: a storage unit that stores the getting-off scheduled stop of the shared vehicle and the boarding and alighting reservation of the designated seat; a determination unit that can refer to the boarding and alighting reservation to perform a getting-off determination, which determines whether the next stop of the shared vehicle is set as the getting-off scheduled stop; and a command unit that, when the result of the getting-off determination is that the next stop of the shared vehicle is set as the getting-off scheduled stop, instructs the notification unit to issue the getting-off guidance notification, the determination unit performs the getting-off determination when the congestion rate exceeds the congestion threshold. On the other hand, when the congestion rate is below the congestion threshold, the getting-off determination is not performed.

3. The ride management system according to claim 1, wherein, the ride management device is provided with: a storage unit that stores the getting-off scheduled stop of the shared vehicle and the boarding and alighting reservation of the designated seat; a determination unit that refers to the boarding and alighting reservation to perform a getting-off determination, which determines whether the next stop of the shared vehicle is set as the getting-off scheduled stop; and a command unit that, when the result of the getting-off determination is that the next stop of the shared vehicle is set as the getting-off scheduled stop, can instruct the notification unit to issue the getting-off guidance notification, the command unit instructs the notification unit to issue the getting-off guidance notification when the congestion rate exceeds the congestion threshold. On the other hand, when the congestion rate is below the congestion threshold, the command unit does not instruct the notification unit to issue the getting-off guidance notification.

4. The ride management system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein, the determination unit does not use the boarding and alighting reservation that sets the seats included within a specified vicinity range starting from the getting-off opening of the shared vehicle as the designated seat as an object of the getting-off determination.

5. The ride management system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein, Store the age information of the passenger who wishes to board in association with the scheduled alighting stop and the reserved seat in the boarding and alighting reservation. The determination unit does not subject the boarding and alighting reservation in which the seat included within a prescribed vicinity range from the alighting opening of the shared vehicle is set as the reserved seat and the age of the passenger who wishes to board exceeds a prescribed age threshold to the alighting determination.

6. A shared vehicle that travels on a prescribed route and can stop at a stop provided along the prescribed route, wherein the shared vehicle includes: a camera that captures the interior of the vehicle compartment; an image recognition unit that recognizes the passengers included in the image of the interior of the vehicle compartment captured by the camera during the process of departing from the current stop and heading for the next stop; a congestion rate calculation unit that obtains the congestion rate of the vehicle compartment based on the recognized passengers; and a notification unit that can issue an alighting guidance notification notifying the fact that there is a passenger getting off at the next stop and the seat information of the passenger when the congestion rate exceeds a prescribed congestion threshold, and on the other hand, does not issue the alighting guidance notification during the process of heading for the next stop when the congestion rate is below the congestion threshold.

7. The shared vehicle according to claim 6, wherein, It includes: a storage unit that stores a boarding and alighting reservation in which a scheduled alighting stop and a reserved seat are set; a determination unit that can perform an alighting determination with reference to the boarding and alighting reservation, the alighting determination determining whether the next stop is set as the scheduled alighting stop; and a command unit that, when the result of the alighting determination is that the next stop is set as the scheduled alighting stop, instructs the notification unit to issue the alighting guidance notification, The determination unit performs the alighting determination when the congestion rate exceeds the congestion threshold, and on the other hand, does not perform the alighting determination when the congestion rate is below the congestion threshold.

8. The shared vehicle according to claim 6, wherein, It includes: a storage unit that stores a boarding and alighting reservation in which a scheduled alighting stop and a reserved seat are set; a determination unit that performs an alighting determination with reference to the boarding and alighting reservation, the alighting determination determining whether the next stop is set as the scheduled alighting stop; and a command unit that can instruct the notification unit to issue the alighting guidance notification when the result of the alighting determination is that the next stop is set as the scheduled alighting stop, The command unit instructs the notification unit to issue the alighting guidance notification when the congestion rate exceeds the congestion threshold, and on the other hand, does not instruct the notification unit to issue the alighting guidance notification when the congestion rate is below the congestion threshold.

9. The shared vehicle according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the determination unit does not subject the boarding and alighting reservation in which the seat included within a prescribed vicinity range from the alighting opening is set as the reserved seat to the alighting determination.

10. The shared vehicle according to claim 7 or 8, wherein store the age information of the passenger who wishes to board in association with the scheduled alighting stop and the reserved seat in the boarding and alighting reservation. The determination unit does not subject the boarding / alighting reservation that designates a seat included within a specified vicinity range from the alighting opening as the reserved seat and for which the age of the passenger wishing to board exceeds a specified age threshold to the alighting determination.

Images