Traffic management system

Abstract

To provide a traffic management system that allows operations to take into consideration those who wish to transfer from railroads to buses.SOLUTION: A traffic management system 100 includes a railroad information acquisition unit RA that acquires railroad information from an external source and a schedule change unit 21 that changes a schedule of a bus TB based on the railroad information acquired by the railroad information acquisition unit RA and a transfer situation from the railroad to the bus. In the traffic management system 100, when changing the schedule of the bus TB, not only the railroad information but also the train situation from the railroad (train) to the bus TB is taken into account, making it possible to operate in consideration of those who wish to transfer from the railroad (train) to the bus TB.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a traffic control system for managing the traffic of transportation. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, in an integration system that creates proposals for integrating multiple means of transportation, there is a system that proposes plans that are easy for operators to adopt based on departure time delays and increases in the number of passengers (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2022-169944 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, a situation that is convenient for the business operator may not necessarily be convenient for the person switching transportation means.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned points, and has as its object to provide an operation management system that enables operations that take into consideration those who wish to transfer from trains to buses. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The operation management system for achieving the above-mentioned objective includes a railway information acquisition unit that acquires railway information from outside, and a schedule change unit that changes the bus schedule based on the railway information acquired by the railway information acquisition unit and the transfer situation from railways to buses.

[0007] In the above-mentioned operation management system, when changing bus schedules, it is possible to take into account not only railway information but also the situation regarding transfers from railways to buses, making it possible to operate buses in a way that takes into consideration people who are transferring from railways to buses.

[0008] In a specific aspect of the present invention, the schedule change unit determines whether to delay the departure time of the bus according to the delay time limit. In this case, operation management can be performed while taking into consideration transfers from trains to buses while suppressing excessive delays.

[0009] In another aspect of the present invention, the timetable change unit includes a service increase determination unit that determines whether to increase the number of bus services based on the train delay status included in the train information. In this case, the number of bus services can be appropriately increased to maintain the convenience of transferring from trains to buses.

[0010] In yet another aspect of the present invention, the service increase decision unit decides whether to increase the number of bus services depending on the departure time of the next bus. In this case, it is possible to appropriately determine whether to increase the number of bus services.

[0011] In yet another aspect of the present invention, the schedule change unit includes a transfer time required from a station to a bus stop as an element of the transfer situation, and sets the contents of the schedule change based on the transfer time calculated according to the external environment. In this case, the schedule can be changed in accordance with the actual transfer situation.

[0012] In yet another aspect of the present invention, the schedule change unit includes, as the external environment for determining the transfer time, any one of feature information from the station to the bus stop, event information around the station, pedestrian flow information, and weather information. In this case, the schedule can be changed in consideration of the external environment.

[0013] In yet another aspect of the present invention, the railway information acquisition unit receives General Transit Feed Specification Realtime (GTFS-RT) information transmitted from the railway system as the railway information to be acquired, and the schedule change unit automatically changes the schedule and performs operation management for the autonomous bus based on the information received by the railway information acquisition unit. In this case, operation management that automatically changes the schedule appropriately by utilizing systemized information communication including the railway system side becomes possible. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the state from a station to a bus terminal in which a traffic management system according to a first embodiment is incorporated. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a traffic management system. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a method for dealing with train delays. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart for explaining a series of operations in the traffic management system. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of how to extract a route from a station to a bus terminal (bus stop). [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining an example of a configuration for calculating a travel time from a station to a bus terminal (bus stop). [Figure 7] 11 is a flowchart for explaining a series of processes for calculating a travel time from a station to a bus terminal (bus stop). [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an overview of a traffic control system. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration example of a traffic management system according to a second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] [First embodiment] An example of the traffic control system of the first embodiment will be described below with reference to Fig. 1 etc. Fig. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the state from a station ST to a bus terminal TE in which a traffic control system 100 of the present embodiment is incorporated.

[0016] The traffic management system 100 of this embodiment is a system for managing traffic for each route on which each bus TBα, TBβ, ... runs, targeting buses TB (TBα, TBβ, ...) departing and arriving at a bus terminal TE. The traffic management system 100 communicates with each bus TBα, TBβ, ... to grasp the location and movement status of the bus. The traffic management system 100 also communicates with signages SI (SIα, SIβ, ...), which are guide devices installed at each bus stop BS (BSα, BSβ, ...) provided for each route, for example, at the bus terminal TE. As a result, the traffic management system 100 provides various information on the operation status of the buses TBα, TBβ, ..., such as the current location and estimated arrival time of the buses TBα, TBβ, ..., to the corresponding signages SIα, SIβ, .... The traffic management system 100 also sends various information on the operation status of the bus TB in response to a display request from a terminal device TM, such as a smartphone (smartphone) owned by a bus passenger HU.

[0017] In the above situation, particularly in this embodiment, the traffic control system 100 acquires railroad information from the outside (railroad system RS), typically railroad delay information, and can rearrange the bus TB timetable according to the acquired information to appropriately manage bus traffic according to the railroad situation. More specifically, the traffic control system 100 takes into consideration the movement of bus passengers HU, particularly those who are trying to transfer to a bus TB departing from or arriving at a bus terminal TE at a station ST, and rearranges the timetable of each bus TB (TBα, TBβ, ...) as necessary, taking into account the travel time, i.e., the time Tr (Trα, Trβ, ...) required for transfer.

[0018] To achieve the above aspect, the traffic control system 100 includes a main control unit CC configured with various servers and the like, and a management unit MA configured with a PC or the like for allowing an administrator to monitor the operating status and the like of the main control unit CC.

[0019] The main control unit CC is composed of various servers and the like, and acquires various information about the operation status of trains TR arriving at stations ST from the railway system RS, which is an external device. The main control unit CC judges whether or not the timetable needs to be rearranged based on various information, including information from the railway system RS, and if it judges it necessary, changes (modifies, adjusts) the timetable in various ways under the management of the management unit MA. Information about the changed timetable is notified to buses TB that run on the target route, as well as to signage SI and terminal devices TM.

[0020] The various types of information provided by the railway system RS are expected to take various forms, but train delay information is considered to be one of the important pieces of information in determining whether or not a rescheduling of the timetable is necessary. One possible means of providing information on traffic conditions is to use General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) information, an international standard open format for real-time operational status of public transportation. In particular, by using General Transit Feed Specification Realtime (GTFS-RT) information dynamically transmitted at regular intervals from the railway system, it is possible to capture real-time operational status such as delays and cancellations, and automatically change the bus timetable to reflect this.

[0021] An example of the configuration of the traffic control system 100 will be described below with reference to the block diagram shown in Fig. 2. Note that in this embodiment, a case will be described in which the bus TB to be managed is an autonomous driving bus. In other words, the traffic control system 100 performs traffic management for autonomous driving buses.

[0022] In the example shown in Figure 2, the main control unit CC of the operation management system 100 includes a railway coordination system 10 (railway information acquisition unit RA), a timetable management system 20, a vehicle management system 30, a bus location system 40, and an external environment information management system 50.

[0023] The railway linkage system 10 functions as a railway information acquisition unit RA, which is an interface that receives information from the railway system RS, which is an external device. As described above, the system is capable of receiving GTFS-RT information, thereby enabling sequential reception of information from the railway side, particularly information related to delays (delay information).

[0024] The bus schedule management system 20 is composed of a CPU, various storage devices, etc., and holds and manages data on bus schedules for each route. In this embodiment, as described above, the bus schedule is changed as necessary. For this reason, the bus schedule management system 20 includes a bus schedule change unit 21 and a bus schedule database 22.

[0025] The schedule change unit 21 includes a schedule change determination unit 21c and an increase in service determination unit 21d, and determines whether or not to change departure times or increase service, and automatically changes the schedule as necessary. In particular, in this embodiment, when delay information (railway delay information) is input as information acquired in the railway linkage system 10 in order to deal with train delay information, the schedule change unit 21 in the schedule management system 20 determines whether or not the set bus schedule should be changed. Various information such as the initial schedule and the schedule changed by the schedule change unit 21 is stored in a schedule database 22.

[0026] As shown in the figure, the timetable management system 20 communicates with the management unit MA, and when, for example, a timetable change is automatically made in the timetable change unit 21, various processes are carried out under the management of the management unit MA, such as through approval by the management unit MA. The management unit MA is composed of, for example, a PC or a smartphone, and enables the manager to visually check the management status and various data in the timetable management system 20. The manager can also output various commands to the timetable management system 20 by appropriately operating an input device (not shown) constituting the management unit MA.

[0027] In addition, the timetable management system 20 outputs timetable data (timetable information) stored and managed in, for example, the timetable database 22 to the relevant bus TB via the vehicle management system 30 described below, and also outputs it to the bus location system 40. In particular, when there is a change in the timetable, data indicating the change (change information) is output (sent) to the bus TB, and is also notified to the signage SI and terminal device TM via the bus location system 40.

[0028] The vehicle management system 30 receives various information related to the travel of the bus TB, such as the location information of the bus TB, from the bus TB. This allows the operation management system 100 to grasp the operation status of the bus route. The vehicle management system 30 also outputs the various information received from the bus TB to the timetable management system 20 and the bus location system 40. Furthermore, the vehicle management system 30 receives information from the timetable management system 20, and outputs the received information to the bus TB and the bus location system 40, and further to the signage SI and the terminal device TM. In addition to the above, for example, when it is found from the various information that the bus operation is delayed via the bus location system 40 (separate from train delays), it is also possible to notify the signage SI and the terminal device TM of the corresponding timetable revision and the details of the delay.

[0029] As described above, the bus location system 40 collects location information of the bus TB via the vehicle management system 30. Then, the bus location system 40 provides the corresponding information for each signage SI and terminal device TM to the signage SI at the bus stop BS and the terminal device TM such as a smartphone carried by the bus passenger HU.

[0030] The external environment information management system 50 functions as an external environment information acquisition unit 50a, which is an interface that receives various external information obtained from an external device, an external environment information providing service ES. The external environment information management system 50 also performs management such as sorting based on the various acquired external environment information, and in this case, the external environment information can be used to calculate the travel time of a person when transferring from a train TR to a bus TB. An example of this will be described in detail later.

[0031] In addition to the above, the main control unit CC has various information necessary for operation management, such as a map database DBg in which map data relating to each route is stored.

[0032] On the other hand, it is expected that the bus TB, which is an autonomous bus, may take various forms. For example, as shown in the figure, the bus TB is expected to be equipped with on-board units VD, such as a driving control unit VC, a communication unit TT, a position acquisition unit SP, an environmental information acquisition unit DM, a driving operation unit DO, etc., in order to enable autonomous driving control.

[0033] The driving control unit VC is composed of various circuit devices etc. to enable automatic driving of the bus TB, and includes an automatic driving program, an electronic control unit etc. In addition, to configure an ASV (Advanced Safety Vehicle), a collision damage mitigation brake, a vehicle distance control device etc. are installed as components of the driving control unit VC.

[0034] The communication unit TT is an interface for communicating information with the main control unit CC of the operation management system 100, and outputs information from the main control unit CC to the operation control unit VC, and also outputs various types of information related to operation conditions among the various types of information related to operation managed by the operation control unit VC to the main control unit CC.

[0035] The position acquisition unit SP is a self-position detection device configured with GNSS or the like. The position information (self-position information) acquired by the position acquisition unit SP is output to the driving control unit VC. In addition, the position information (self-position information) is transmitted (output) to the main control unit CC of the driving management system 100 via the communication unit TT as one of various information related to the driving situation.

[0036] The environmental information acquisition unit DM is composed of sensing devices such as an imaging unit such as a camera and a ranging unit such as LiDAR, as well as a sound collection device such as a microphone, and acquires various information about the surrounding environment of the bus TB and outputs the acquired information (surrounding environment information) to the driving control unit VC.

[0037] The driving operation unit DO is composed of the various parts necessary for various operations during normal driving, such as steering, accelerating, and braking, and operates based on commands from the driving control unit VC.

[0038] The above-described configuration enables automatic driving control of the bus TB. In particular, in the case of this embodiment, the bus TB can travel in accordance with a timetable that may change in real time, according to commands from the traffic management system 100.

[0039] As described above, in this embodiment, the schedule change unit 21 automatically changes the schedule in real time as necessary based on the GTFS-RT information transmitted from the railway system RS received as railway information by the railway information acquisition unit RA (railway linkage system 10), and performs operation management for the bus TB, which is an autonomous bus. In this case, operation management that automatically changes the schedule appropriately (automatic generation of the schedule) is possible by using systemized information communication including the railway system RS.

[0040] An example of a method for dealing with train delays by the traffic control system 100 (main control unit CC) will be described below with reference to the conceptual diagram shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a time chart for transferring from a train TR to a bus TB, in which the horizontal axis indicates time, an oval indicates the arrival time of the train TR, and a circle, a square, and a triangle indicate the departure time of the bus TB. Note that with respect to the bus TB, the circle indicates the departure time of the bus TB to which a user who gets off the train TR that arrives at station ST at the time indicated by the oval corresponds to the departure time of the bus TB to which the user is to transfer. Also, the square indicates the bus TB that departs next to the one indicated by the circle on the same route, and the triangle indicates the bus TB when the service is increased.

[0041] In FIG. 3, the situation α shown at the top shows the state of bus operation when there is no delay and the train is running on schedule. The arrival time Ts of the train TR in this case is the standard train arrival time. The corresponding departure time of the bus TB, that is, the time Td shown by the circle, is the standard bus departure time. As described above, if the time (travel time) required to transfer from the train TR to the bus TB is time Tr, in the illustrated example, the travel time Tr is smaller than the difference between the standard train arrival time Ts and the standard bus departure time Td to a certain extent. In other words, it can be seen that the user can transfer because the time from the arrival of the train TR to the departure of the bus TB is longer than the travel time Tr. From another perspective, if the delay is within the range of the difference between the time from the standard train arrival time Ts to the standard bus departure time Td and the travel time Tr, even if a delay occurs in the train, the travel time Tr can be secured (the transfer time can be secured), so there is no need to delay the bus. Here, this range (time margin) is defined as a range D1 in which no bus delay is required.

[0042] On the other hand, if the train delay exceeds the range D1 where no bus delays are necessary, the bus side will need to change the departure time, i.e., the timetable will need to be changed. On the other hand, it is thought that there is a limit to the delay that the bus side can tolerate. The limit of tolerance on the bus side is thought to be set from various perspectives, such as the range of delay that is acceptable for the route and the range that is acceptable in relation to connections with other routes, but one perspective is to assume the presence of a next bus TB on the same route. In other words, it is thought that an extension limit for the departure time of bus TB, which corresponds to the circle in the figure, can be set so that it is within a range that does not interfere with the operation of the next bus in relation to the departure time shown by the square.

[0043] In the illustrated example, the departure time (bus delay departure limit time) indicating the delay limit of bus TB, which corresponds to the circle determined in advance based on the various factors described above, is set to Tmax. In this case, the actual delay time also takes travel time Tr into consideration. That is, as illustrated, the time that is the travel time Tr back from the bus delay departure limit time Tmax is the delay limit time Te. Therefore, in the diagram, the time range D2 indicating the time from the point when the bus exceeds the no-bus-delay range D1 to the delay limit time Te is the range in which the bus can respond to train delays (the range in which train arrival delays can be accommodated).

[0044] In the above, for example, as shown in situation α1, if the value of the occurred train delay time a is relatively small and the scheduled arrival time Ta of the delayed train, indicated by the oval circle, is within the range D1 where no bus delay is required, then there is no need to make a bus delay (adjustment), and the departure time of the bus TB corresponding to the circle can remain the standard bus departure time Td.

[0045] In contrast, for example, as shown in situation β1, if the value of the train delay time b1 becomes large and the delayed train scheduled arrival time Tb1, indicated by an oval, exceeds the bus delay-free range D1, the timetable is changed so that the departure time of the corresponding bus TB, indicated by a circle, is delayed (later) than the bus standard departure time Td. In the illustrated case, the delayed train scheduled arrival time Tb1 is earlier (earlier) than the bus standard departure time Td, but taking travel time Tr into consideration, it is impossible to transfer from train TR to bus TB. Therefore, in this case, as shown in the figure, a time that is delayed from the delayed train scheduled arrival time Tb1 by at least travel time Tr and is later than the bus standard departure time Td (but earlier than the bus delay departure limit time Tmax) is set as the departure time Td1 of bus TB.

[0046] The above-mentioned measures also apply when the train delay time b2 becomes even larger and the delayed train scheduled arrival time Tb2, indicated by an oval, becomes later than the standard bus departure time Td, as in the case shown in situation β2, for example. However, the delayed train scheduled arrival time Tb2 must be within the range D2 in which train arrival delays can be accommodated.

[0047] As shown in the case of situation γ1, when the value of the train delay time c1 that occurred is large and the delayed train scheduled arrival time Tc1, indicated by the oval circle, exceeds the range D2 in which train arrival delays can be accommodated, the departure time of bus TB will exceed the bus delay departure limit time Tmax, taking into account travel time Tr as well. In such a case, for example, for the one indicated by the circle, it is conceivable to leave the departure time at the standard bus departure time Td without delaying it. Note that when the delay is this large, passengers transferring from train TR to bus TB can use the next bus TB, which has a departure time indicated by the square.

[0048] On the other hand, as shown in the situation γ2, it is also possible to prepare an additional bus. For example, in a case where the bus delay departure limit time Tmax is set due to various factors, but it takes a long time until the departure time of the bus TB shown by the square, the train delay time c2 of the circle also becomes a large value that exceeds the bus delay departure limit time Tmax, and the delayed train arrival time Tc2 shown by the oval exceeds the range D2 in which the train arrival delay can be accommodated. In such a case, it is possible to perform a process of arranging an additional bus so that the departure time of the bus TB is a time (a time shown by a triangle in the figure) that is delayed by at least the travel time Tr from the delayed train arrival time Tc2. The traffic management system 100 (main control unit CC) is responsible for the overall traffic management of the bus schedule, i.e., the overall operation of the bus TB, and can also check in advance whether there is a bus TB that can be arranged for additional service. Therefore, the operation management system 100 (main control unit CC) can determine in advance whether or not it is possible to arrange for additional bus services as described above, and if it is possible, automatically perform processing to increase the number of bus services as necessary.

[0049] As described above, the traffic control system 100 (main control unit CC) automatically changes the schedule according to the characteristics by appropriately combining the above-mentioned processes as necessary according to the characteristics of each line.

[0050] In addition, in the above embodiment, the bus delay departure limit time Tmax indicates a delay time limit, and the schedule change unit 21 or schedule change decision unit 21c of the timetable management system 20 in the main control unit CC decides whether or not to delay the departure time of the bus depending on the delay time limit set by the bus delay departure limit time Tmax.

[0051] An example of a series of operations in the traffic management system 100 will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0052] First, the main control unit CC of the traffic control system 100 obtains information (i.e., train operation information) from the railway system RS (step S101) and checks whether a delay has occurred (step S102). This operation is continued until the occurrence of a delay on the railway side is confirmed (step S102: Yes).

[0053] In step S102, when a delay on the railway side is confirmed (step S102: Yes), the main control unit CC extracts bus schedules that may be affected by this in the schedule management system 20 (step S103), and sets one of these schedules as the target for determining whether or not a change is necessary (step S104).

[0054] Next, the main control unit CC extracts the bus TB to be judged based on its relationship with the delayed railway (train) in the bus schedule set in step S104, and checks whether the bus needs to be delayed due to the railway delay, i.e., whether the scheduled arrival time of the delayed train is within the range D1 where no bus delay is required (step S105).

[0055] In step S105, if it is determined that the bus is within the range D1 where no bus delay is required (step S105: Yes), typically in the case of situation α1 in Fig. 3, no change in the schedule is required on the bus side, so the next bus schedule is set without performing any special processing for the bus schedule. Specifically, the main control unit CC checks whether the determination processing has been completed for all bus schedules (target buses) extracted in step S103 (step S106), and if not completed (step S106: No), it sets the next bus schedule (another new bus schedule) as the processing target (step S107), and starts processing from step S105.

[0056] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S105 that the delay is not within the range D1 where no bus delay is required (step S105: No), there is a possibility that the bus side will need to change the schedule. In this case, the main control unit CC first determines whether the delay can be accommodated by adjusting the bus delay time (step S108). Typically, it checks whether the situation is like situation β1 or situation β2 in FIG. 3, that is, whether the scheduled arrival time of the delayed train is within the range D2 where train arrival delays can be accommodated (step S108).

[0057] If it is determined in step S108 that the train arrival delay is within the accommodateable range D2 (step S108: Yes), the main control unit CC creates a change to the target bus schedule in the schedule change unit 21 of the schedule management system 20 and outputs the proposed changes to the management unit MA, i.e., proposes them to the manager (step S109).

[0058] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S108 that the delay is not within the range D2 in which train arrival delays can be accommodated (step S108: No), the main control unit CC determines whether or not to use the next bus (step S110). Typically, as in the case shown in situation γ1 in Fig. 3, the departure time of the bus TB in question is not delayed, and a determination is made as to whether or not a user transferring from train TR to bus TB should use the next bus TB.

[0059] In step S110, if it is determined that the next bus will be used (step S110: Yes), the bus schedule does not need to be changed, so the processes in and after step S106 are carried out.

[0060] On the other hand, in step S110, if it is determined that the next bus will not be used (step S110: No), it is confirmed whether or not it is possible to arrange for an additional bus service (step S111).

[0061] In step S111, if it is not possible to arrange for an increase in the number of buses (step S111: No), the bus side does not need to change the schedule, so the processes in and after step S106 are carried out.

[0062] On the other hand, in step S111, if it is possible to arrange for an increase in bus service (step S111: Yes), preparations for arranging for an increase in bus service are started. Typically, as in the case shown in situation γ2 in Fig. 3, an increase in bus service is processed (step S112), and the schedule change unit 21 creates a change to the target bus schedule in the case of an increase in bus service, and outputs the proposed change to the management unit MA, i.e., proposes it to the manager (step S113).

[0063] The management unit MA that has received the proposal in step S109 or step S113 approves or modifies the proposal (step S114). That is, the management unit MA accepts an input operation by the manager as a response to the proposal, and instructs the main control unit CC to modify the timetable, if necessary.

[0064] After step S114, the revised bus schedule is recorded (updated) in the schedule management system 20 of the main control unit CC (step S115), and a notification based on the revised schedule is sent to the target bus TB (step S116), and the signage SI and terminal device TM are also notified of the change via the bus location system 40 (step S117).

[0065] After the process of step S117, or if it is determined in the above-mentioned step S105 that the bus is within the range D1 where no bus delay is required (step S105: Yes), or if it is determined in step S110 that the next bus is to be used (step S110: Yes), or if it is not possible to arrange for an increase in the number of buses (step S111: No), the process proceeds to step S106. That is, the main control unit CC checks whether the determination process has been completed for all bus schedules extracted in step S103 (step S106), and if it has not been completed (step S106: No), it sets the next bus schedule as the processing target (step S107) and starts the process from step S105, whereas if the determination process has been completed for all bus schedules extracted in step S106 (step S106: Yes), it ends the series of processes.

[0066] In the above-mentioned case, the service increase decision unit 21d of the timetable change unit 21 decides whether or not to increase the number of bus services based on the delay status of the train (train TR) contained in the railway information. For example, it is also possible to determine whether or not to increase the number of bus services depending on the departure time of the next bus TB, such as the difference between situation γ1 and situation γ2 in Figure 3.

[0067] Hereinafter, the travel time Tr required to transfer from a train TR to a bus TB will be considered with reference to FIG.

[0068] The simplest method for setting the travel time Tr is to set a fixed time according to the distance from the train TR to the bus TB. However, the travel time Tr may vary due to various factors. In particular, when the distance from the train TR to the bus TB is large, the travel time Tr is likely to vary due to factors other than distance. In this example, an example will be described in which various information is acquired regarding the route from the station ST to the bus terminal TE (bus stop BS), and the travel time Tr is calculated based on the acquired information.

[0069] Fig. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the state from station ST to bus terminal TE (bus stop BS) and the extraction of the route, and Fig. 6 is a block diagram for explaining an example of a configuration for calculating the travel time Tr from station ST to bus terminal TE (bus stop BS). Here, as an example, a case will be explained in which various external environment information obtained from the external environment information providing service ES is managed in an external environment information management system 50 of the main control unit CC, and the travel time Tr is set (calculated) by using the information.

[0070] First, as shown in Figure 5, we will explain how information is acquired for the route from station ST to bus terminal TE (bus stop BS), from the boarding / alighting entrance of train TR to the entrance / exit (ticket gate) of station ST, and from the entrance / exit (ticket gate) of station ST to bus stop BS.

[0071] First, it is assumed that cameras CA1 and CA2 are installed near the boarding and alighting gates of train TR and the entrances and exits of station ST for monitoring the platform PF and ticket gates TG of station ST. By using the information acquired from these cameras, it is possible to acquire people flow information in the relevant area. In other words, by acquiring information from cameras CA1 and CA2 via external environment information providing service ES, the external environment information management system 50 acquires the relevant people flow information (the degree of congestion at station ST), and based on this, it becomes possible to calculate people's travel time.

[0072] Also, between the entrance / exit (ticket gate) of station ST and bus stop BS, for example, people flow information in that range can be obtained by a monitoring camera CA3 on the route. In this case, for example, it is possible to obtain information on whether it is raining or not (weather information) by extracting the presence or absence and number of people holding umbrellas from an image captured by camera CA3. Also, if there are features such as traffic lights TL on the route, these can be taken into account. Regarding traffic lights TL, in addition to adding additional time to the travel time for each one, for example, if information on the timing of the signal change can be obtained, this can be taken into account.

[0073] Hereinafter, a configuration example of the external environment information management system 50 and the external environment information providing service ES will be described with reference to the block diagram shown in FIG. 6. In FIG. 6, as the external environment information providing service ES, a map application ESg that provides map information, a weather information acquisition external environment providing server ESw that provides weather information, a station congestion degree information acquisition external environment providing server ESc that provides information on the congestion degree at a station, and a people flow information acquisition external environment providing server ESp that provides people flow information are given as examples. Furthermore, various information can be included in the station congestion degree information acquisition external environment providing server ESc and the people flow information acquisition external environment providing server ESp, for example, event information around the station that affects the station congestion degree and the people flow may be added. These external environment information providing services ES provide various information to the external environment information management system 50, for example, via a network line IN. Note that, as a method of acquiring information in the external environment information providing service ES, various modes are possible, in addition to using a method that handles API (Application Programming Interface) information as the external environment information to be acquired.

[0074] On the other hand, the external environment information management system 50 includes an external environment information acquisition unit 50a as an interface, an information acquisition system 51, a setting file 52, an information storage unit 53, and a travel time calculation unit .

[0075] The information acquisition system 51 sorts information acquired from the external environment information providing service ES via the external environment information acquisition unit 50a. Specifically, the acquired information is classified and stored in each section of the information storage unit 53 according to the procedure stored in the setting file 52. That is, in the information storage unit 53, geographical information on stations, bus stops, and features, connection records to each service, feature information, weather information (weather information), people flow information, various setting values ​​(arbitrary setting values), and the like are stored in a classified state.

[0076] The travel time calculation unit 54 can automatically calculate the travel time Tr, that is, the transfer time from the train TR to the bus TB, without human intervention, by appropriately combining these pieces of information.

[0077] Hereinafter, a series of processes for calculating a travel time (transfer time) Tr from a station ST to a bus stop BS in a bus terminal TE will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

[0078] First, when the external environment information management system 50 acquires weather information (weather information) via the external environment information providing service ES (step S201), it checks whether the information indicates fine weather (step S202).

[0079] In step S202, if it is determined that it is sunny (step S202: Yes), the travel time calculation unit 54 sets the person's travel speed Vo from the entrance / exit (ticket gate) of station ST to the bus stop BS to a normal travel speed (e.g., Vo = 4 km / h) (step S203), and if it is determined that it is not sunny in step S202 (step S202: No), it sets the travel speed Vo, which is slower than normal, to 3 km / h (step S204).

[0080] Next, the external environment information management system 50 acquires, for example, information on the flow of people at a station or its vicinity via the external environment information provision service ES (step S205), and determines from the acquired information whether the congestion level at station ST is below a certain value (step S206).

[0081] If it is determined in step S206 that the congestion level is equal to or lower than a certain level (step S206: Yes), the travel time calculation unit 54 sets the travel speed from the boarding / alighting entrance of the train TR to the entrance / exit (ticket gate) of the station ST to the normal travel speed Vi = 4 km / h (step S207), and if it is determined in step S206 that the congestion level is not equal to or lower than the certain level (step S206: No), it sets the travel speed to Vi = 3 km / h, which is slower than the normal travel speed (step S208).

[0082] Furthermore, when the external environment information management system 50 acquires information on features present on the route (such as traffic lights TL illustrated in FIG. 5, as well as railroad crossings and footbridges) via the external environment information providing service ES (step S209), it sets an additional travel time according to the acquired feature information (step S210). For example, it is conceivable to add a certain amount of time to the normal travel time each time one piece of feature information is added, or to add the time it takes to open and close an umbrella in case of rain.

[0083] The travel time calculation unit 54 calculates the travel time (transfer time) Tr based on the various information acquired as described above (step S211). That is, in order to calculate the total travel time, the value obtained by multiplying the distance from the boarding / alighting entrance of the train TR to the entrance / exit (ticket gate) of the station ST by the travel speed Vi, the value obtained by multiplying the distance from the entrance / exit (ticket gate) of the station ST to the bus stop BS by the travel speed Vo, and a value according to the addition of feature information, etc. are added together to obtain the value of the travel time (transfer time) Tr as the final result.

[0084] When the travel time (transfer time) Tr is automatically calculated in the above manner, the external environment information management system 50 outputs the calculation result to, for example, the timetable management system 20 of the main control unit CC, and ends the series of processes.

[0085] In the above cases, a more accurate decision can be made as to whether or not the bus schedule needs to be changed by using the travel time (transfer time) Tr that takes into account the current conditions at station ST.

[0086] In the above case, the schedule change unit 21 of the schedule management system 20 includes the travel time (transfer time) Tr required from the station ST to the bus stop BS as an element of the transfer situation, and in particular, by using the calculation result of the travel time calculation unit 54, the schedule change content is set based on the transfer time calculated according to the external environment. More specifically, the schedule change unit 21 includes any one of feature information from the station ST to the bus stop BS, event information around the station, pedestrian flow information, and weather information as the external environment that determines the travel time (transfer time) Tr. In this case, the schedule can be changed to better suit the actual transfer situation by taking the external environment into consideration.

[0087] Hereinafter, an overview of the traffic control system 100 will be described with reference to a conceptual diagram shown in FIG.

[0088] As shown in the figure and as described above, the traffic management system 100 of this embodiment acquires railroad information from the outside in the railroad information acquisition unit RA, while grasping the transfer situation TS from railroads to buses, and changes the bus schedule based on the railroad information and the transfer situation in the schedule change unit 21. More specifically, it decides whether or not to change the bus schedule based on train delay information as the railroad information and the user's travel time (transfer time) as the transfer situation, and if it is decided to change, it decides the extent of the change, etc. This makes it possible to perform appropriate traffic management while increasing the convenience of users who wish to transfer from railroads to buses.

[0089] As described above, the traffic control system 100 of this embodiment includes a train information acquisition unit RA that acquires train information from the outside, and a schedule change unit 21 that changes the schedule of the bus TB based on the train information acquired by the train information acquisition unit RA and the transfer situation from trains to buses. In the traffic control system 100, when changing the schedule of the bus TB, not only the train information but also the transfer situation from trains (trains TR) to buses TB is taken into account, thereby enabling operations that take into consideration people who are transferring from trains (trains TR) to buses TB.

[0090] Second Embodiment Hereinafter, a configuration example of the traffic management system 200 of the second embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram shown in Fig. 9. Note that Fig. 9 corresponds to Fig. 2 in the first embodiment, and differs from the first embodiment in that the bus TB that is the subject of traffic management is not automatically driven but is driven by a driver DR (manned driving). However, since the configuration of the bus TB and some other parts are the same, detailed explanations of the components that make up the traffic management system 200 will be omitted.

[0091] In the traffic management system 200, as described above, the bus TB that is the subject of traffic management is a manned bus. In this case, for example, a crew database DBc may be stored in addition to a map database DBg as various information stored in the traffic management system 200. Also, instead of a driving control unit VC for automatic driving (see FIG. 2), a monitor MO for showing various information transmitted from the traffic management system 200 to the driver DR is provided as the in-vehicle device VD on the bus TB. That is, the driver DR can know information on schedule changes determined in the traffic management system 200 through the monitor MO. Note that the communication unit TT and the position acquisition unit SP are mounted on the bus TB even in the case of manned driving, as in the case of automatic driving, and transmission and reception of information required for traffic management is performed between the bus TB and the traffic management system 200.

[0092] In this embodiment, when changing the schedule of the bus TB, not only the railway information but also the transfer situation from the railway (train TR) to the bus TB is taken into consideration, so that operation that takes into consideration people who are transferring from the railway (train TR) to the bus TB is possible. In other words, this system can be applied to bus operation management even in the case of manned operation or in the case where both automatic operation and manned operation coexist.

[0093] 〔others〕 The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be embodied in various forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0094] First, in the above, the traffic control system 100 automatically changes (modifies, adjusts) the schedule (automatic generation of the schedule), and the final decision on whether to adopt the changes is made by obtaining approval under the management of the management unit MA, but the automatic changes to the schedule in the traffic control system 100 may be immediately adopted without going through management by the management unit MA. In other words, step S114 may be omitted in the flowchart of Fig. 4. This allows the bus schedule to respond more quickly to dynamic changes in the train schedule.

[0095] In the above, when the situation shown in the situation γ1 in FIG. 3 occurs, the bus departure time is not delayed and the standard bus departure time Td is maintained. However, the bus departure time can be in various other ways. For example, when the delay on the railway side gradually increases, that is, in the situation shown in FIG. 3, the value of the train delay time that occurred is initially like the time a shown in the situation α1, but it increases to time b1 and time b2 as time passes, and when the railway side issues a report that the time has reached the time c1 shown in the situation γ1, the standard bus departure time Td has already passed. In such a case, it is possible to make the target bus TB depart immediately when it is determined that the time has reached the time c1 shown in the situation γ1. In addition, by sequentially transmitting the ever-changing situation as described above to the smartphone (terminal device TM) carried by the user HU, the user HU can accurately grasp the situation when he or she arrives at the station ST.

[0096] In addition, in the above, we have described the case where there are multiple bus stops BS (BSα, BSβ, ...) at the bus terminal TE, i.e., the case where there are multiple routes, but this is not limited to this, and the system of the present invention can also be used when there is only one bus stop.

[0097] In the above, it is also possible to configure the main control unit CC and the management unit MA constituting the traffic control systems 100 and 200 as part or in whole on a cloud basis.

[0098] In addition, in the above, GTFS, an international open format standard, is adopted as a means of providing information on traffic conditions. However, as long as the necessary information, i.e., information related to the real-time operation status of public transportation, can be obtained, various information providing means can be applied. [Explanation of symbols]

[0099] 10...Railway linkage system, 20...Timetable management system, 21...Timetable change unit, 21c...Timetable change decision unit, 21d...Increase in service decision unit, 22...Timetable database, 30...Vehicle management system, 40...Bus location system, 50...Information management system, 50...External environment information management system, 50a...External environment information acquisition unit, 51...Information acquisition system, 52...Setting file, 53...Information storage unit, 54...Travel time calculation unit, 100,200...Operation management system, BS...Bus stop, CA1, CA2, CA3...Camera, CC...Main control unit, D1...No bus delay required range, D2...Train arrival delay compatible range, DBc...Crew database, DBg...Map database, DM...Environmental information acquisition unit, DO...Driver operation unit, DR...Driver, ES...External environment information provision service, ESc...Station congestion degree information acquisition external environment provision server, ESg...Map application, ESp...People flow information acquisition external Environment providing server, ESw...weather information acquisition external environment providing server, HU...bus passengers, IN...network line, MA...management unit, MO...monitor, PF...platform, RA...railway information acquisition unit, RS...railway system, SI, SIα, SIβ...signage, SP...position acquisition unit, ST...station, TB, TBα, TBβ...bus, TE...bus terminal, TG...ticket gate, TL...signal, TM...terminal equipment, TR...train, TS...transfer Situation, TT...Communication unit, Ta...Scheduled arrival time of delayed train, Tb1, Tb2, Tc1, Tc2...Scheduled arrival time of delayed train, Td...Standard bus departure time, Te...Maximum delay time, Tmax...Maximum bus delay departure time, Tr...Travel time (transfer time), Ts...Standard train arrival time, VC...Operation control unit, VD...Onboard unit, Vi...Travel speed, Vo...Travel speed, a, b1, b2, c1, c2...Train delay time, α, α1, β1, β2, γ1, γ2...Situation

Claims

1. a railway information acquisition unit that acquires railway information from an external source; a schedule change unit that changes a bus schedule based on the railway information acquired by the railway information acquisition unit and a transfer situation from a railway to a bus; An operation management system equipped with

2. The traffic management system according to claim 1 , wherein the timetable change unit determines whether to delay a departure time of a bus depending on a delay time limit.

3. The traffic management system according to claim 1 , wherein the timetable change unit includes an increase in bus service decision unit that decides whether to increase bus service based on a train delay situation included in the train information.

4. The traffic management system according to claim 3 , wherein the service increase decision unit decides whether to increase the number of bus services depending on a departure time of the next bus service.

5. The operation management system according to claim 1, wherein the timetable change unit includes a transfer time required from a station to a bus stop as an element of the transfer situation, and sets the content of the timetable change based on the transfer time calculated in accordance with an external environment.

6. The operation control system according to claim 5 , wherein the timetable change unit includes, as the external environment for determining the transfer time, any one of information on features from a station to a bus stop, information on events around the station, information on people flow, and weather information.

7. The railway information acquisition unit receives GTFS-RT information transmitted from a railway system as the railway information to be acquired, The timetable change unit automatically changes a timetable based on the information received by the railway information acquisition unit, The traffic management system according to claim 1 , which performs traffic management for an autonomous bus.

Images