Operation management system and operation management program

Abstract

To provide an operation management system and an operation management program capable of changing a ride reservation without hindering an operation plan.SOLUTION: An operation management system according to an embodiment includes a controller. The controller accepts a ride reservation, which designates a ride position, from each of a plurality of users, and determines a travel route of a vehicle so as to satisfy the ride reservation. When making a reminding notification, which signifies that a ride in a ride reservation is approaching, to an object user, the controller extracts any other vehicle, which can reach a ride position in the ride reservation of the object user without changing ride reservations of the other users, from among the other vehicles, on the basis of the travel routes of the other vehicles, and notifies the extracted vehicle of a ride time at which the object user can ride at the ride position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an operation management device and an operation management program. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, so-called demand buses, which are reservation-based buses that accept advance reservations from multiple users for a single bus and determine an operation plan according to the reservations, are becoming more common. In demand bus operations, the bus driver must operate the bus in time to accommodate the reservations of multiple users. Therefore, if a user does not arrive on time for the reserved time, the bus will consider the reservation to be canceled and continue operating without waiting for the user. In this case, the user will have to go through the trouble of re-booking the bus.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology in which, in a system in which a user makes a reservation for use of a facility, if the user who made the reservation cannot make it to the reserved time, the reservation is automatically changed to an available time. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-279260 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 simply changes reservations to times when there is less availability, and in demand bus operations, if a user changes their reservation to another bus that arrives close to the time of their reservation, this could disrupt the operation plan of that other bus. Specifically, if a user changes their reservation to a bus that already has an operation plan, it may happen that the bus will not be able to make it in time for the other user's reservation, and the bus may not be able to operate according to the operation plan.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and aims to provide an operation management device and an operation management program that enable changes to boarding reservations to be made without disrupting operation plans. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, an operation management device according to the present invention includes a controller. The controller accepts ride reservations specifying ride locations from multiple users, and determines a vehicle travel route to fulfill the ride reservations. When the controller issues a reminder notification to a target user indicating that boarding for the ride reservation is approaching, the controller extracts from the other vehicles, based on the travel routes of the other vehicles, other vehicles that can reach the boarding location in the ride reservation of the target user without changing the ride reservations of the other users, and notifies the extracted other vehicles of a boarding time when they can board at the boarding location. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, by extracting other vehicles that can be boarded without changing the other users' boarding reservations and notifying the target user of the other vehicles, the target user's boarding reservation can be changed to the other vehicles without changing the other users' boarding reservations. Therefore, according to the present invention, boarding reservations can be changed without disrupting the operation plan. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a vehicle operation system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the operation management device. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of user information. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of reservation information. [Figure 5]FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operating vehicle information. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the user terminal. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing the operation procedure of the vehicle operation system. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the vehicle extraction process executed by the traffic management device. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing the operation procedure of the vehicle operation system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, a traffic management device and a traffic management program according to an embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. In addition, the term "predetermined" can be read as "predetermined in advance."

[0011] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a vehicle operation system S according to an embodiment. The vehicle operation system S accepts ride reservations from multiple users, determines a travel route for the operating vehicles 200a, 200b, including stop locations (boarding locations and disembarking locations) and stop times (boarding times and disembarking times), and operates the operating vehicles 200a, 200b accordingly. While the present disclosure uses an example in which the vehicles 200a, 200b are buses, the vehicles are not limited to buses and may be any vehicle that can accommodate multiple users, such as a shared taxi. While the stop locations are exemplified by bus stops with predetermined locations, the stop locations may be any location designated by the user. Hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between the operating vehicles 200a, 200b, the operating vehicles 200a, 200b may be collectively referred to as the operating vehicles 200.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle operation system S includes an operation management device 1, a user terminal 100, and an operating vehicle 200. The operation management device 1 is an information processing device that accepts a boarding reservation from the user terminal 100, boards the user according to the boarding reservation, and controls the operation of the operating vehicle 200. The operation management device 1 is realized by, for example, a server device. The boarding reservation includes information on the location where the user boards (boarding location), the time at which the user boards (boarding time), and the location at which the user disembarks (disembarking location). When the operation management device 1 accepts the boarding reservation, it may notify the user terminal 100 of the approximate scheduled time at which the user will disembark at the disembarking location (disembarking time). The disembarking time is calculated, for example, based on the boarding location, boarding time, and disembarking location.

[0013] The user terminal 100 is a terminal device carried by a user who makes a ride reservation, and transmits the ride reservation to the operation management device 1 in accordance with an operation by the user. The user terminal 100 is realized by various types of mobile terminals such as a smartphone.

[0014] The operating vehicle 200 is a public bus that multiple users can board, and is connected to the operating management device 1 so as to be able to communicate wirelessly. When the driver of the operating vehicle 200 manually drives the vehicle, the operating vehicle 200 receives an operating plan, such as a travel route, from the operating management device 1 and notifies (for example, displays) the plan to the driver. When the operating vehicle 200 is an autonomous vehicle without a driver (or the driver only responds to emergencies), the operating vehicle 200 autonomously drives according to the operating plan received from the operating management device 1.

[0015] In the present disclosure, when a user who has made a reservation for a running vehicle 200a cannot arrive at the bus stop where the user is to board in time, the operation management device 1 accepts a reservation change request from the user and changes the boarding reservation. At this time, the operation management device 1 determines the new running vehicle 200b so that the boarding reservations of other users are not changed in the new running vehicle 200b.

[0016] Here, the process of changing a ride reservation will be specifically explained using Fig. 1. In Fig. 1, it is assumed that a user has made a ride reservation for an in-service vehicle 200a. Also, in Fig. 1, it is assumed that in addition to the in-service vehicle 200a, an in-service vehicle 200b is operating according to a different operation plan from that of the in-service vehicle 200a.

[0017] 1, the traffic management device 1 receives a traffic status notification from each of the operating vehicles 200a and 200b (step S1). The traffic status notification includes information on the current location of the operating vehicles 200a and 200b and the bus stop where the vehicles will next stop (or are currently stopped).

[0018] The operation management device 1 determines whether or not a reminder notification is required for the user who has made a reservation based on the received operation status notification (step S2). A reminder notification is a notification that notifies the user (target user) that boarding of the reserved ride is approaching. For example, the reminder notification can be sent by email, a notification using the notification function of the application that makes the reservation, or a message notification using the message function of an SNS (Social Networking Service).

[0019] The operation management device 1 determines that a reminder notification is necessary when it is a predetermined time (e.g., 30 minutes) before the boarding time specified in the boarding reservation. Alternatively, the operation management device 1 determines that a reminder notification is necessary when the operating vehicle 200a arrives at a boarding position that is a predetermined number of positions (e.g., one position before) before the boarding position specified in the boarding reservation. Note that, hereinafter, a user who is determined to need a reminder notification is referred to as a target user.

[0020] Next, when it is determined that a reminder notification is necessary, the operations management device 1 extracts an operating vehicle 200b that can reach the boarding position from among the operating vehicles 200b (one in FIG. 1 but actually multiple vehicles) other than the reserved operating vehicle 200a (step S3). Specifically, the operations management device 1 extracts an operating vehicle 200b that can reach the boarding position where the target user boards without changing the boarding reservations of other users other than the target user, based on the travel routes of the other operating vehicles 200b. Then, the operations management device 1 calculates the boarding time at the boarding position based on the travel route of the extracted operating vehicle 200b. Note that the specific extraction process of the operating vehicle 200b will be described later.

[0021] Next, the operation management device 1 notifies the user of the boarding time calculated for the extracted operating vehicle 200b as a change candidate for the boarding reservation together with a reminder notification based on the current boarding reservation (step S4). For example, the operation management device 1 notifies the user of a boarding time later than the current boarding reservation as a change candidate by displaying it on the screen of the user terminal 100. Note that examples of the screen for the reminder notification and the change candidate notification will be described later with reference to FIG. 6.

[0022] Next, the user terminal 100 sends a reservation change request to the operation management device 1 to change the boarding reservation in accordance with the user's operation on the screen display of the reminder notification and the change candidate notification (step S5). Specifically, the user terminal 100 sends a reservation change request to change the boarding reservation to the boarding time displayed as the change candidate. Note that if the user performs an operation on the reminder notification and change candidate notification screen indicating that they will not change the reservation (by closing the screen), the user terminal 100 does not send the reservation change request. Alternatively, the user terminal 100 may send a reservation change unnecessary notification to the operation management device 1.

[0023] When the operation management device 1 receives a reservation change request from the user terminal 100, it performs a reservation change process (step S6). Specifically, when the operation management device 1 accepts the reservation change request, it changes the ride reservation to one for the in-service vehicle 200b extracted in step S3. More specifically, the operation management device 1 cancels the ride reservation for the in-service vehicle 200a and adds a ride reservation for the in-service vehicle 200b. Then, based on the change in the ride reservation, the operation management device 1 changes the driving routes of the in-service vehicle 200a and the in-service vehicle 200b. In other words, the operation management device 1 determines the driving route for the in-service vehicle 200a based on other ride reservations excluding the ride reservation of the target user, and determines the driving route for the in-service vehicle 200b based on the ride reservation of the target user and the other ride reservations.

[0024] Then, the operation management device 1 sends a change notification to each of the operating vehicles 200a and 200b indicating that the ride reservation has been changed (step S7). Specifically, the operation management device 1 sends a change notification to the operating vehicle 200a informing that the ride reservation of the target user has been canceled and including the travel route modified based on the reservation cancellation. In addition, the operation management device 1 sends a change notification to the operating vehicle 200b informing that a ride reservation of the target user has been added and including the travel route modified based on the reservation addition.

[0025] In this way, the operation management device 1 extracts another operating vehicle 200b that the target user can ride in without changing the other user's ride reservation, and notifies the target user of the other operating vehicle 200b. As a result, the operation management device 1 can change the target user's ride reservation to the other operating vehicle 200b without changing the other user's ride reservation. Therefore, the operation management device 1 can change the ride reservation without interfering with the operation plan.

[0026] Furthermore, the operation management device 1 notifies the user of possible changes to the ride reservation when a reminder notification is sent, allowing the user to change the ride reservation before the time of the ride reservation has passed. This allows the driver of the operating vehicle 200a to know that the target user will not be arriving (the ride reservation has been changed) before arriving at the boarding location, thereby reducing the risk of delays in the operation of the operating vehicle 200a due to waiting for the target user. Furthermore, by changing the ride reservation when a reminder notification is sent, the operation management device 1 can save the target user the trouble of remaking a ride reservation.

[0027] In the above description, the operation management device 1 accepts a boarding reservation specifying a boarding time, but may accept a boarding reservation specifying a time range in which boarding is possible. This point will be described in detail later.

[0028] Next, a configuration example of the operation management device 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the operation management device 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the operation management device 1 is connected to a user terminal 100 and an operating vehicle 200.

[0029] 2, the operation management device 1 includes a communication unit 2, a controller 3, and a storage unit 4. The communication unit 2 is an interface for communicating data between the user terminal 100 and the operating vehicle 200. The communication unit 2 is, for example, a network interface card (NIC).

[0030] The controller 3 includes a microcomputer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), etc., and various other circuits. The controller 3 controls the overall operation of the traffic management device 1 by having the CPU execute a program stored in the ROM using the RAM as a working area. Note that the controller 3 may be partially or entirely configured with hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0031] The storage unit 4 is, for example, a RAM or a data flash. The storage unit 4 can store user information 41, reservation information 42, operating vehicle information 43, information on various programs, etc. The operation management device 1 may also acquire the above-mentioned programs and various information via other computers or portable recording media connected via a wired or wireless network.

[0032] 3 is a diagram showing an example of the user information 41. The user information 41 is information about a user registered in the vehicle operation system S. The user information 41 is generated when a user is newly registered in the operation management device 1 and a new user ID, which will be described later, is issued.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 3, the user information 41 has items such as "user ID," "user information," and "reservation ID." "User ID" is identification information that identifies a user. "User information" is information entered by the user at the time of new registration, and includes attribute information such as name, age, and gender. "Reservation ID" is identification information that identifies a ride reservation made by the user. The reservation ID corresponds to the reservation ID in the reservation information 42, which will be described later.

[0034] 4 is a diagram showing an example of the reservation information 42. The reservation information 42 is information related to a ride reservation made by a user. The reservation information 42 is generated when a new reservation ID, which will be described later, is issued when the ride reservation is confirmed (when the travel route is determined).

[0035] As shown in FIG. 4, the reservation information 42 has items such as "reservation ID," "user ID," and "reservation details." "Reservation ID" is identification information that identifies a boarding reservation. "User ID" is identification information that identifies the user who made the boarding reservation, and corresponds to the user ID in the above-mentioned user information 41. "Reservation details" is the content of the boarding reservation, and has items such as boarding location, boarding time, disembarking location, and disembarking time.

[0036] 5 is a diagram showing an example of the operating vehicle information 43. The operating vehicle information 43 is information related to the operating vehicle 200. The operating vehicle information 43 is generated by issuing a new vehicle ID (described later) each time a new operating vehicle 200 is added.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 5, the in-service vehicle information 43 has items such as "vehicle ID," "operation status," "reservation ID," "number of reservations," and "number of available slots." "Vehicle ID" is identification information that identifies the in-service vehicle 200. "Operation status" is information that indicates the current operation status of the in-service vehicle 200, and includes information on whether the vehicle is in operation, the route it is traveling, its current location, the next scheduled boarding location, and the number of users currently on board. "Reservation ID" is identification information that identifies a reservation for boarding the in-service vehicle 200, and corresponds to the reservation ID in the reservation information 42 described above. "Number of reservations" is information that indicates the number of reservations for boarding the in-service vehicle 200 (the number of users boarding). "Number of available slots" is information that indicates the number of available reservations for boarding the in-service vehicle 200.

[0038] The controller 3 receives a registration request from a user to the vehicle operation system S. Specifically, the controller 3 receives input of user information from the user terminal 100 via an application (hereinafter, a reservation application) of the vehicle operation system S and performs a registration process. The registration process is a process of adding the user information received in the registration request to the user information 41.

[0039] The controller 3 accepts a ride reservation from a registered user via a reservation app. Specifically, the controller 3 accepts a ride reservation that specifies a boarding location, a boarding time, a disembarking location, and a disembarking time.

[0040] The controller 3 determines a travel route of the operating vehicle 200 based on the received boarding reservations. Specifically, the controller 3 determines a travel route of the operating vehicle 200 so as to satisfy boarding reservations received from a plurality of users a predetermined period before (for example, one week before) the boarding date.

[0041] More specifically, the controller 3 determines a travel route that will allow passengers to arrive in time for the boarding location, boarding time, and disembarking location and time specified in each boarding reservation. If one operating vehicle 200 cannot meet all the boarding reservations in time, the controller 3 determines a travel route that will allow passengers to arrive in time for the boarding reservations using multiple operating vehicles 200.

[0042] Furthermore, when the controller 3 accepts a boarding reservation after determining a travel route, the controller 3 confirms the new boarding reservation if it can incorporate a travel route that satisfies the new boarding reservation without changing the already accepted boarding reservation. Note that the controller 3 notifies the user that the new boarding reservation cannot be accepted if it cannot incorporate a travel route that satisfies the new boarding reservation. After determining the travel route, the controller 3 notifies the user terminal 100 via the reservation app that the boarding reservation has been confirmed. Furthermore, the controller 3 stores information about the boarding reservation linked to the determined travel route as reservation information 42.

[0043] Next, the controller 3 notifies the target operating vehicle 200 of an operation plan indicating the determined travel route on the boarding date, and causes the vehicle to start operation. After starting operation, the controller 3 periodically receives an operation status notification from the operating vehicle 200. The traffic status notification includes the operating status of the operating vehicle 200. The operation status includes information on the current location of the operating vehicle 200 and the next bus stop where the vehicle will stop (or is currently stopped). The controller 3 updates the operation status of the operating vehicle information 43 based on the received operation status notification.

[0044] Furthermore, the controller 3 determines whether a reminder notification is necessary for the user who made the boarding reservation based on the received operation status notification. Specifically, the controller 3 determines that a reminder notification is necessary when it is a predetermined time (e.g., 30 minutes) before the boarding time specified in the boarding reservation. Alternatively, the controller 3 determines that a reminder notification is necessary when the operating vehicle 200a arrives at a boarding position that is a predetermined number of positions (e.g., one position) before the boarding position specified in the boarding reservation.

[0045] Next, when the controller 3 determines that a reminder notification is necessary, it extracts operating vehicles 200 that are candidates for changing the ride reservation based on the operation status notifications of the other operating vehicles 200. Specifically, the controller 3 first identifies operating vehicles 200 that are present within a predetermined distance from the boarding position specified in the current ride reservation. For example, the controller 3 identifies operating vehicles 200 whose current position is within a predetermined distance from the boarding position. Furthermore, the controller 3 identifies operating vehicles whose travel routes are within a predetermined distance from the boarding position.

[0046] Next, the controller 3 determines whether there are any vacant seats in the identified in-service vehicle 200. Specifically, the controller 3 determines whether the number of vacant seats in the in-service vehicle information 43 is one or more. The controller 3 does not extract in-service vehicles 200 for which the number of vacant seats in the in-service vehicle information 43 is zero. In other words, the controller 3 excludes from extraction in-service vehicles 200 for which there are no vacant seats in the passenger capacity. This makes it possible to avoid a situation in which a user changes their boarding reservation but is unable to board the changed in-service vehicle 200.

[0047] Next, the controller 3 determines whether or not a change will occur to the boarding reservation of another user if the user goes to the boarding location to fulfill the boarding reservation of the user among the operating vehicles 200 with available seats. That is, the controller 3 determines whether or not the user can reach the boarding location in the boarding reservation of the user without changing the boarding reservation of the other user. Specifically, the controller 3 determines whether or not the user can make it in time for the boarding time and disembarking time specified in the boarding reservation of the other user if the user passes through the boarding location.

[0048] If the controller 3 determines that the user will be able to make it in time for the boarding time and disembarking time specified in the other user's boarding reservation, the controller 3 extracts the operating vehicle 200 as a change candidate for the boarding reservation. The controller 3 calculates the arrival time (boarding time) of the extracted operating vehicle 200 at the boarding position based on information about the travel route of the operating vehicle 200. The controller 3 confirms, as a change candidate, a operating vehicle 200 whose arrival time is later than the boarding time specified in the current boarding reservation from among the extracted change candidates. This allows the user to change the boarding reservation to the change candidate and board the current boarding reservation if they will not be able to make it in time for the current boarding reservation.

[0049] If a plurality of operating vehicles 200 are extracted as change candidates, the controller 3 confirms the operating vehicle 200 with the earliest arrival time (boarding time) (closest to the specified boarding time) as the change candidate. This allows the controller 3 to minimize the difference from the boarding time before the change when changing the boarding reservation to the change candidate, thereby reducing the impact of boarding delays on the user. The controller 3 may confirm all of the plurality of operating vehicles 200 extracted as change candidates as change candidates, or may confirm a plurality of operating vehicles 200 within a predetermined time from the boarding time specified in the boarding reservation as change candidates.

[0050] Next, the controller 3 notifies the user terminal 100 of a change candidate notification, which sets the boarding time to the arrival time of the operating vehicle 200 that has been confirmed as the change candidate, together with a reminder notification. Here, examples of the screens for the reminder notification and the change candidate notification will be described with reference to FIG. 6.

[0051] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a screen notified to the user terminal 100. As shown in the left diagram of Fig. 6, the controller 3 causes the user terminal 100 to display a screen of a reminder notification and change candidates.

[0052] In Figure 6, the reminder notification displays the standard phrase "The bus will arrive soon," along with the boarding location ("boarding location"), the boarding time ("estimated arrival time"), the disembarking location ("disembarking location"), and the disembarking time ("estimated arrival time").

[0053] In addition, in Figure 6, the change candidate notification displays a standard phrase saying, "You can change your reservation to the next bus. Please press the button below. If you do not want to change your reservation, please close the screen." In addition, the change candidate notification displays the "boarding location" which is the boarding location and "estimated arrival time" which is the boarding time for the operating vehicle 200 of the change candidate, the "drop-off location" which is the drop-off location and the "estimated arrival time" which is the drop-off time. In addition, in Figure 6, a "Change Reservation" button which is a button for changing the reservation and a "Close" button which is a button for not changing the reservation are displayed.

[0054] When the user presses the "Change Reservation" button, the user terminal 100 sends a reservation change request to the operation management device 1. When the user presses the "Close" button, the user terminal 100 closes the notification screen. In other words, when the user presses the "Close" button, the controller 3 does not change the reservation and maintains the current ride reservation.

[0055] In addition, when the user presses the "Change reservation" button, the user terminal 100 displays the standard message "Your reservation change has been accepted," along with the changed "Pick-up location" and "Estimated arrival time," and "Drop-off location" and "Estimated arrival time."

[0056] When the controller 3 receives a reservation change request from the user terminal 100, it performs a reservation change process. Specifically, the controller 3 performs a process of changing the current ride reservation to a change candidate ride reservation. More specifically, the controller 3 determines a travel route in which the current (before change) ride reservation is deleted (canceled) from the operating vehicle 200 linked to the ride reservation. Furthermore, the controller 3 determines a travel route in which the ride reservation is added to the operating vehicle 200 linked to the change candidate ride reservation.

[0057] The controller 3 notifies the information of the determined travel route as a change notice to the target operating vehicle 200. Specifically, the controller 3 notifies the change notice to the operating vehicle 200 for which a boarding reservation has been canceled and the operating vehicle 200 for which a boarding reservation has been added.

[0058] In the above description, the controller 3 accepts a boarding reservation that specifies a boarding time, but it may also accept a boarding reservation that specifies a time range in which boarding is possible. For example, the controller 3 accepts a boarding reservation that specifies a time range such as 1 PM to 2 PM.

[0059] In this case, when the controller 3 first determines the travel route, the controller 3 confirms the boarding reservation at the latest boarding time (first boarding time) within the specified time range. For example, the controller 3 determines the travel route so that the boarding time is as close to 14:00 as possible, such as 13:58.

[0060] Then, the controller 3 extracts other operating vehicles 200 that will arrive at a boarding time (second boarding time) within the time range as change candidates to be presented at the time of the reminder notification. For example, the controller 3 sets 13:00, which is the first time in the time range, as the timing for the reminder notification, and extracts, as change candidates, operating vehicles 200 that can arrive at the boarding position at the second boarding time that is before 13:58 and after 13:00.

[0061] In this case, the controller 3 notifies the user terminal 100 of a plurality of operating vehicles 200 that can reach the boarding position at the second boarding time before 13:58 and after 13:00 as change candidates. This allows the user to change the boarding time within the time range according to the user's schedule while being guaranteed to board within the time range, for example, when it is difficult to decide in advance the time to board the operating vehicle 200.

[0062] In the above description, the first boarding time is the latest time within the time range, but it may also be the earliest time within the time range. Alternatively, the first boarding time may be a time in the middle of the time range. For example, if a time range from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM is specified, the first boarding time may be 1:30 PM. In this case, the second boarding time may be both (or either) a time before 1:30 PM and a time after 1:30 PM.

[0063] In the above description, the controller 3 notifies the user of possible changes to the ride reservation at the time of sending the reminder notification, but it may also extract and notify the user of possible changes by, for example, receiving a change request from the user before sending the reminder notification.

[0064] Next, the operation procedure of the vehicle operation system S will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a sequence diagram showing the operation procedure of the vehicle operation system S. Note that in Fig. 7, it is assumed that user registration (generation of user information 41) in the operation management device 1 has been completed.

[0065] 7, the user terminal 100 first transmits a reservation request for a ride reservation to the operation management device 1 (step S101). The reservation request is a request that specifies a boarding location, a boarding time, a disembarking location, and a disembarking time.

[0066] Next, the operation management device 1 determines an operation plan such as a travel route based on the boarding reservations received from multiple users (step S102). Specifically, the operation management device 1 determines a travel route such that the arrival order of stop positions (boarding positions and disembarking positions) and arrival times (boarding times and disembarking times) satisfy the boarding reservations.

[0067] Next, the operation management device 1 notifies the operating vehicle 200 of the determined operation plan (step S103), and after starting operation, periodically receives notifications of the operating status of the operating vehicle 200 (step S104).

[0068] Next, the operation management device 1 determines whether or not a reminder notification to the user is necessary based on the operation status notification, and if it determines that a reminder notification is necessary, performs an extraction process to extract other operating vehicles 200 that are candidates for changing the reservation (step S105). Note that the detailed processing procedure of the vehicle extraction process in step S105 will be described later with reference to FIG. 8.

[0069] Next, the operation management device 1 sends a reminder notification to the target user including a change candidate for the arrival time (boarding time) of the operating vehicle 200 at the boarding position extracted in step S105 (step S106).

[0070] Next, when the user operates the screen display of the reminder notice and the change candidate notice to change the reservation to the change candidate, the user terminal 100 transmits a reservation change request to the operation management device 1 (step S107).

[0071] Next, when the operation management device 1 receives a reservation change request, it changes the ride reservation of the target user and changes the operation progress of the operating vehicle 200 in accordance with the change (step S108). Specifically, the operation management device 1 changes the travel route in accordance with the cancellation of the current ride reservation and changes the travel route in accordance with the addition of a ride reservation.

[0072] Next, the operation management device 1 notifies the operating vehicles 200 of the changed operation plan as a change notice (step S109). Specifically, the operation management device 1 notifies the operating vehicles 200 whose reservations have been canceled and the operating vehicles 200 whose reservations have been added of the operation plan changed in accordance with the reservation change.

[0073] Next, the operating vehicle 200 operates according to the changed operation plan, and sends an operation status notification to the operation management device 1 indicating that the operating vehicle 200 has arrived at the boarding position specified in the user's boarding reservation (step S110).

[0074] Furthermore, when the user terminal 100 detects that the user has boarded the operating vehicle 200, it notifies the operating management device 1 of a boarding completion notification (step S111). Note that boarding the operating vehicle 200 can be detected, for example, by a fare payment operation using electronic money via the user terminal 100, or by the location information of the user terminal 100 moving together with the location information of the operating vehicle 200.

[0075] Although the riding completion notification is sent to the operation management device 1 when the user terminal 100 detects that the user has boarded the operating vehicle 200, the user terminal 100 does not have to make the detection. Specifically, the riding completion notification may be sent to the operation management device 1 from the driver's terminal device or the camera by having the driver visually confirm the user or by performing user authentication using a camera installed in the vehicle.

[0076] Next, the processing procedure of the vehicle extraction processing shown in the above step S105 will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 8. Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the vehicle extraction processing executed by the traffic management device 1.

[0077] As shown in Fig. 8, the controller 3 first determines whether it is the reminder time, which is the time to issue a reminder notification (step S201). Specifically, the controller 3 determines that it is the reminder time when it is a predetermined time (e.g., 30 minutes) before the boarding time specified in the boarding reservation. Alternatively, the controller 3 determines that it is the reminder time when the operating vehicle 200 has arrived at a boarding position that is a predetermined number of positions (e.g., one position before) the boarding position specified in the boarding reservation. Note that if the controller 3 determines that it is not the reminder time (step S201: No), it ends the process.

[0078] When the controller 3 determines that it is time for a reminder (step S201: Yes), it determines whether or not another operating vehicle 200 is present near the boarding location specified in the current boarding reservation of the user who is the target of the reminder notification (step S202). Specifically, the controller 3 determines that another operating vehicle 200 is present near the boarding location if the travel route passes within a predetermined distance from the boarding location in the boarding reservation. Note that when the controller 3 determines that no other operating vehicle 200 is present near the boarding location (step S202: No), it ends the processing. In this case, the controller 3 notifies the target user in the reminder notification that there are no change candidates.

[0079] If another operating vehicle 200 is present near the boarding position (step S202: Yes), the controller 3 determines whether or not there is an available reservation slot for the operating vehicle 200 (step S203). Specifically, the controller 3 determines whether or not there is an available reservation slot based on the number of available slots in the operating vehicle information 43.

[0080] When the controller 3 determines that there is an available slot in the operating vehicle 200 (step S203: Yes), it determines whether or not it is necessary to change other boarding reservations for the operating vehicle 200 (step S204). In other words, the controller 3 determines whether or not it is possible to reach the boarding position in the boarding reservation of the target user without changing the boarding reservations of other users.

[0081] If the controller 3 determines that no change to other ride reservations is necessary (step S204: Yes), the controller 3 extracts the operating vehicle 200 as a changeable vehicle (step S205) and ends the process. That is, the controller 3 notifies the target user of the operating vehicle 200 extracted in step S205 as a change candidate.

[0082] On the other hand, in step S203, if there is no available slot in the operating vehicle 200 (step S203: No), the controller 3 returns to step S202 and determines whether another operating vehicle 200 can be a change candidate.

[0083] Furthermore, in step S204, if the controller 3 determines that another boarding reservation needs to be changed (step S204: No), the process returns to step S202 and determines whether another operating vehicle 200 can be a candidate for change.

[0084] Next, the operation procedure of the vehicle operation system S in the case of a boarding reservation that specifies a time range for boarding times will be described with reference to Fig. 9. Fig. 9 is a sequence diagram showing the operation procedure of the vehicle operation system S.

[0085] 9, the user terminal 100 first transmits a reservation request for a ride reservation to the operation management device 1 (step S301). The reservation request is a request that specifies a boarding location, a time range in which boarding is possible, and a drop-off location.

[0086] Next, the traffic management device 1 determines an operation plan such as a travel route based on the boarding reservations received from multiple users (step S302). Specifically, the traffic management device 1 determines a travel route such that the arrival order of stop positions (boarding positions and disembarking positions) and arrival times (boarding times and disembarking times) satisfy the boarding reservations. Furthermore, for boarding reservations that specify a time range for the boarding time, the traffic management device 1 determines a travel route that arrives at the boarding position at the latest time within the time range.

[0087] Next, the operation management device 1 notifies the operating vehicle 200 of the determined operation plan (step S303), and after starting operation, periodically receives notifications of the operating status of the operating vehicle 200 (step S304).

[0088] Next, the operation management device 1 determines whether a reminder notification to the user is necessary based on the operation status notification, and if it determines that a reminder notification is necessary, performs an extraction process to extract other operating vehicles 200 that are candidates for changing the reservation (step S305). In this case, the operation management device 1 extracts operating vehicles 200 whose arrival times fall within the above-mentioned time range in the vehicle extraction process shown in Fig. 8.

[0089] Next, the operation management device 1 sends a reminder to the target user, and notifies the target user of the arrival time (boarding time) of the operating vehicle 200 at the boarding position extracted in step S105 as a change candidate (step S306).

[0090] Next, when the user operates the screen display of the reminder notice and the change candidate notice to change the reservation to the change candidate, the user terminal 100 transmits a reservation change request to the operation management device 1 (step S307).

[0091] Next, when the operation management device 1 receives a reservation change request, it changes the ride reservation of the target user and changes the operation progress of the operating vehicle 200 in accordance with the change (step S308). Specifically, the operation management device 1 changes the travel route in accordance with the cancellation of the current ride reservation and changes the travel route in accordance with the addition of a ride reservation.

[0092] Next, the operation management device 1 notifies the operating vehicles 200 of the changed operation plan as a change notice (step S309). Specifically, the operation management device 1 notifies the operating vehicles 200 whose reservations have been canceled and the operating vehicles 200 whose reservations have been added of the operation plan changed in accordance with the reservation change.

[0093] Next, the operating vehicle 200 operates according to the changed operation plan, and sends an operation status notification to the operation management device 1 indicating that the operating vehicle 200 has arrived at the boarding position specified in the user's boarding reservation (step S310).

[0094] Furthermore, when the user terminal 100 detects that the user has boarded the operating vehicle 200, the user terminal 100 notifies the operating management device 1 of boarding completion notification (step S311).

[0095] As described above, the operation management device 1 according to the embodiment includes the controller 3. The controller 3 accepts boarding reservations specifying boarding locations from multiple users, and determines a travel route for a vehicle (operating vehicle 200) to fulfill the boarding reservations. When sending a reminder notification to a target user indicating that boarding for the boarding reservation is approaching, the controller extracts, from other vehicles based on the travel routes of the other vehicles, other vehicles that can reach the boarding location in the boarding reservation of the target user without changing the boarding reservations of the other users, and notifies the extracted other vehicles of a boarding time when they can board at the boarding location.

[0096] According to the present disclosure, by extracting other vehicles that can be boarded without changing the other users' boarding reservations and notifying the target user of the other vehicles, the target user's boarding reservation can be changed to the other vehicles without changing the other users' boarding reservations. Therefore, according to the present disclosure, boarding reservations can be changed without disrupting the operation plan.

[0097] Further advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described above. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0098] 1 Traffic control device 2. Communications Department 3 Controller 4 Storage section 41 User Information 42 Reservation Information 43 Vehicle Information 100 user terminals 200 operating vehicles S Vehicle Operation System

Claims

1. a controller that receives boarding reservations specifying boarding locations from a plurality of users and determines a vehicle travel route so as to satisfy the boarding reservations; The controller When a reminder notification indicating that boarding of the boarding reservation is approaching is sent to the target user, the other vehicles that can reach the boarding position in the boarding reservation of the target user without changing the boarding reservation of the other users are extracted from the other vehicles based on the travel routes of the other vehicles, and the extracted other vehicles are notified of the boarding time when the target user can board at the boarding position. Operation control device.

2. The controller When a reservation change request to board the other vehicle is received from the target user, the reservation is changed to the other vehicle, and the travel route of the other vehicle is changed based on the changed reservation. The operation management device according to claim 1.

3. The above-mentioned ride reservation is Specifying a boarding time at the boarding location, The controller The other vehicle that will arrive at the boarding location at a time later than the boarding time specified in the boarding reservation is extracted, and notified to the target user. The operation management device according to claim 1.

4. The controller When a plurality of other vehicles are extracted, the other vehicle that will arrive at the boarding position at the time closest to the boarding time specified by the boarding reservation is extracted and notified to the target user. The operation management device according to claim 3.

5. The above-mentioned ride reservation is Specifying a time range during which boarding is possible at the boarding location, The controller The travel route of the vehicle is determined so that the vehicle arrives at the boarding position at a first boarding time within the time range, and when the reminder notification is given based on the travel route, the other vehicle that can arrive at the boarding position at a second boarding time within the time range is extracted and notified to the target user. The operation management device according to claim 1.

6. The first boarding time is the latest time within the time range, The second boarding time is It is earlier than the first boarding time The operation management device according to claim 5.

7. The controller Other vehicles with no available seats are excluded from the extraction target. The operation management device according to claim 1.

8. a computer that executes a procedure of accepting ride reservations specifying ride locations from a plurality of users, and determining a vehicle travel route that satisfies the ride reservations; The procedure comprises: When a reminder notification indicating that boarding of the boarding reservation is approaching is sent to the target user, the other vehicles that can reach the boarding position in the boarding reservation of the target user without changing the boarding reservation of the other users are extracted from the other vehicles based on the travel routes of the other vehicles, and the extracted other vehicles are notified of the boarding time when the target user can board at the boarding position. Operations management program.

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