Care taxi reservation system, reservation method, and computer program

Abstract

To provide a care taxi reservation system, a reservation method and a computer program, allowing easy and efficient matching of users with a care taxi and its driver.SOLUTION: The control section 30 of the server 2 of the care taxi booking system 1 of the present invention executes a booking process for allowing a person who makes a booking to make a booking in a designated booking mode in which a specific driver can be designated to book a care taxi and a general booking mode in which a care taxi can be booked without designating a specific driver at booking management terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, and 7a based on at least car information of the care taxi and information of the driver of the care taxi stored in the database 40.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a nursing care taxi reservation system, a reservation method, and a computer program. [Background technology]

[0002] General taxis (general passenger automobile transport businesses) are permitted to operate what is commonly called "driving taxis," and dispatching vehicles by telephone reservation is also common. In relation to this, many dispatch systems that utilize telephone and radio lines to realize dispatching vehicles have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2), and have been put into practical use.

[0003] In contrast, nursing care taxis, which are general passenger vehicle transportation businesses limited to welfare transportation, are shuttle vehicles owned by nursing care taxi operators (nursing care service providers, including sole proprietors) licensed by law, and are not permitted to operate on the road. In order to ride in a nursing care taxi, you must make a reservation in advance with the nursing care taxi operator by phone or other means. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-151083 [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 2021-47791 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The first important factor in making a reservation for a care taxi is whether the taxi is equipped with the necessary facilities to provide care to the user. In other words, when reserving a care taxi, it is necessary to select a care taxi based on the care information of the user. Specifically, it is necessary to select a care taxi equipped with the necessary facilities, such as a wheelchair or stretcher, that meets the user's care needs.

[0006] In addition, in the case of nursing care taxis, there are cases where the driver will come into physical contact with the user in order to provide care, so when booking a nursing care taxi, it is important not only to select the vehicle, but also to select a reliable driver.

[0007] Furthermore, there has been a growing concern about a shortage of drivers, and nursing care taxis are no exception. The number of drivers is low compared to the demand, so when you make a reservation by phone, the driver is often on a shuttle service, and there are many cases where the call is not answered. In addition, there are only a limited number of vehicles that can accommodate wheelchairs, stretchers, etc. In other words, due to the shortage of drivers and vehicles, it often takes a long time to complete a reservation.

[0008] Furthermore, because the user requires care, reservations for nursing care taxis are generally made by the user's care manager (care manager) or family members. In other words, when reserving a nursing care taxi, the user and the person making the reservation are generally different people. As a result, it can be difficult or time-consuming to communicate accurate care information to the driver in advance by phone or other means when making a reservation. Furthermore, when using a nursing care taxi for the first time, there is not enough information available about what procedures to follow and where to make a reservation.

[0009] Considering the unique characteristics of care taxis that distinguish them from regular taxis, matching the user with a care taxi and its driver (caregiver) is extremely important when making a reservation, and there is a need to create a system that allows this matching to be done easily and efficiently even by people other than taxi users.

[0010] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a nursing care taxi reservation system, reservation method, and computer program that can easily and efficiently match users with nursing care taxis and their drivers. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a nursing care taxi reservation system, reservation method, and computer program that can solve the problem of difficulty in contacting drivers when making reservations, enable easy communication of nursing care information to drivers, and enable people other than users to efficiently complete reservations. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] In order to solve the above problem, the present invention provides a nursing care taxi reservation system for reserving a nursing care taxi, A reservation management terminal that can be operated by a person reserving a care taxi for a specific user who will ride in the care taxi and can manage the reservation; a vehicle dispatch management terminal that can be operated by a care taxi business operator, including a care taxi driver, and that can accept reservations for the care taxi; a server accessible by wireless communication from the reservation management terminal and the vehicle dispatch management terminal; Equipped with The server a database that stores at least information regarding reservations for care taxis, information about the person making the reservation, information about users who will be riding in the care taxis, vehicle information about the care taxis, and information about care taxi drivers; a control unit that processes the information stored in the database, the information input from the reservation management terminal, and the information input from the vehicle dispatch management terminal, and controls the transmission of information to the reservation management terminal and the vehicle dispatch management terminal; Including, When the control unit receives a designated reservation from the reservation management terminal specifying a specific care taxi driver registered in the database, the control unit transmits a reservation request from the reservation management terminal to the vehicle dispatch management terminal of the designated specific driver, confirms the reservation upon notification of reservation acceptance from the vehicle dispatch management terminal, and notifies the reservation management terminal of the reservation confirmation. It is characterized by:

[0012] According to the above-described configuration of the present invention, a reservation person can reserve a nursing care taxi by specifying a specific driver for the user (reserving a designated driver) based on information stored in the database (for example, at least the vehicle information of the nursing care taxi and the information of the driver of the nursing care taxi), which makes it possible (promotes) to easily and efficiently match the user with the nursing care taxi and its driver. Considering the special nature of nursing care taxis, where the driver may come into physical contact with the user in order to provide care, this is extremely significant in that it makes it possible to select a reliable driver.

[0013] Furthermore, with the above configuration, a nursing care taxi reservation can be made by exchanging information between two terminals (the reservation management terminal and the dispatch management terminal), so the process for making a reservation can be carried out easily and efficiently without the need for cumbersome person-to-person conversations over the phone or miscommunication or misunderstandings caused by oral communication, and without the hassle of human relationships between the parties. Furthermore, because the person making the reservation only needs to operate their own reservation management terminal to make the reservation, it also solves the problem of not knowing what steps to take and where to make the reservation.

[0014] Furthermore, with the above configuration, it is also possible to store reservation information entered from the reservation management terminal in a database, so even if the person making the reservation cannot contact the driver at the time of reservation, they can notify the driver of the reservation by leaving the reservation information in the database, and on the other hand, even if the driver cannot accept the reservation in real time because he is currently providing a shuttle service, he can check the reservation later.In addition, since information can be stored in a database, for example, by storing reservation history information in the database, it is possible to easily reproduce the same reservation as last time, and reservation information can also be managed.

[0015] In the above configuration, the person who makes the reservation may be a specific user.

[0016] In addition, in the above configuration, the designated reservation may include any of the following: a first designated reservation, in which a nursing care taxi can be reserved by specifying a specific driver corresponding to a two-dimensional code read by the imaging processing unit of the reservation management terminal; a second designated reservation, in which a nursing care taxi can be reserved by specifying a specific driver from among the drivers stored in a database in association with a specific user (for example, registered by the reservation user for a specific user); a third designated reservation, in which a nursing care taxi can be reserved by accessing the server's website from the reservation management terminal and specifying a specific driver using a designated reservation button displayed on the website; and a fourth designated reservation, in which a nursing care taxi can be reserved by specifying a specific driver on the display screen of the reservation management terminal, in which each nursing care taxi driver is associated with an estimated fare required for transportation by that driver.

[0017] In this case, the two-dimensional code for the first designated reservation may be obtained, for example, by the user receiving a leaflet with the two-dimensional code printed on it from the driver of the nursing care taxi they booked and boarded in a general reservation (a reservation without specifying a driver) when they get off the taxi, or by the user directly reading the two-dimensional code displayed on the driver's dispatch management terminal with their own terminal (such as a mobile phone) when they get off the taxi. Note that when the driver's information is read, the driver corresponding to the read information may be automatically registered (for example, stored in a database) as a driver who can be specified for the second designated reservation.

[0018] Furthermore, the information about the registered driver in the second designated reservation may be stored in a database as "favorite" data using a bookmark function. Furthermore, the server's website for the third designated reservation may display, for example, a list of drivers available late at night or a list of female drivers, or may link to a driver introduction page for a nursing care taxi information center. It is preferable that the reserving party can select a specific driver by touching a designated reservation button based on the displayed information. Here, the designated reservation button may be, for example, a deep link (a link that moves from a web page or smartphone app to specific content in the app). The driver designated using the designated reservation button may be automatically registered as a driver available for selection in the second designated reservation. Similarly, the driver designated in the fourth designated reservation may also be automatically registered as a driver available for selection in the second designated reservation.

[0019] In the above configuration, when the control unit receives an input from the vehicle dispatch management terminal indicating that the designated driver is unavailable to accept a reservation request from a designated reservation holder, it preferably causes the control unit to display a message on the reservation management terminal of the reservation holder urging the reservation holder to change the reservation date and time. In this case, it is preferable that the message urging the reservation holder to change the reservation date and time also notify the designated driver of his / her free time. This allows for efficient reservation establishment based on availability.

[0020] In the above configuration, the control unit may allow the driver of the nursing care taxi to register other drivers with whom the driver can share a reservation received on the vehicle dispatch management terminal. When the control unit receives input from the vehicle dispatch management terminal indicating that the designated driver is unable to accept a reservation from a designated reservation recipient, the control unit may display a message on the reservation recipient's reservation management terminal introducing the other driver registered by the designated driver as a substitute for the designated driver under specified conditions. In this case, the specified condition may be, for example, an input from the driver who is unable to accept a reservation through the vehicle dispatch management terminal to introduce the other registered driver with whom the reservation can be shared to the recipient. Alternatively, the introduction message may be automatically displayed unconditionally on the reservation recipient's reservation management terminal. The message introducing the other driver preferably includes an inquiry as to whether the recipient will specify the other introduced driver. In this case, the control unit preferably sends a dispatch request to the other driver upon receiving a notification that the recipient has specified the other driver. This driver introduction function is effective not only when the designated driver's reservation schedule is busy, but also when the designated driver does not operate within the recipient's pick-up and drop-off area.

[0021] In the above configuration, the control unit may also perform a priority vehicle allocation process by classifying drivers into multiple categories based on predetermined criteria using information stored in the database, and when a reservation from a general reservation user is received from the reservation management terminal, the control unit may prioritize the allocation of the vehicle related to the reservation, starting with the driver belonging to the highest ranked category. In this case, the predetermined criteria may be based on, for example, the driver's caregiving ability, the number of designated reservations, the care level of the vehicle owned, etc. This makes it possible to provide a higher level of care service to users.

[0022] Here, the priority vehicle allocation process may shift the time for each category and send the vehicle allocation request related to the reservation to the driver's vehicle allocation management terminal. In this way, by determining the priority of vehicle allocation based on the time difference (late or early) of the vehicle allocation request, the higher the rank, the earlier the vehicle allocation request can be received, increasing the probability of confirming the vehicle allocation (reservation). Alternatively, the priority vehicle allocation process may simultaneously send the vehicle allocation request related to the reservation to the vehicle allocation management terminal of all drivers who are the target of the vehicle allocation related to the reservation, and allocate the vehicle to the driver who belongs to the highest ranked category among the drivers who have accepted the reservation related to the vehicle allocation request. In this case, among drivers of the same rank, reservations are obtained on a first-come, first-served basis, but among drivers of different ranks, the higher the rank, the higher the probability of obtaining a reservation.

[0023] Furthermore, in the above configuration, when the control unit receives a reservation from a user who makes a general reservation or a designated reservation through the reservation management terminal, it preferably provides nursing care information about the user related to the reservation to the dispatch management terminal of the driver who is the target of the vehicle dispatch related to the reservation, and displays a screen on the dispatch management terminal that allows the driver to input whether or not they can accept the reservation based on the nursing care information. In this case, the nursing care information may include, for example, the facilities and equipment required by the user, the level of nursing care required by the user, etc. This allows the driver to accurately understand the nursing care services required by the user, and therefore can determine whether or not they can accept the reservation by comparing it with the nursing care facilities they own, thereby ensuring that a nursing care taxi reservation is made without compromising the user's desired nursing care services.

[0024] Furthermore, according to the above configuration, when the control unit receives a reservation from a user who makes a general reservation or a designated reservation from the reservation management terminal, the control unit may display a screen on the dispatch management terminal that reflects the reservation in the schedule of the nursing care taxi driver. In this case, the schedule may be displayed in a manner that visually differentiates between confirmed (accepted by the driver) general reservations, confirmed (accepted by the driver) designated reservations, unconfirmed (reservation acceptance is on hold) general reservations, and unconfirmed (reservation acceptance is on hold) designated reservations, for example, by changing the display state. This allows the driver to grasp the current status of reservations at a glance, contributing to the efficiency of reservation processing.

[0025] In addition, according to the above configuration, the control unit may display a screen on the reservation management terminal that allows the reservation holder to check the reservation status of the corresponding user. Such a display is particularly useful when the reservation holder is a care manager who manages multiple users. In this case, the reservation status may include, for example, the reservation request status from the user, the reservation completion status, and the reservation cancellation history.

[0026] The present invention also provides a reservation method executed by the nursing care taxi reservation system described above, and a computer program for causing a computer to execute the method. [Effects of the Invention]

[0027] The present invention enables simple and efficient matching of users with care taxis and their drivers. It also solves the problem of difficulty in contacting drivers when making reservations, allows care information to be easily conveyed to drivers, and enables people other than users to efficiently make reservations. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0028] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic overall configuration diagram of a nursing care taxi reservation system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the nursing care taxi reservation system of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] 2 is a diagram showing information stored in a database of a server of the nursing care taxi reservation system of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart showing the overall flow of a reservation and dispatch process carried out among a reservation management terminal, a server, and a dispatch management terminal. [Figure 5] 10 shows the display screens on the display unit of each terminal obtained at each stage of the nursing care taxi reservation and dispatch process using the nursing care taxi reservation app. [Figure 6] 10 shows display screens obtained at each stage of a specific reservation process that is carried out by launching a corresponding application on a reservation management terminal. [Figure 7] This is the display screen that is obtained when the person making the reservation touches the "Reservation Status" button. [Figure 8] 10 shows an example of a reservation format for a first designated reservation and a third designated reservation. [Figure 9] 10 shows an example of a reservation format for a second designated reservation. [Figure 10] 10 shows an example of a reservation format for the fourth designated reservation. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart of a reservation process carried out between the reservation management terminal and the server. [Figure 12] 10 shows a first example of reservation arrangement processing in the server. [Figure 13] 10 shows a second example of reservation arrangement processing in the server. [Figure 14] An example of designated reservation processing will be shown. [Figure 15] 10 shows an example of logic for priority vehicle allocation processing. [Figure 16] 10 shows a first example of the flow of priority vehicle allocation processing in general reservation processing. [Figure 17] 10 shows a second example of the flow of priority vehicle allocation processing in general reservation processing. [Figure 18] A screen shot of the nursing care taxi driver app is shown. [Figure 19] The reservation notification screen and schedule screen of the nursing care taxi driver app are shown. [Figure 20] 10 is a notification screen displayed on the reservation management terminal when the "Request time change" button is touched. [Figure 21] (a) is the friend addition screen displayed on the dispatch management terminal, (b) is the friend selection screen displayed on the dispatch management terminal, (c) is the reservation details screen displayed on the friend's dispatch management terminal when requesting a friend, and (d) is the notification screen displayed on the reservation management terminal when introducing a friend. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0029] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1. System Overview 1 shows an example of a nursing care taxi reservation system 1 that can communicate with a cloud system 4 via a communication means (network) 10 and allows a user to reserve a nursing care taxi by processing the information on a computer in accordance with a predetermined algorithm. This nursing care taxi reservation system 1 includes at least a cloud server 2 (hereinafter simply referred to as the server) communicatively connected to a cloud system 4 (for example, an existing information system such as Google Maps (registered trademark)) that can access mobility data including location information and traffic congestion information, dispatch management terminals 9a and 9b communicatively connected to the server 2 via the network 10 and performing dispatch management such as accepting and managing dispatch reservations for nursing care taxis, and reservation management terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, and 7a communicatively connected to the server 2 via the network 10 and capable of managing reservations (dispatch reservations) for nursing care taxis.

[0030] In FIG. 1, the dispatch management terminals 9a and 9b, which can access the server 2 via communication means 10, are terminals that can be owned and operated by the nursing care taxi business operator 9, including the nursing care taxi driver. The dispatch management terminals 9a and 9b are, for example, terminal devices installed in the taxi or portable terminals carried by the taxi driver, and are also called driver terminals. Here, the nursing care taxi business operator 9 includes an operator that dispatches and manages multiple nursing care taxis, a sole proprietor who operates a nursing care taxi business, or an individual (such as an employee) who has a specific business relationship with the operator 8. Furthermore, the reservation management terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, and 7a, which can access the server 2 via communication means 10, are terminals that can be owned and operated by a person who makes a reservation for a nursing care taxi for a specific user who will use the nursing care taxi. Specifically, as an example, reservation management terminals 5a and 5b are terminals installed in a nursing care facility 5 where nursing care taxi reservations are made or a mobile terminal of a person affiliated with the nursing care facility 5, reservation management terminals 6a and 6b are terminals installed in a hospital 6 where nursing care taxi reservations are made or a mobile terminal of a person affiliated with the hospital 6, and reservation management terminal 7a is a mobile terminal owned by a user 7 who makes a nursing care taxi reservation and actually rides in the nursing care taxi (if the person making the reservation is a specific user) or a family member of user 7. Here, nursing care taxi operators and sole proprietors (or employees) are given as examples of parties on the dispatch management side, and nursing care facilities, hospitals, and users who require care are given as examples of parties on the reservation management side, but the parties on the dispatch management side and reservation management side are not limited to these.

[0031] 1, communication means 10 exchanges information between terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 9a, and 9b and server 2, and may be either wired or wireless communication. Examples of such communication means 10 include the Internet, a line using a wired cable, a wired telephone line, a mobile phone line, and a Wi-Fi line. Also, in FIG. 1, terminals 5a, 6a, and 9a are shown as tablet terminals, and terminals 5b, 6b, 7a, and 9b are shown as smartphones, but the types of terminals are not limited to these.

[0032] In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the server 2 outputs the result of vehicle reservation establishment by computer processing using a predetermined algorithm based on information related to the reservation (dispatch) transmitted from the terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 9a, 9b via the communication means 10, but such a reservation method may be executed by the terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 9a, 9b alone or by the server 2 alone, without going through the communication means 10. Furthermore, the present invention may exist not in the form of a system but as a computer program product (recording medium) storing a computer program for executing such a nursing care taxi reservation method.

[0033] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the nursing care taxi reservation system 1 shown in Figure 1. As shown, the reservation management terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, and 7a each include an HTTP communication unit 21 that enables communication with the communication means 10, a display unit 22 that displays various information related to nursing care taxi reservations, an operation input unit 23 that the reservation holder operates to input information, an image processing unit 24 that captures and processes necessary information such as two-dimensional codes as images, a storage unit 25 that stores at least a nursing care taxi reservation app 25a (application software that handles reservation processing on the reservation management terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, and 7a side), and a control unit (CPU) 20 that controls the operation of each of these components. The operation input unit 23 may be, for example, a touch panel, a keyboard, or a mouse.

[0034] The dispatch management terminals 9a, 9b (driver terminals) each include an HTTP communication unit 52 that enables communication with the communication means 10; a display unit 53 that displays various information related to reservations (dispatches); an operation input unit 54 that the care taxi business (e.g., driver) operates to input information; an image processing unit 55 that captures and processes information related to reservations (dispatches) as images; a memory unit 51 that stores at least a driver schedule 51a and a care taxi driver app 51b (application software that handles dispatch processing, etc., on the dispatch management terminals 9a, 9b); and a control unit (CPU) 50 that controls the operation of each of these components based on the care taxi driver app 51b. Examples of the operation input unit 55 include a touch panel, keyboard, or mouse. The driver schedule 51a backs up reservations accepted by the driver so that reservations can be referenced even when the terminal is offline, and also stores the driver's personal schedule.

[0035] The server 2 has an HTTP communication unit 35 that enables communication with the communication means 10, a memory unit 36 ​​that stores a control program 36a that controls the server 2 and the system 1 as a whole, a database 40 that contains at least various data necessary for reserving a nursing care taxi, and a control unit (CPU) 30 that controls the operation of each of these components. The control unit 30 executes the control program 36a, processes information stored in the database 40, information input from the reservation management terminal, and information input from the vehicle dispatch management terminal, and creates table records that contain information corresponding to each work step of a series of reservation and dispatch procedures to be displayed on the display units 22, 53 of the reservation management terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a and / or vehicle dispatch management terminals 9a, 9b, and also controls the transmission of information to the reservation management terminal and the vehicle dispatch management terminal via the HTTP communication unit 35.

[0036] Functionally, the control unit 30 includes at least a reservation reception unit 30a that accepts reservations from the reservation management terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, and 7a; a database update unit 30b that updates information to be stored in the database 40 based on input information from the reservation management terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, and 7a and the dispatch management terminals 9a and 9b; a designated reservation processing unit 30c that performs a designated reservation process described below that allows a reserving party to specify a specific driver and reserve a nursing care taxi based on at least the vehicle information of the nursing care taxi and the information of the driver of the nursing care taxi stored in the database 40; a priority reservation processing unit 30d that performs a priority dispatch process described below that preferentially assigns reserved vehicles to drivers belonging to higher-ranked categories; and a notification management unit 30e that manages various notifications to the reservation management terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, and 7a and the dispatch management terminals 9a and 9b.

[0037] The database 40 of the server 2 stores information necessary for the series of reservation procedures for a nursing care taxi, and includes at least a company information table (TBL) 40a, a vehicle information table 40b, a driver table 40c, a facility table 40d, a reservation person table 40e, a user table 40f, a favorites table 40g, a registered location table 40h, a reservation table 40i, and a pricing table 40j.

[0038] 2. Configuring the Database Next, the database 40 on the server 2 shown in FIG. 2 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The company information table 40a, vehicle information table 40b, driver table 40c, and pricing table 40j are tables that mainly store information related to vehicle dispatch management, while the facility table 40d, reservation table 40e, user table 40f, favorites table 40g, and registered location table 40h are tables that mainly store information related to reservation management. All of these tables 40a, 40b, 40c, 40d, 40e, 40f, 40g, 40h, and 40j on the vehicle dispatch management side and the reservation management side are associated (linked) with the reservation table 40i, and some of the registration information (update information) of tables 40a, 40b, 40c, 40d, 40e, 40f, 40g, 40h, and 40j is reflected in the reservation table 40i (the registration information is reflected in each other).

[0039] Specifically, the company information table 40a stores information about nursing care taxi business establishments (companies). Examples of information stored in the company information table 40a include a company ID as a unique ID for the company information table record, the company name, the company email address, the company telephone number, the company address, the taxi company's homepage (HP), the company type, and the area code for areas where reservations can be made. Even if a driver is a sole proprietor and not affiliated with a company, for example, the driver's trade name is registered as the company name.

[0040] The vehicle information table 40b stores information about nursing care taxi vehicles. Examples of information stored in the vehicle information table 40b include a vehicle ID as a unique ID for each vehicle information table record, a company ID that links to a record in the company information table (to link the vehicle information record to the company information record), the vehicle type, the service type, the nursing care insurance provided with the vehicle, the vehicle license plate, a photo of the front of the vehicle, a photo of the side of the vehicle, a photo of the rear of the vehicle, and the number of passengers in the vehicle. Here, the service type refers to the type of service that can be provided in connection with the vehicle, such as a reclining wheelchair, a stretcher, or a universal design (UD) taxi.

[0041] The driver table 40c stores information about the drivers of the nursing care taxis. Examples of information stored in the driver table 40c include, for example, a driver ID as a unique ID of the driver table record, a login ID related to the driver, a password related to the driver, a vehicle ID linked to a record in the vehicle information table (for linking to the vehicle information table) (this links the driver information record to the vehicle information record), a company ID linked to a record in the company information table (for linking to the company information table) (this links the driver information record to the company information record), the driver's name, the driver's gender, the driver's date of birth, the driver's email address, the driver's mobile phone number, a photo of the driver, the driver's address, the driver's overall rating (rating by the user), and a simultaneous dispatch acceptance status regarding whether the driver will accept simultaneous dispatch in the priority dispatch processing described below. Examples of such information include a reservation flag ("Yes" if accepted, "No" if not accepted), a designated reservation flag indicating whether the driver will accept designated reservations (described below) ("Yes" if accepted, "No" if not accepted), a same-day reservation flag indicating whether the driver will accept same-day reservations (reservations for the day the user gets in the car) ("Yes" if accepted, "No" if not accepted), a friend introduction option flag that introduces the driver to other drivers with whom the driver can share the reservations he has received ("Yes" if supported, "No" if not supported), the plan specified by the nursing care taxi reservation app (the driver's subscription plan), the ID of the driver's business partner, the ID of the driver's business contact person, and the ID of the driver's fellow drivers (other drivers registered as people with whom the driver can share the reservations he has received). Multiple fellow drivers can be registered here.

[0042] The facility table 40d stores information about facilities used by users. Examples of information stored in the facility table 40d include a facility ID as a unique ID for the facility table record, the name of the facility, the address of the facility, the telephone number of the facility, and a valid flag.

[0043] The reservation table 40e stores information about reservationrs. A reservationr is basically a person who reserves a care taxi on behalf of a care recipient (a taxi user). A reservationr is often a facility employee, but may also be a family member or the care recipient themselves. Examples of information stored in the reservation table 40e include a reservationr ID as a unique ID for the reservationr table record, a facility ID that links to a facility table record (to link the reservationr information record to the facility information record), a login ID associated with the reservationr, a password associated with the reservationr, the name of the facility used by the reservationr, the reservationr's name, the reservationr's email address, the reservationr's phone number, an avatar of the facility used by the reservationr, the address of the facility used by the reservationr, a photo related to the meeting with the care taxi, notes to be written related to the meeting with the care taxi, the reservationr's occupation, and a role indicating the reservationr's role. Here, the reservationr's occupation can be selected from, for example, care manager, social worker, staff, the reservationr or their family, etc. The role is selected from among administrator or general staff, and depending on this role, the control unit 30 will define the content to be displayed on the display unit 22 of the reservation management terminal (content of output information; display range).

[0044] The user table 40f stores information about users (those riding in a care taxi, e.g., care recipients). Examples of information stored in the user table 40f include a user ID as a unique ID for each user table record, a facility ID linked to a facility table record (to link to the facility table), a reserver ID linked to a reserver table record (to link to the reserver table), the user's gender, the user's date of birth, the names of the user's family members, email addresses for contacting the user, the user's care level, services required for the user, the number of caregivers required for the user, the user's weight, contact information for the user, the user's telephone number, whether the user has a welfare taxi voucher, and whether the user has a disability certificate discount. The services required for the user can be selected from among a wheelchair, a reclining wheelchair, a stretcher, a UD taxi, etc.

[0045] The favorites table 40g stores information about "favorite" drivers for each user using a bookmark function. Information stored in the favorites table 40g includes, for example, a favorites ID as a unique ID for the favorites table record, a user ID that links to a record in the user table (to link to the user table), and a driver ID that links to a record in the driver table (to link to the driver table). For example, when a user reserves a ride by designating a driver, the driver is automatically registered in the favorites table 40g as the user's "favorite" driver.

[0046] The registered location table 40h stores location registration information required for users to use a nursing care taxi. The registered location data is registered for each user linked to a facility. Examples of information stored in the registered location table 40h include a registered location ID as a unique ID for the registered location table record, a facility ID that links to a record in the facility table (to link to the facility table) (this links the registered location information record to the facility information record), a user ID that links to a record in the user table (to link to the user table) (this links the registered location information record to the user information record), the registered location name, the address of the registered location, the longitude of the registered location, the latitude of the registered location, the number of stairs or steps at the registered location, a photo of the registered location, notes about the registered location, the creation date and time of the registered location information, the update date and time of the registered location information, a meeting place at the registered location, and details of the meeting place at the registered location.

[0047] The reservation table 40i stores various information related to reservations, and one record is created for each reservation. Examples of information stored in the registered location table 40h include a reservation ID as a unique ID for the reservation table record, a facility ID linked to a record in the facility table (for linking to the facility table) (this links the reservation information record to the facility information record), a user ID linked to a record in the user table (for linking to the user table) (this links the reservation information record to the user information record), the user name, the user's telephone number, a reserving party ID linked to a record in the reserving party table (for linking to the reserving party table) (this links the reservation information record to the reserving party information record), information on whether the nursing care taxi reservation is a one-way or round-trip, a reservation ID for the return trip of the nursing care taxi (only for round-trip reservations), the registered location ID of the boarding point and the registered location ID of the destination linked to the record in the registered location table (for linking to the registered location table), the date and time of use of the nursing care taxi, the reservation status of the nursing care taxi, and the number of passengers in the nursing care taxi. Furthermore, it includes the number of people required to assist the user, the user's care level, contact information, and services required for the user, and this data is copied from the user table 40f at the time of reservation.Furthermore, it includes the boarding point and actual arrival time of the nursing care taxi at the destination, the reservation type, the reservation information creation date and time, a driver ID that links to a record in the driver table (to link to the driver table) (this links the reservation information record to the driver information record), a vehicle ID that links to a record in the vehicle information table (to link to the vehicle information table) (this links the reservation information record to the vehicle information record), the area code of the departure point related to the reservation, the area code of the destination related to the reservation, a designated flag related to a designated reservation, and a site code.Further, the fare information includes the confirmed transportation fare for the nursing care taxi, the estimated transportation fare for the nursing care taxi, the fee for assisting the user in getting in and out of the taxi when going to the hospital, the fee for assisting the user indoors, the fee for assisting the user going up and down stairs, the fee per caregiver other than the driver, the fee for a nurse escort, the fee for wheelchair rental, the fee for reclining wheelchair rental, and the fee for stretcher rental. These data are stored as estimated fares calculated or set based on the designated driver fee setting table when a driver is designated based on the estimated fares described below. Furthermore, the information can include the ID of the referring driver, i.e., the driver who introduced another driver who can share the reservation. The facility ID is stored in this reservation table 40i so that the facility manager can retrieve all reservations. Reservation types include general reservations, designated reservations from favorites, designated reservations from websites, designated reservations from two-dimensional codes (e.g., QR Codes (registered trademark)), and friend referrals. The reservation status is expressed as a code, and when the reservation is not confirmed, there are codes such as Not Dispatched (1) and Dispatched (2), and when the reservation is confirmed, there are codes such as Dispatched (3), Picking up (4), Arrived at departure point (5), Completed (6), and finally Cancelled (9). One of these codes is selected and updated depending on the situation.

[0048] The fee setting table 40j stores, for each driver, information on fee setting for a nursing care taxi, which is necessary for calculating an estimated fee, which will be described later. Examples of information stored in the fee setting table 40j include a driver ID linked to a record in the driver table (to link to the driver table), a distance-based initial unit, a distance-based initial fare, an hourly initial unit, an hourly initial fare, a distance-based additional unit, a distance-based additional fare, an hourly additional unit, an hourly additional fare, a time-distance combined unit, a time-distance combined fare, a pick-up fee, a basic wheelchair assistance fee, a basic reclining wheelchair assistance fee, a basic stretcher assistance fee, a fee for assisting a user getting in and out of the car when going to the hospital, a fee for assisting a user indoors, a fee for assisting a user going up and down stairs (fees for up to the second floor, and for higher floors, a fee for each additional floor), a fee per attendant other than the driver, a fee for a nurse escort (for example, a time charge), a wheelchair rental fee, a reclining wheelchair rental fee, and a stretcher rental fee.

[0049] 3. Reservation and dispatch processing 3.1. Overall flow of reservation and dispatch processing Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the overall flow of the reservation and dispatch processing carried out between the reservation management terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, the server 2, and the dispatch management terminals 9a, 9b. Figure 5 shows, in the upper part, the transition of the display screen of the reservation management terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a using the nursing care taxi reservation app 25a from reservation to the actual vehicle and arrival at the destination, and in the lower part, the transition of the display screen of the dispatch management terminals (driver terminals) 9a, 9b using the nursing care taxi driver app 51b.

[0050] First, when reserving a nursing care taxi, the person making the reservation uses the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a to access the reservation site of the server 2, open the user page shown in (a) of Figure 5, enter the reservation data on the input screen shown in (b) and (c) of Figure 5 (step S1 of Figure 4), and then send the reservation data to the server 2 on the screen shown in (d) of Figure 5 (step S2 of Figure 4), and receive a reservation completion notification from the server 2 indicating that the reservation has been accepted, as shown in (e) of Figure 5.

[0051] When the reservation data is transmitted to the server 2, the reservation reception unit 30a of the control unit 30 of the server 2 executes a reservation reception process (step S3 in FIG. 4). Thereafter, the server 2 executes a reservation arrangement process based on the data (step S4 in FIG. 4), and transmits a reservation request (dispatch request) to the dispatch management terminals 9a, 9b of the corresponding nursing care taxi business operator (or the driver designated by the reserving party in the case of a designated reservation) (step S5 in FIG. 4). As a result, a reservation request notification screen such as that shown in FIG. 5(A) is displayed on the display unit 53 of the corresponding dispatch management terminals 9a, 9b (step S6 in FIG. 4).

[0052] The reservation request notification screen shown in Figure 5(A) displays reservation information (reservation request details) necessary for dispatch acceptance, including information entered by the reserving user, such as required services (such as a reclining wheelchair), number of passengers, number of attendants, care level, contact information, the user's phone number, meeting place, meeting place details, whether a welfare taxi voucher is used, whether a disability certificate discount is available, and facilities. It also displays an "Accept" button 68 for accepting the reservation, a "Schedule" button 69 for displaying the driver's own schedule, and a "Reject" button 70 for rejecting the reservation. The nursing care taxi operator (hereinafter referred to as the driver for convenience) who received the reservation request views the reservation request notification screen, checks the schedule using the "Schedule" button 69, and carefully considers the reservation. If the reservation is accepted, the operator touches the "Accept" button 68 (step S7 in Figure 4), as shown in Figure 5(B) or the "Reject" button 70 if the reservation is rejected. In this way, when the control unit 30 receives a reservation from a reserving party through the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, it provides information including care information about the user related to the reservation to the dispatch management terminal 9a, 9b of the driver who is the target of the dispatch related to the reservation, and displays a screen on the dispatch management terminal 9a, 9b that allows the driver to input whether or not they can accept the reservation based on the care information. Furthermore, when the control unit 30 receives a reservation from a reserving party through the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, it displays a screen on the dispatch management terminal 9a, 9b that reflects the reservation in the schedule of the nursing care taxi driver.

[0053] When the driver touches the "Accept" button 68, the vehicle dispatch management terminal (driver terminal) sends information indicating acceptance together with the driver ID to the server 2. Based on this, the server 2 executes the vehicle dispatch confirmation process (step S8 in FIG. 4) and then sends a reservation confirmation notice to the reservation management terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, and as a result, a reservation confirmation notice such as that shown in FIG. 5(f) is displayed on the reservation management terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a of the person making the reservation (step S9 in FIG. 4).

[0054] Subsequently, as the reservation date and time approaches and a predetermined time (e.g., three hours) before the reservation date and time, the server 2 (controller 30) transmits a reservation confirmation notification to the vehicle dispatch management terminal 9a, 9b of the driver who received the reservation request (step S10 in FIG. 4). As a result, the reservation details are displayed on the display unit 53 of the vehicle dispatch management terminal 9a, 9b (step S11 in FIG. 4), prompting the driver to pick up the vehicle. Such a display screen is shown in FIG. 5(C). Based on this, when the driver touches the "Pick Up" button 71 on the display screen (step S12 in FIG. 4), the server 2 transmits a notification that the vehicle is being picked up to the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a of the corresponding reservation holder (step S13 in FIG. 4). As a result, a pick-up notification screen, such as that shown in FIG. 5(g) is displayed on the display unit 22 of the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a (step S14 in FIG. 4).

[0055] As described above, when the driver touches the "Pick Up" button 71 on the display screen shown in FIG. 5C, for example, the display screen switches to a navigation screen, which also displays a "Confirm Reservation Details" button 72 and an "Arrived at Pick Up Location (Arrived at Dispatch Location)" button 73. Such a display screen is shown in FIG. 5D. Thereafter, when the driver heads to the reserved pickup location, arrives at the pickup location, and touches the "Arrived at Pick Up Location" button 73 on the screen (step S15 in FIG. 4), the server 2 transmits a notification of arrival at the pickup (dispatch) location to the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a of the corresponding reservation holder (step S16 in FIG. 4). As a result, an arrival notification screen (notification screen of arrival at the dispatch location) such as that shown in FIG. 5H is displayed on the display unit 22 of the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a (step S17 in FIG. 4).

[0056] After that, when the driver picks up the user at the pick-up location and heads to the reserved destination, the navigation screen displays an "Arrived at destination" button 74 instead of the "Arrived at pick-up location (Arrived at dispatch location)" button 73, as shown in FIG. 5(E). When the driver arrives at the destination and touches the "Arrived at destination" button 74 to perform payment processing (step S18 in FIG. 4), the server 2 sends a notification of arrival at the destination to the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a of the corresponding reservation holder (step S19 in FIG. 4). As a result, a destination arrival notification screen such as that shown in FIG. 5(i) is displayed on the display unit 22 of the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a (step S20 in FIG. 4). This allows the person making the reservation at the nursing facility or the like to confirm that the user, who is the care recipient, has safely arrived at the destination. The server 2 sends various notifications to the reservation management terminal, but may also send notifications by email to contact email addresses of family members and others registered in the user table 40f.

[0057] It should be noted that the server 2 updates the information stored in the corresponding tables 40a to 40j of the database 40 every time it receives information from each terminal in the reservation process described above.

[0058] 3.2. Various reservation processes on the reservation management terminal 3.2.1. Reservation data entry FIG. 6 shows details of the display screen (screen on the display unit 22) from inputting reservation data in the reservation management terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a to transmitting the reservation data to the server 2 (FIGS. S1 and S2 in FIG. 4). The reserving person (e.g., an employee of a nursing care facility) first opens the home screen shown in FIG. 6(A) by entering a login ID and password on a login screen (not shown), and selects the user (e.g., a care recipient using the nursing care facility) who is the party to the current reservation on this screen. Specifically, a list of users is displayed on the home screen shown in FIG. 6(A), and the reserving person selects the user (a specific user) who is the party to the current reservation from among these users. The users displayed in the user list are users linked to the reserving person's reserving person ID if the reserving person is a general staff member, or all users linked to the facility ID if the reserving person is an administrator. Whether the reserving person is a general staff member, an administrator, etc. is determined based on the "role" data in the reserving person table 40f of the reserving person recognized by the login ID and password entered on the login screen.

[0059] When a user is selected on the user page, a details screen for the selected user (corresponding to the user page shown in FIG. 5(a)) is displayed, as shown in FIG. 6(b). This screen references the user table 40f to display the selected user's name, as well as the user's care level, required services, number of caregivers, and contact information. This screen can also display reservation status, registered location management status, favorite drivers, and so on, by referencing other tables on the server 2.

[0060] Next, the reserving person must make a new reservation for the selected user on the display screen shown in FIG. 6(B) and select a boarding location and destination. Such selections can be made from registered locations, reservation history, and a map. In this case, the reserving person touches the "Select from registered locations" button 61, "Select from reservation history" button 62, or "Select from map" button 63 on the display screen shown in FIG. 6(B) to specify the selection method. When the "Select from registered locations" button 61 is touched, registered locations are extracted from the registered location table 40h using the facility ID and user ID as keys and displayed as a list, from which the reserving person can make a selection. On the other hand, when the "Select from reservation history" button 62 is touched, combinations of boarding locations and boarding areas previously reserved are extracted from the reservation table 40i using the facility ID and user ID as keys and displayed as a list, from which the reserving person can make a selection.

[0061] FIG. 6(c) shows a display screen of registered places (corresponding to the display screen shown in FIG. 5(b)) that is obtained by touching the "Select from registered places" button 61. The reserving party selects a boarding location from the registered places (stored in the registered place table 40h) displayed on this display screen. Once the boarding location is selected, a display screen for selecting a destination is displayed accordingly, as shown in FIG. 6(d). This display screen also displays a list of registered places that are registered and stored in the registered place table 40h. The reserving party selects a destination from the registered places displayed on this display screen. Once the destination is selected, a display screen for selecting a date and time of use and a driver is displayed accordingly, as shown in FIG. 6(e) (corresponding to the display screen shown in FIG. 5(c)).

[0062] Next, the person making the reservation inputs the date and time of use of the nursing care taxi on the display screen shown in (e) of Fig. 6, and selects a driver as necessary. When a driver is selected (designated), the control unit 30 of the server 2 executes a designated reservation process, which will be described later, in the reservation process. On the other hand, if a driver is not selected (designated), the control unit 30 executes a general reservation process, which will be described later in the reservation process.

[0063] After that, when the input on the display screen shown in FIG. 6(E) is completed and the "Go to confirmation screen" button 66 (see FIG. 5(C)) is touched, a reservation confirmation screen as shown in FIG. 6(F) (corresponding to the display screen shown in FIG. 5(D)) is displayed. The person making the reservation checks the contents of this display screen, and if there are no problems, touches the send button 67 (see FIG. 5(D)). This causes the reservation data to be sent to the server 2 (step S2 in FIG. 4 described above), and a reservation completion notice is sent from the server 2 to the reservation management terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, and 7a. A reservation completion screen as shown in FIG. 6(G) (corresponding to the display screen shown in FIG. 5(E)) is displayed on the reservation management terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, and 7a, completing the reservation application procedure.

[0064] 3.2.2. Checking reservation status FIG. 7 shows a display screen 80 that is obtained when a reserving user touches the “Reservation Status” button 64 displayed on the user details screen shown in FIG. 6B. On this display screen 80, the reserving user can check the current reservation status (e.g., application status, completion status, cancellation status, etc.) of the user associated with the reservation. That is, the control unit 30 causes the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a to display a screen that allows the reserving user to check the reservation status of the corresponding user. Specifically, as described above, the control unit 30 identifies the reserving user ID from the input login ID of the reserving user. If the reserving user is a general staff member, the control unit 30 searches the reservation table 40i based on the reserving user ID and displays the reservation status of facility users on the display screen 80. If the reserving user is a manager, the control unit 30 searches the reservation table 40i based on the facility ID and displays the reservation status of all facility users on the display screen 80. In this case, for example, whether a user is currently reserved, has already used the facility, is being picked up, or has already been dispatched is displayed in a visually identifiable manner, such as by color coding. This type of reservation status confirmation is beneficial in light of the special nature of the nursing care taxi reservation system, in that, for example, regular staff members only manage reservations for the users they are responsible for, while an administrator such as a care manager can manage reservations for all users of the facility in one place.

[0065] 3.2.3. Reservation by Name The person making the reservation inputs the date and time of use of the nursing care taxi and selects a driver as necessary on the display screen shown in (e) of Figure 6. Here, when the reservation process is executed with a driver selected, the server 2 performs processing in a designated reservation mode, which allows the user to specify a specific driver and reserve a nursing care taxi, whereas when the reservation process is executed with no driver selected, the server 2 performs processing in a general reservation mode, which allows the user to reserve a nursing care taxi without specifying a specific driver. The designated reservation modes include a first designated reservation mode in which a nursing care taxi can be reserved by specifying a specific driver corresponding to a two-dimensional code (for example, a QR code (registered trademark)) read by the imaging processing unit 24 of the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a; a second designated reservation mode in which a nursing care taxi can be reserved by specifying a specific driver from among the drivers linked to the user and registered in the favorites table 40g; a third designated reservation mode in which a nursing care taxi can be reserved by accessing the website of the server 2 from the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a and specifying a specific driver using a designated reservation button displayed on the website; and a fourth designated reservation mode in which a nursing care taxi can be reserved by specifying a specific driver on the display screen of the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, in which an estimated fare required for transportation by each nursing care taxi driver is associated with the driver.

[0066] 3.2.3.1. First designated reservation mode and third designated reservation mode Figure 8(a) shows an example of a reservation format in the first designated reservation mode, and Figure 8(b) shows an example of a reservation format in the third designated reservation mode. In the first designated reservation mode shown in Figure 8(a), a reserving party reads a QR code 82 printed on a driver's business card 79 or leaflet 81, or a QR code 82 displayed on a screen obtained by launching an app on the nursing care taxi driver's dispatch management terminal 9a, 9b, using the imaging processor 24 of their own reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a. This launches the nursing care taxi reservation app 25a, and the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a can display a screen 84 shown in Figure 8(c), which displays a photo of the driver corresponding to the QR code 82. The QR code 82 has an information volume of, for example, 3 KB, and includes the driver ID and information for launching the nursing care taxi reservation app 25a. On the other hand, in the second designated reservation mode shown in Fig. 8(b), the reserving person accesses a website on the Internet (such as a nursing care taxi information center) from the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a and designates a specific driver from among multiple drivers displayed on a screen 83 of the website (for example, the reserving person designates a specific driver at the request of the user who is receiving care).Then, when the reserving person touches the designated reservation button 83a associated with each driver, the driver ID associated with the designated driver is passed to the nursing care taxi reservation app 25a, the app is launched based on this, and the screen 84 shown in Fig. 8(c) can be displayed on the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a. When the reserving party touches the "OK" button 86 on the screen 84 shown in Figure 8(c) to confirm the driver's designation, the driver is registered (stored) in the favorites table 40g, and the normal reservation procedure is carried out using the display screens shown in Figures 6(a) to 6(d), followed by a display screen corresponding to Figure 6(e) as shown in Figure 8(d). At this time, the driver designation area 85 on this display screen already displays the designated driver based on the designated reservation. When the reservation is confirmed in this state, data related to the reservation, including the designated driver, is sent to the server 2.

[0067] 3.2.3.2. Second designated reservation mode FIG. 9 shows an example of a reservation format in the second designated reservation mode. When the reserving party touches the "V" mark 87 in the driver designation area 85 on the display screen shown in FIG. 6(E) described above, a screen 88 listing favorite drivers associated with the user for whom the reserving party is in charge is displayed on the display unit 22 of the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a. The driver information listed on the screen 88 is obtained by extracting data from the favorites table 40g. By selecting a specific driver here, the designated driver is displayed in the driver designation area 85 on the display screen shown in FIG. 6(E). When the reservation is confirmed in this state, reservation data including the designated driver is sent to the server 2.

[0068] 3.2.3.4. The fourth designated reservation mode FIG. 10 shows an example of a reservation format in the fourth designated reservation mode. When the reserving party touches the “Designate from Estimated Fee” button 65 displayed in the driver designation area 85 of the display screen shown in FIG. 6(E) described above, a screen 89 is displayed on the display unit 22 of the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, as shown in FIG. 10(A). The screen 89 displays a list of available drivers determined based on the area code, along with an estimated fee calculated using a fee setting table. When the reserving party selects a specific driver from the multiple drivers displayed on this screen 89, a screen 90 is displayed on the display unit 22, as shown in FIG. 10(B). When the reserving party touches the “Specify Driver” button 91 on this screen 90, the designated driver is displayed in the driver designation area 85 of the display screen shown in FIG. 6(E). When the reservation is confirmed in this state, reservation data including the designated driver is sent to the server 2. To achieve this, the driver must set the fare (distance-based, time-based, pick-up fee, reservation fee, etc.) in advance on the setting screen when installing the app. This fare setting information is registered (stored) in the fare setting table 40j and is referenced when calculating the estimated fare based on the specified departure and destination points.

[0069] 3.2.4. Reservation process flowchart In the flow of the reservation and dispatch procedure described above, a flowchart of the reservation process performed between the reservation management terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, and 7a and the server 2 is shown in Fig. 11. This process can be realized based on the nursing care taxi reservation app 25a of the reservation management terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, and 7a and the control program 36a of the cloud server 2. The execution entity may be the control unit 20 or the control unit 30, or both may cooperate to perform the process. As shown in the figure, when a reserving user launches the nursing care taxi reservation app 25a on the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, or 7a (step S30 in FIG. 11), the control unit 20 of the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, or 7a determines whether the app was launched from a QR code or a website (step S31 in FIG. 11). As described above, launching from a QR code or a website refers to launching by reading a QR code 82 printed on the driver's business card 79 or a leaflet 81 with the reservation terminal. If the launch was from a QR code or a website (YES in step S31), that is, if the reservation is in the designated reservation mode, the control unit 20 transmits the driver ID included in the QR code or the driver ID received from the website to the server 2 via the HTTP communication unit 21 (step S32 in FIG. 11). On the other hand, if activation is not from a QR code or website (NO in step S31), that is, if the reservation is in the general reservation mode, the control unit 20 waits for data input from the person who made the reservation (step S38 in FIG. 11).

[0070] When the driver ID is sent from the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a to the server 2, the server 2 searches the driver table 40c based on the received driver ID (step S33 in Figure 11), and sends information about the searched driver (which may include name, gender, photo, etc.) to the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a (step S34 in Figure 11).

[0071] When the driver information is transmitted from cycle 2 to the reservation management terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, and 7a in this manner, the driver information is displayed on the display unit 22 of the reservation management terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, and 7a (step S35 in FIG. 11). Next, the control unit 20 determines whether the reserving party designates a driver associated with the driver information, i.e., whether the "OK" button 86 has been pressed. If the OK button 86 has been pressed (YES in step S36), the control unit 20 temporarily stores the driver information, including the driver ID of the driver, in an internal memory (e.g., the storage unit 25) (step S37 in FIG. 11). On the other hand, if the OK button 86 has not been pressed (NO in step S36), the control unit 20 waits for data input from the reserving party (step S38 in FIG. 11).

[0072] The person making the reservation then enters reservation data, such as the boarding date and time and boarding location, as described above (step S38 in FIG. 11). At this time, if the reservation is initiated via a QR code or website, the driver field will already be filled in. After the data is entered, the entered reservation data is sent from the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, or 7a to the server 2 (step S39 in FIG. 11). Based on the received reservation data, the server 2 executes a reservation acceptance process via the reservation acceptance unit 30a of the control unit 30 (step S40 in FIG. 11; see also step S3 in FIG. 4). This creates a new record for the accepted reservation in the reservation table 40i. Specifically, the control unit 30 of the server 2 receives information, such as the reservation holder ID, user ID, boarding date and time, departure point, destination, driver ID, and reservation type, from the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, or 7a. Based on the received reservation data and the data in the associated table, a new record is created in the reservation table 40i. Here, the reservation status of the record is set to 1.

[0073] After the reserving user inputs and transmits the reservation data to complete the reservation procedure, if the reservation is a designated reservation, the control unit 20 of the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a transmits the driver ID and user ID temporarily stored in the internal memory to the server 2 (step S41 in FIG. 11). The server 2, which has received this information, adds a new record related to the favorite driver to the favorites table 40g (step S42 in FIG. 11).

[0074] 3.3. Various procedures on the cloud server 3.3.1. Reservation processing FIG. 12 shows a first example of a reservation arrangement process in the server 2. As shown in the figure, in the reservation arrangement process, when reservation data is transmitted from the reservation management terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, and 7a to the server 2, the control unit 30 of the server 2 executes a reservation acceptance process (step S50 in FIG. 12; see also step S40 in FIG. 11 and step S3 in FIG. 4). This creates a new record in the reservation table 40i. The control unit 30 then determines whether the received reservation is a designated reservation in a designated reservation mode that specifies a driver (step S51 in FIG. 12). If it is a designated reservation (if the determination in step S51 is YES), the control unit 30 executes a designated reservation process (step S52 in FIG. 12). On the other hand, if it is not a designated reservation (if the determination in step S51 is NO), the control unit 30 executes a general reservation process (step S53 in FIG. 12).

[0075] FIG. 13 shows a second example of the reservation arrangement process in the server 2. As shown in the figure, in the reservation arrangement process, when reservation data is transmitted from the reservation management terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, and 7a to the server 2, the control unit 30 of the server 2 executes a reservation acceptance process (step S50 in FIG. 13; see also step S40 in FIG. 11 and step S3 in FIG. 4). This creates a new record in the reservation table 40i. The control unit 30 then determines whether the received reservation is a designated reservation in a designated reservation mode that specifies a driver (step S51 in FIG. 13). If it is a designated reservation (if the determination in step S51 is YES), the control unit 30 executes the designated reservation process (step S52 in FIG. 13). On the other hand, if it is not a designated reservation (if the determination in step S51 is NO), the control unit 30 executes the general reservation process (step S53 in FIG. 13). In addition, when executing the designated reservation process, the control unit 30 determines whether the driver has been confirmed (step S54 in Figure 13), and if the driver has not been confirmed (if the judgment in step S54 is NO), it proceeds to the general reservation process (step S53 in Figure 13), and if the driver has been confirmed (if the judgment in step S54 is YES), it directly completes the designated reservation process.

[0076] When making a reservation in general reservation mode, the control unit 30 broadcasts a dispatch request (reservation request) to all drivers in the service area, and available drivers accept the dispatch request. When searching for drivers in the service area, the control unit 30 determines the area based on the address of the pickup location in the reservation table 40i and extracts drivers who can handle that area. Legal restrictions (business area) depend on the pickup location. In general reservations, drivers are extracted based on these area conditions. In contrast, when making a reservation in designated reservation mode, the control unit 30 determines whether the designated driver is available (within the business area). If the designated driver is outside the business area, the control unit 30 warns the driver that the designated driver is outside the business area and encourages them to introduce a friend (another driver who is registered in the driver table 40c in advance as someone who can share the driver's reservation). If the driver has not set the friend introduction option, the user will receive a message informing them that the reservation is not possible because the designated driver is outside the business area (the driver will not be contacted about the reservation). The general reservation process and the designated reservation process will be described in detail below.

[0077] 3.3.1.1. Reservation Processing Figure 14 shows an example of designated reservation processing in server 2. As described above, when reservation data is sent from reservation management terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, and 7a to server 2 and control unit 30 determines that the received reservation is a designated reservation in designated reservation mode, control unit 30 checks the designated driver's business area (service area) by referencing the corresponding area code in the company information table (step S60 in Figure 14). If the boarding location is within the business area, control unit 30 sends a reservation request (dispatch request) to the designated driver's vehicle dispatch management terminal 9a or 9b (step S61 in Figure 14). As a result, a screen showing the reservation request content, such as that shown in Figure 5(A) above, is displayed on the designated driver's vehicle dispatch management terminal 9a or 9b (step S62 in Figure 14). Here, the control unit 50 of the vehicle dispatch management terminal 9a, 9b determines whether the driver has touched the "Accept" button 68 (see (A) of FIG. 5) (step S63 of FIG. 14), and if so (if the determination in step S63 is YES), sends a notification of reservation acceptance to the server 2 (step S65 of FIG. 14), and also registers this reservation in the driver schedule 51a in the storage unit 51 (step S66 of FIG. 14). On the other hand, if the driver has not touched the "Accept" button 68 (if the determination in step S63 is NO), the control unit 50 sends a notification of nomination refusal to the server 2 (step S64 of FIG. 14).

[0078] The control unit 30 of the server 2 determines whether a reservation acceptance notification has been received from the vehicle allocation management terminal 9a, 9b (step S67 in FIG. 14). If a reservation acceptance notification has been received (if the determination in step S67 is YES), the control unit 30 executes a vehicle allocation confirmation process (step S69 in FIG. 14) and sends a notification of the vehicle allocation confirmation to the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a of the person making the reservation (step S70 in FIG. 14). On the other hand, if a reservation acceptance notification has not been received (if the determination in step S67 is NO), the control unit 30 sends a notification of the reservation not being made to the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a of the person making the reservation (step S68 in FIG. 14). When the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a receives the reservation acceptance notification or the reservation not being made, the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a displays the notification content on the display unit 22 (step S71 in FIG. 14).

[0079] 3.3.1.2. General reservation process When a reservation is received from a reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a from a person making a reservation in the general reservation mode in which a driver is not specified (designated), the control unit 30 of the server 2 may execute a priority vehicle allocation process in which drivers are ranked into multiple categories according to predetermined criteria based on information stored in the database 40, and the vehicle related to the reservation is allocated preferentially to drivers belonging to the highest-ranked category. In this case, the priority vehicle allocation process may shift the vehicle allocation request related to the reservation by time and send it to the driver's vehicle allocation management terminal 9a, 9b. Alternatively, the priority vehicle allocation process may simultaneously send the vehicle allocation request related to the reservation to the vehicle allocation management terminals 9a, 9b of all drivers who are the target of vehicle allocation related to the reservation, and allocate the vehicle to the driver belonging to the highest-ranked category among the drivers who have accepted the reservation related to the vehicle allocation request.

[0080] FIG. 15 shows an example of the logic behind this priority dispatch process. As shown in the figure, when the control unit 30 of the server 2 receives a general reservation from a user in general reservation mode via the reservation management terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, and 7a, as described above, it stores the reservation information in the reservation table 40e. The control unit 30 then performs a matching process (see 75 and 76 in FIG. 15) to identify available drivers by comparing this information with information stored in the various tables 40a, 40b, and 40c, such as the area code, type of service (e.g., wheelchair access), number of escorts, whether a welfare taxi voucher is used, and whether general reservations are accepted. The matching process then categorizes the identified drivers and creates a category group table 92. In the category group table 92, the identified drivers are assigned to six category groups A through F according to their dispatch priority based on predetermined criteria. The predetermined criteria are the driver's customer rating (rank A, B, or C) and the number of reservations the driver has accepted in the current month (e.g., whether the driver has accepted more than five reservations in the current month or fewer than five reservations). The conditions are not limited to these, and may be based on, for example, the rank of the plan (driver subscription plan) specified by the nursing care taxi reservation app. Furthermore, for the sake of fairness, a driver who has received a large number of reservations in the same month may be given a lower priority.

[0081] Next, the control unit 30 sends the vehicle dispatch request notifications for each category group by email at 10-minute intervals to the driver's vehicle dispatch management terminals 9a, 9b, shifting the time for each category group. In this case, category groups to which no drivers are assigned (groups with zero people in the category group table 92) are skipped when sending notifications. If a specific driver accepts a reservation and vehicle dispatch is confirmed during this time-shifted vehicle dispatch request notification (here, a reservation and vehicle dispatch are confirmed for Category C), subsequent vehicle dispatch request notifications are stopped. Two examples of logic flows for the priority vehicle allocation process described above will be explained below.

[0082] FIG. 16 shows a first example of the flow of priority vehicle allocation processing in general reservation processing. As shown in the figure, when a general reservation from a reservation holder in general reservation mode is received from the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, or 7a as described above, the control unit 30 of the server 2 performs a matching process to extract available drivers from the driver table 40c based on the departure area code, required services (e.g., wheelchair access), number of escorts, whether a welfare taxi voucher is used, and whether general reservations are accepted (step S80 in FIG. 16 ), and then categorizes the extracted drivers (step S81 in FIG. 16 ). Specifically, a category group table (e.g., category group table 92 in FIG. 15 ) is created in which drivers are categorized according to predetermined rules for vehicle allocation priority. The control unit 30 then notifies the driver of a vehicle allocation request from a driver in a high-priority group (step S82 in FIG. 16 ). A screen showing the reservation request details as shown in Fig. 5(A) is displayed on the driver's vehicle dispatch control terminal 9a, 9b that receives this notification (step S88 in Fig. 16). Here, the control unit 50 of the vehicle dispatch control terminal 9a, 9b determines whether the driver has touched the "Accept" button 68 (see Fig. 5(A)) (step S89 in Fig. 16), and if so (if the determination in step S89 is YES), a notification of reservation acceptance is sent to the server 2 (step S90 in Fig. 16).

[0083] In relation to this, the control unit 30 of the server 2 determines whether a reservation acceptance notice has been received from the vehicle dispatch management terminal 9a, 9b (step S83 in FIG. 16). If a reservation acceptance notice has been received (if the determination in step S83 is YES), the control unit 30 sends a reservation confirmation notice to the vehicle dispatch management terminal 9a, 9b of the driver who sent the reservation acceptance notice (and therefore has already been selected as the driver to be dispatched) (step S85 in FIG. 16), and executes a vehicle dispatch confirmation process (step S86 in FIG. 16). This updates the reservation table 40i. Specifically, the driver ID is registered, and the reservation status is updated to 3 (dispatched). In addition, the control unit 30 also sends a vehicle dispatch (reservation) confirmation notice to the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a of the person who made the reservation (step S87 in FIG. 16). At this time, the notification may also be sent by email to the email address registered in the user table 40f.

[0084] On the other hand, if the control unit 30 does not receive a notification of reservation acceptance from the vehicle dispatch management terminal 9a, 9b (if the judgment in step S83 is NO), it determines whether a predetermined time has elapsed (step S84 in Figure 16), and if the predetermined time has elapsed (if the judgment in step S84 is YES), it proceeds to step S82 and notifies the driver with the next highest priority after the driver who first notified the vehicle dispatch request of the vehicle dispatch request.

[0085] On the other hand, when a reservation confirmation notice is sent from the server 2 in step S85 of Fig. 16 described above, a screen indicating the reservation confirmation, as shown in Fig. 5(f) described above, is displayed on the display unit 53 of the vehicle dispatch management terminal 9a, 9b that receives the notice (step S91 of Fig. 16). As a result, the control unit 50 of the vehicle dispatch management terminal 9a, 9b registers the reservation in the driver schedule 51a in the storage unit 51 (schedule S66 of Fig. 14). On the other hand, if the driver does not touch the "Accept" button 68 (if the determination in step S63 is NO), the control unit 50 sends a nomination rejection notice to the server 2 (step S92 of Fig. 16).

[0086] Next, a second example of the priority vehicle allocation process in the general reservation process will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in the figure, the control unit 30 of the server 2 extracts available drivers as in the first example (step S100 in FIG. 17) and sends a request for vehicle allocation to all of the extracted drivers at once (step S101 in FIG. 17). A screen showing the reservation request details, such as that shown in FIG. 5A, is displayed on the vehicle allocation management terminals 9a and 9b of the drivers who receive the request for vehicle allocation (step S106 in FIG. 17). The control unit 50 of the vehicle allocation management terminals 9a and 9b then determines whether the driver has touched the "Accept" button 68 (see FIG. 5A) (step S107 in FIG. 17). If the driver has touched the "Accept" button 68 (see FIG. 5A), the control unit 50 sends a notification of reservation acceptance to the server 2 (step S108 in FIG. 17).

[0087] In relation to this, the control unit 30 of the server 2 determines whether a predetermined time (e.g., 10 minutes) has elapsed since the simultaneous transmission of vehicle allocation requests in step S101 (step S102 in FIG. 17). If the predetermined time has elapsed (if the determination in step S102 is YES), a driver selection process is performed (step S103 in FIG. 17). In this driver selection process, a driver to be allocated is selected based on priority from among the drivers who have sent a reservation acceptance notice to the server 2 within the predetermined time. Specifically, the control unit 30 checks to which category group each driver who has sent a reservation acceptance notice to the server 2 within the predetermined time belongs, and allocates the vehicle to the driver who belongs to the category group with the highest priority. If there are multiple drivers in the same category group, the driver with the highest rating is selected. This type of priority vehicle allocation process is beneficial in that a driver is determined within a predetermined time (e.g., 10 minutes), i.e., it can contribute to the early establishment of reservations.

[0088] Thereafter, the control unit 30 transmits a reservation confirmation notification to the vehicle allocation management terminals 9a and 9b of the drivers selected by the driver selection process (step S104 in FIG. 17), as in the first example of the flow of the priority vehicle allocation process, and executes the vehicle allocation confirmation process (step S105 in FIG. 17). As a result, the reservation table 40i is updated.

[0089] Furthermore, as described above, when a reservation confirmation notification is sent from the server 2 in step S104, a screen indicating that the reservation has been confirmed is displayed on the display unit 53 of the vehicle dispatch management terminal 9a, 9b (step S109 in Figure 17), as in the first example of the priority vehicle dispatch processing flow, and the control unit 50 of the vehicle dispatch management terminal 9a, 9b registers this reservation in the driver schedule 51a (step S110 in Figure 17).

[0090] 3.4.Various processes on the vehicle dispatch management terminal 3.4.1. Basic screen display process FIG. 18(a) shows a home screen 100 of the vehicle dispatch management terminal 9a, 9b. This home screen 100 displays a designated reservation QR code display button 82 for the driver who owns the vehicle dispatch management terminal 9a, 9b; a schedule button 120 that displays the driver's own schedule; a reservation list button 121 that displays a list of accepted reservations; a notification button 122 that displays a list of notifications from the server 2 regarding vehicle dispatch requests; and a settings button 123 that allows various management and setting operations (e.g., driver settings, vehicle management, companion management, reservation reception settings, etc.). Touching the designated reservation QR code display button 82 displays a screen 101 that includes a photo of the driver and a readable QR code, as shown in FIG. 18(b). This QR code includes at least the driver's ID and may also include a deep link for launching the nursing care taxi reservation app 25a. Touching the schedule button 120 displays the driver's own schedule screen 102, as shown in FIG. 18(c), by referencing the reservation table 40i. As for the display format of the schedule, for example, confirmed general reservations (accepted by the driver), confirmed designated reservations (accepted by the driver), unconfirmed general reservations (reservation acceptance is on hold), and unconfirmed designated reservations (reservation acceptance is on hold) may be visually differentiated by changing the display state. The driver's personal schedule stored in the driver schedule 51a may also be displayed on this screen. Furthermore, touching the reservation list button 121 displays a list of accepted reservations along with the reservation details and reservation status, with reference to the reservation table 40i, as shown in FIG. 18(d). Touching the settings button 123 displays buttons for various management and setting operations, as shown in FIG. 18(e), such as driver settings, vehicle settings, companion management, fee settings, reservation acceptance settings, and function settings. With companion management, drivers can register other drivers with whom they can share reservations in the driver table 40c (the control unit 30 allows nursing care taxi drivers to register other drivers with whom they can share reservations on the vehicle dispatch management terminal). In the event of a communication failure, the screens shown in FIGS. 18(c) and 18(d) are created based on the driver schedule 51a stored in the storage unit.

[0091] 3.4.2. Reservation acceptance process Figure 19(a) shows an example of the reservation request notification screen shown in Figure 5(A) on the vehicle dispatch management terminal 9a, 9b. The left side shows the reservation request notification screen for a general reservation, and the right side shows the reservation request notification screen for a designated reservation. These reservation request notification screens display the care information and reservation information (reservation request details) required for the vehicle dispatch request, including information entered by the reservation user. Specifically, these information displays, for example, the required services (e.g., reclining wheelchair), number of passengers, number of attendants, care level, contact information, the user's phone number, meeting place, meeting place details, whether or not a welfare taxi voucher is used, whether or not a disability certificate discount is available, number of passengers, facilities, and care level. Additionally, an "Accept" button 68 for accepting the reservation, a "Schedule" button 69 for displaying the driver's own schedule, and a "Reject" button 70 for rejecting the reservation are also displayed. In particular, the reservation request notification screen for a designated reservation on the right side additionally displays a "Request a Friend" button 130 and a "Request Time Change" button 135 in addition to the above buttons. The driver who receives the reservation request views the reservation request notification screen, checks their schedule using the "Schedule" button 69, and then carefully considers the reservation. If they accept the reservation, they touch the "Accept" button 68. If they do not accept the reservation, they touch the "Reject" button 70. Figure 19(b) shows screen 102 (corresponding to the screen shown in Figure 18(c)) obtained by touching the "Schedule" button 69. This screen displays the driver's reservation information extracted from the reservation table and the driver's personal schedule stored in the driver schedule 51a. When the control unit 30 receives a reservation from a reserving party through the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, or 7a, it displays the reservation on the nursing care taxi driver's schedule, for example, with a dotted line 102, to distinguish it from other confirmed reservations. Buttons similar to those shown in Figure 19(a) are also displayed on this screen, and the driver can touch them.

[0092] The "Request Time Change" button 135 for designated reservations is a button used to notify the reservation holder or user of a change or adjustment to the reservation date and time if the specified reservation time is inconvenient (e.g., if a reservation has already been made). When this button 135 is touched, the reservation management terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, and 7a are notified of the driver's available time. Specifically, when the "Request Time Change" button 135 is touched, the control unit 50 of the vehicle dispatch management terminals 9a and 9b refers to the driver schedule 51a stored in the memory unit 51 and the control unit 30 of the server 2 refers to the reservation table 40i to search for available time before and after the reservation, and notifies the reservation management terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, and 7a of the available time via the server 2. An example of such a notification screen on the reservation management terminals 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, and 7a is shown in FIG. 20. The display shows the available time from 10:00 to 11:00, along with a "Change Time" button 140 for the reserving party to change the reservation time to the available time, a "Change to General Reservation" button 142 for the reserving party to change the designated reservation to a general reservation without changing the time, and a "Cancel Reservation" button 144 for the reserving party to cancel the reservation. In other words, when the control unit 30 of the server 2 receives input from the vehicle dispatch management terminal 9a, 9b indicating that the designated driver cannot accept a reservation from a reserving party in the designated reservation mode, the control unit 30 displays a message on the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a of the reserving party prompting the reserving party to change the reservation date and time, etc. When the reserving party touches one of the buttons according to the user's intention, the server 2 performs a reservation arrangement process corresponding to the touched button. Alternatively, as a variant, the designated driver's schedule may be displayed on the reservation management terminal 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a when making a designated reservation. In this case, the reserving party applies for a reservation during the driver's available time.

[0093] Furthermore, the "Friend Request" button 130 in a designated reservation is a button that allows the reservation holder or user to request a friend introduction, i.e., to request an introduction of other drivers with whom the driver can share the reservation they have received. This button is displayed when the driver has set the friend introduction option to ON on the settings screen 104 and registered as such in the driver table 40c; it is not displayed when it is OFF. As mentioned above, multiple friends can be registered in advance in the driver table 40c as fellow driver IDs. This registration can also be performed by reading the designated reservation QR code (Figure 18(b)) displayed on the dispatch management terminal of the driver to be the friend with the built-in camera on the friend addition screen, as shown in Figure 21(a), for example.

[0094] If the designated driver is unable to accept the reservation for some reason, the "Request a Friend" button 130 is touched. The server 2, upon receiving this information, displays a screen such as that shown in FIG. 21(d) on the reservation management terminal. This screen displays a "Friend Introduce" button, which indicates approval of the dispatch of the designated driver, a "Change to General Reservation" button 142, which allows the reserving party to change the designated reservation to a general reservation without changing the time, and a "Cancel Reservation" button 150, which allows the reserving party to cancel the reservation. When the reserving party touches one of the buttons based on the user's intention, the server 2 performs a reservation arrangement process corresponding to the touched button. If the "Friend Introduce" button is selected, the vehicle dispatch management terminal, which receives this information via the server 2, continues the reservation acceptance process. A friend selection screen such as that shown in FIG. 21(b) is displayed on the display unit 53 of the vehicle dispatch management terminal 9a, 9b. When a specific fellow driver is selected on this screen using the "Request" button 159, a request for a vehicle dispatch is sent via the server 2 to the vehicle dispatch management terminal 9a, 9b of the selected fellow driver, and the name of the introducer's driver and a reservation details screen, as shown in Figure 21(c), are displayed on the selected driver's vehicle dispatch management terminal 9a, 9b. If the driver selected as a fellow driver accepts the reservation, he or she touches the "Accept Reservation" button 160 on this screen. In this case, the vehicle dispatch management terminal and server 2 process the reservation in the same way as a normal designated reservation. Note that if the "Reject" button is selected, a notification to that effect is displayed via the server 2 on the vehicle dispatch management terminal of the introducer driver, and if the introducer driver selects another fellow driver, the same process continues.

[0095] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can include various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to those including all of the described configurations. Furthermore, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, or to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, it is possible to add, delete, or replace part of the configuration of each embodiment with other configurations. [Explanation of symbols]

[0096] 1. Nursing care taxi reservation system 2 Server 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a Reservation management terminal 9a, 9b Vehicle dispatch management terminal 30 Control Unit 40 databases

Claims

1. In a nursing care taxi reservation system for reserving a nursing care taxi, A reservation management terminal that is operated by a person reserving a care taxi for a specific user who will ride in the care taxi and can manage the reservation; a vehicle dispatch management terminal having a touch panel, which is operated by a care taxi driver and capable of accepting reservations for the care taxi; a server accessible by wireless communication from the reservation management terminal and the vehicle dispatch management terminal; Equipped with The server a database that stores at least information regarding reservations for care taxis, information about the person making the reservation, information about users who will be riding in the care taxis, vehicle information about the care taxis, and information about care taxi drivers; a control unit that processes the information stored in the database, the information input from the reservation management terminal, and the information input from the vehicle dispatch management terminal, and controls the transmission of information to the reservation management terminal and the vehicle dispatch management terminal; Including, When the control unit receives a designated reservation from the reservation management terminal specifying a specific care taxi driver registered in the database, the control unit transmits a reservation request from the reservation management terminal to the vehicle dispatch management terminal of the designated specific driver, confirms the reservation upon notification of reservation acceptance from the vehicle dispatch management terminal, and notifies the reservation management terminal of the reservation confirmation. A nursing care taxi reservation system.

2. The nursing care taxi reservation system of claim 1, characterized in that the designated reservation includes any of the following: a first designated reservation, which allows a nursing care taxi to be reserved by reading a two-dimensional code with the imaging processing unit of the reservation management terminal and specifying a specific driver corresponding to it; a second designated reservation, which allows a nursing care taxi to be reserved by specifying a specific driver from among the drivers associated with a specific user and stored in the database; a third designated reservation, which allows a nursing care taxi to be reserved by accessing the server's website from the reservation management terminal and specifying a specific driver using a designated reservation button displayed on the website; and a fourth designated reservation, which allows a nursing care taxi to be reserved by specifying a specific driver on the display screen of the reservation management terminal, where each nursing care taxi driver is associated with an estimated fare required for pick-up and drop-off by that driver.

3. The nursing care taxi reservation system of claim 1, characterized in that when the control unit receives input from the vehicle dispatch management terminal before notifying the reservation acceptance indicating that the designated driver cannot accept the reservation request from the reservation holder through the designated reservation, it displays a message on the reservation management terminal of the reservation holder urging the reservation holder to change the reservation date and time.

4. The database contains registered drivers with whom each driver can share reservations for care taxis. The nursing care taxi reservation system described in claim 1, characterized in that when the control unit receives input from the vehicle dispatch management terminal indicating that the reservation request from the reservation holder through the designated reservation is to be requested of the other driver before notification of the reservation acceptance, it sends the reservation request to the vehicle dispatch management terminal of the other driver.

5. The nursing care taxi reservation system described in claim 1, characterized in that when the control unit receives a reservation request from the reservation management terminal that does not specify a specific nursing care taxi driver, it ranks the registered drivers according to predetermined criteria based on the information stored in the database and performs priority vehicle allocation processing to allocate the vehicle related to the reservation to drivers with higher rankings first.

6. The nursing care taxi reservation system described in claim 5, characterized in that the priority dispatch processing sends reservation requests from the dispatch management terminal of the driver with the highest rank in a time-shifted manner, confirms the reservation upon notification of reservation acceptance from the dispatch management terminal, and notifies the reservation management terminal of the reservation confirmation.

7. The nursing care taxi reservation system described in claim 5, characterized in that the priority vehicle dispatch processing simultaneously sends a reservation request related to the reservation to the vehicle dispatch management terminals of all drivers who are the target of vehicle dispatch related to the reservation, assigns the vehicle to the driver with the highest rank among the drivers of the vehicle dispatch management terminals that returned a notification of reservation acceptance, and notifies the vehicle dispatch management terminal and reservation management terminal of the driver who has been assigned the vehicle that the reservation has been confirmed.

8. When the control unit receives a reservation request from the reservation person through the reservation management terminal, the control unit provides care information regarding the user related to the reservation to the vehicle dispatch management terminal of the driver who is the target of vehicle dispatch related to the reservation, The nursing care taxi reservation system described in claim 1, characterized in that the vehicle dispatch management terminal displays a screen on the touch panel that allows the driver to input whether or not they can accept the reservation based on the nursing care information.

9. The vehicle dispatch management terminal displays the reservation details on the touch panel a predetermined time before the designated reservation time based on the information on the nursing care taxi reservation in the database. The nursing care taxi reservation system according to claim 1.

10. The vehicle dispatch control terminal notifies the reservation control terminal of the arrival via the server based on an operation of a predetermined button displayed on the touch panel, When the reservation management terminal receives a notification of arrival from the vehicle dispatch management terminal via the server, the reservation management terminal displays a message indicating that the nursing care taxi has arrived. The nursing care taxi reservation system according to claim 1.

11. 2. The nursing care taxi reservation system according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle dispatch management terminal that receives the reservation request displays a screen that incorporates the reservation request into the schedule of the nursing care taxi driver.

12. The nursing care taxi reservation system described in claim 1, characterized in that the reservation management terminal is configured to display a screen that allows the person making the reservation to check the reservation status of the corresponding user based on information about the reservation in the database.

13. A method for reserving a care taxi by using a server accessible by wireless communication between a reservation management terminal and a vehicle dispatch management terminal, and processing the data by a computer in accordance with a predetermined algorithm, The reservation management terminal is operated by a person reserving a care taxi for a specific user who will ride in the care taxi, and can manage the reservation; the dispatch management terminal has a touch panel, is operated by a care taxi driver, and can accept reservations for the care taxi; The method comprises: A step of storing at least information regarding reservations for a care taxi, information about the person making the reservation, information about the user who will be riding in the care taxi, vehicle information about the care taxi, and information about the driver of the care taxi in a database; a control step of processing the information stored in the database, the information input from the reservation management terminal, and the information input from the vehicle allocation management terminal, and controlling the transmission of information to the reservation management terminal and the vehicle allocation management terminal; Including, In the control step, when a designated reservation designating a specific care taxi driver registered in the database is received from the reservation management terminal, a reservation request is transmitted from the reservation management terminal to the vehicle dispatch management terminal of the designated specific driver, the reservation is confirmed upon notification of reservation acceptance from the vehicle dispatch management terminal, and a notification of reservation confirmation is sent to the reservation management terminal. A method for reserving a nursing care taxi.

14. The nursing care taxi reservation method of claim 13, characterized in that the designated reservation includes any of the following: a first designated reservation, which allows a nursing care taxi to be reserved by reading a two-dimensional code with the imaging processing unit of the reservation management terminal and specifying a specific driver corresponding to it; a second designated reservation, which allows a nursing care taxi to be reserved by specifying a specific driver from among the drivers associated with a specific user and stored in the database; a third designated reservation, which allows a nursing care taxi to be reserved by accessing the server's website from the reservation management terminal and specifying a specific driver using a designated reservation button displayed on the website; and a fourth designated reservation, which allows a nursing care taxi to be reserved by specifying a specific driver on the display screen of the reservation management terminal, where each nursing care taxi driver is associated with an estimated fare required for pick-up and drop-off by the driver.

15. The nursing care taxi reservation method described in claim 13, characterized in that the control step, when receiving input from the vehicle dispatch management terminal before notification of reservation acceptance indicating that the designated driver cannot accept the reservation request from the reservation user through the designated reservation, displays a message on the reservation management terminal of the reservation user urging the reservation user to change the reservation date and time.

16. The database contains registered drivers with whom each driver can share reservations for care taxis. The nursing care taxi reservation method described in claim 13, characterized in that the control step, when it receives input from the vehicle dispatch management terminal indicating that the reservation request from the reservation holder through the designated reservation is to be sent to the other driver, sends the reservation request to the vehicle dispatch management terminal of the other driver before notifying the reservation acceptance.

17. The nursing care taxi reservation method described in claim 13, characterized in that when a reservation request that does not specify a specific nursing care taxi driver is received from the reservation management terminal, the control step performs a priority vehicle allocation process in which registered drivers are ranked according to predetermined criteria based on the information stored in the database, and the vehicle related to the reservation is allocated preferentially to drivers with higher rankings.

18. The method for reserving a nursing care taxi as described in claim 17, characterized in that the priority dispatch processing shifts the time period and sends reservation requests in order from the dispatch management terminal of the driver with the highest rank, confirms the reservation upon notification of reservation acceptance from the dispatch management terminal, and notifies the reservation management terminal of the reservation confirmation.

19. The method for reserving a nursing care taxi as described in claim 17, characterized in that the priority vehicle dispatch process simultaneously sends a reservation request for the reservation to the vehicle dispatch management terminals of all drivers who are the targets of vehicle dispatch related to the reservation, assigns the vehicle to the driver with the highest rank among the drivers of the vehicle dispatch management terminals that have returned a notification of acceptance of the reservation, and notifies the vehicle dispatch management terminal and reservation management terminal of the driver who has been assigned the vehicle that the reservation has been confirmed.

20. The control step, upon receiving a reservation request from the reservation person through the reservation management terminal, provides care information regarding the user related to the reservation to the vehicle dispatch management terminal of the driver who is the target of vehicle dispatch related to the reservation; The vehicle dispatch management terminal displays on the touch panel a screen that allows the driver to input whether or not the driver can accept the reservation based on the care information. The method for reserving a nursing care taxi according to claim 13.

21. The method for reserving a nursing care taxi according to claim 13, characterized in that the vehicle dispatch management terminal that receives the reservation request displays a screen in which the reservation request is incorporated into the schedule of the nursing care taxi driver.

22. The nursing care taxi reservation method described in claim 13, characterized in that the reservation management terminal is capable of displaying a screen that allows the person making the reservation to check the reservation status of the corresponding user based on information regarding the reservation in the database.

23. A computer program that processes according to a predetermined algorithm to enable a reservation of a nursing care taxi on a server that can be accessed by wireless communication from a reservation management terminal and a vehicle dispatch management terminal, wherein the reservation management terminal is operated by a person who makes a reservation for a nursing care taxi for a specific user who will ride in the nursing care taxi and can manage the reservation, and the vehicle dispatch management terminal has a touch panel, is operated by a nursing care taxi driver, and can accept reservations for the nursing care taxi. A step of storing at least information regarding reservations for a care taxi, information about the person making the reservation, information about the user who will be riding in the care taxi, vehicle information about the care taxi, and information about the driver of the care taxi in a database; a control step of processing the information stored in the database, the information input from the reservation management terminal, and the information input from the vehicle allocation management terminal, and controlling the transmission of information to the reservation management terminal and the vehicle allocation management terminal; on the computer, In the control step, when a designated reservation designating a specific care taxi driver registered in the database is received from the reservation management terminal, a reservation request is transmitted from the reservation management terminal to the vehicle dispatch management terminal of the designated specific driver, the reservation is confirmed upon notification of reservation acceptance from the vehicle dispatch management terminal, and a notification of reservation confirmation is sent to the reservation management terminal. A computer program characterized by:

24. The computer program of claim 23, characterized in that the designated reservation includes any of the following: a first designated reservation, which allows a nursing care taxi to be reserved by reading a two-dimensional code with the imaging processing unit of the reservation management terminal and specifying a specific driver corresponding to it; a second designated reservation, which allows a nursing care taxi to be reserved by specifying a specific driver from among the drivers associated with a specific user and stored in the database; a third designated reservation, which allows a nursing care taxi to be reserved by accessing the server's website from the reservation management terminal and specifying a specific driver using a designated reservation button displayed on the website; and a fourth designated reservation, which allows a nursing care taxi to be reserved by specifying a specific driver on the display screen of the reservation management terminal, in which each nursing care taxi driver is associated with an estimated fare required for transportation by the driver.

25. The computer program according to claim 23, characterized in that the control step, when receiving an input from the vehicle dispatch management terminal before notification of the acceptance of the reservation indicating that the designated driver cannot accept the reservation request from the reservation user through the designated reservation, displays a message on the reservation management terminal of the reservation user urging the reservation user to change the reservation date and time.

26. The database contains registered drivers with whom each driver can share reservations for care taxis. The computer program according to claim 23, characterized in that the control step, when receiving an input from the dispatch management terminal indicating that the reservation request from the reservation holder through the designated reservation is to be sent to the other driver, sends the reservation request to the dispatch management terminal of the other driver before notifying the reservation acceptance.

27. The computer program of claim 23, characterized in that the control step, when receiving a reservation request from the reservation management terminal that does not specify a specific nursing care taxi driver, ranks registered drivers according to predetermined criteria based on the information stored in the database, and executes a priority vehicle allocation process that prioritizes allocating vehicles related to the reservation to drivers with higher rankings.

28. The computer program of claim 27, characterized in that the priority vehicle dispatch processing sends reservation requests from the vehicle dispatch management terminal of the driver with the highest rank in a time-shifted order, confirms the reservation upon notification of reservation acceptance from the vehicle dispatch management terminal, and notifies the reservation management terminal of the reservation confirmation.

29. The computer program of claim 27, characterized in that the priority vehicle allocation processing simultaneously sends a reservation request related to the reservation to the vehicle allocation management terminals of all drivers who are the targets of vehicle allocation related to the reservation, allocates the vehicle to the driver with the highest rank among the drivers of the vehicle allocation management terminals that have returned a notification of reservation acceptance, and notifies the vehicle allocation management terminal and the reservation management terminal of the driver who has been allocated the vehicle that the reservation has been confirmed.

30. The control step, upon receiving a reservation request from the reservation person through the reservation management terminal, provides care information regarding the user related to the reservation to the vehicle dispatch management terminal of the driver who is the target of vehicle dispatch related to the reservation; The vehicle dispatch management terminal displays on the touch panel a screen that allows the driver to input whether or not the driver can accept the reservation based on the care information.

24. A computer program according to claim 23.

31. 24. The computer program according to claim 23, wherein the vehicle dispatch management terminal that receives the reservation request displays a screen in which the reservation request is incorporated into the schedule of a nursing care taxi driver.

32. The computer program according to claim 23, characterized in that the reservation management terminal is capable of displaying a screen that enables a person making a reservation to check the reservation status of the corresponding user based on information about the reservation in the database.

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