Boarding and alighting information provision support program and boarding and alighting information provision device

Abstract

To provide an environment for enabling a user who gets on a vehicle to unitarily grasp information about other users in the vehicle who get on / off the vehicle on the way.SOLUTION: An image 100 showing get-on / off places of other users 50 to be dropped in by a vehicle 40 with them on board is displayed on a display 62 of a terminal device 60 a user 50 reserving the vehicle 40 by using icons 105 to 107 of a mode different from that of a get-on / off place of the user 50. A direction and color of an arrow of each of the icons 105 to 107 show which of getting-on, getting-off, and getting-on and getting-off. the other users 50 perform at each get-on / off place. The user 50 can unitarily grasp information of the other users 50 getting-on / off the vehicle 40 with them on board by the displays of the icons 105 to 107 in the image 100.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a boarding / alighting information providing support program and a boarding / alighting information providing device. [Background technology]

[0002] A technology has been proposed that requests the user's permission in advance to let a passenger board the vehicle on the way to the user's destination (Patent Document 1). In this technology, an image requesting permission to let a passenger board the vehicle on the way is displayed on a terminal device such as a smartphone of the user. By looking at the image on the terminal device, the user can recognize how the driving plan to the destination will change if a passenger boards the vehicle on the way, before deciding whether or not to allow the passenger to board. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2019 / 004475 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, with the technology of Patent Document 1, the information that can be provided to a user is limited to information about fellow passengers who will board the vehicle along the way, so the user cannot prepare in advance for fellow passengers getting on or off the vehicle while traveling to the destination.

[0005] The present invention has been developed in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an environment in which a user riding in a vehicle can centrally obtain information about other users who get on and off the vehicle along the way. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a boarding / alighting information provision support program according to one aspect of the present invention includes: acquiring boarding and alighting plan data generated for a vehicle in which a predetermined user is boarding, the boarding and alighting plan data including boarding and alighting points of other users boarding the vehicle, from a boarding and alighting information providing device that generates the boarding and alighting plan data; displaying, on the display unit, boarding and alighting points of other users where the vehicle will stop during the ride of the specified user, in a manner different from that of the specified user, using at least one of characters, figures, symbols, and colors to indicate any one of a boarding only point, a disembarking only point, and a boarding and disembarking point, based on the boarding and alighting plan data; to be executed by the computer. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an environment in which a user riding in a vehicle can centrally grasp information about other users who get on and off the vehicle along the way. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a shared vehicle dispatch system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a shared vehicle dispatching system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3A] FIG. 3A is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a processing procedure of a boarding / alighting information providing process performed by the passenger vehicle dispatching system of FIG. [Figure 3B] FIG. 3B is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a processing procedure of a boarding / alighting information providing process performed by the passenger vehicle dispatching system of FIG. [Figure 4A] FIG. 4A is a sequence diagram illustrating another example of the processing procedure of the boarding / alighting information providing processing performed by the passenger vehicle dispatching system of FIG. [Figure 4B] FIG. 4B is a sequence diagram illustrating another example of the processing procedure of the boarding / alighting information providing processing performed by the passenger vehicle dispatching system of FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an image displayed on the display of the terminal device of FIG. [Figure 6]FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an image displayed on the display of the terminal device of FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an image displayed on the display of the terminal device of FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of an image displayed on the display of the terminal device of FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an image displayed on the display of the terminal device of FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an image displayed on the display of the terminal device of FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an image displayed on the display of the terminal device of FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of an image displayed on the display of the terminal device of FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a specific example of a seating chart displayed on the image of FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same parts are given the same reference numerals and the description will be omitted.

[0010] The configuration of a shared vehicle dispatch system 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 1, the shared vehicle dispatch system 10 according to this embodiment includes a dispatch server 20 (boarding and alighting information providing device), a communication network 30, a vehicle 40, and a terminal device 60 carried by a user 50.

[0011] In this passenger vehicle dispatch system 10, a dispatch server 20 communicates with vehicles 40 and terminal devices 60 via a communication network 30. The dispatch server 20 can be configured, for example, by a general-purpose computer.

[0012] The communication network 30 may be configured using either a wireless or wired system, or both, and may include the Internet. In this embodiment, the vehicle dispatch server 20, the vehicle 40, and the terminal device 60 are connected to the communication network 30 using a wireless communication system.

[0013] In the passenger vehicle dispatch system 10, a user 50 (a predetermined user) who reserves the dispatch of a vehicle 40 can start application software (hereinafter, referred to as an app) installed in a terminal device 60 and input information required for reserving the vehicle 40. In this case, a native app is installed in the terminal device 60, and a computing device in the terminal device 60 directly performs computational processing.

[0014] Also, instead of a native app, it is possible to use PWA (Progressive Web Apps) technology to enable a mobile-oriented website built on a cloud server on the Internet to be used like an app installed on the terminal device 60. In this case, for example, the terminal device 60 accesses a cloud server on the Internet, and information required for reserving a vehicle 40 can be input on a console screen of the cloud server displayed on the terminal device 60. The cloud server function referred to here may be provided in the vehicle dispatch server 20, or may be provided in another server (not shown) that cooperates with the vehicle dispatch server 20.

[0015] In the following embodiment, a case will be described in which a terminal device 60 in which a native application is installed, or a terminal device 20 that uses PWA technology instead of a native application, accesses the vehicle dispatch server 20.

[0016] The information entered by user 50 includes, for example, a user ID for identifying user 50, the location where user 50 boards vehicle 40 (hereinafter referred to as the boarding point) and destination (hereinafter referred to as the disembarking point), the number of passengers, and other reservation-related information.

[0017] The boarding point of the user 50 may be, for example, any location that can be specified by an address or the like, or may be the nearest location selected by the user 50 from predetermined locations. In this embodiment, the user 50 selects the boarding point from predetermined locations.

[0018] When the user 50 inputs the information required to reserve the vehicle 40 using the terminal device 60 , reservation data including the input information is transmitted to the vehicle dispatch server 20 via the communication network 30 .

[0019] The vehicle allocation server 20 receives reservation data from the terminal device 60. The vehicle allocation server 20 determines a vehicle 40 to be allocated to the user 50 based on information in the received reservation data. Note that, although one vehicle allocation server 20 determines the allocation of one vehicle 40 in FIG. 1, this is not limited to this. The shared vehicle allocation system 10 may be configured such that one vehicle allocation server 20 determines the allocation of two or more vehicles 40.

[0020] In addition, the vehicle allocation server 20 associates a vehicle ID for identifying the determined vehicle 40 with a user ID of the user 50 who will allocate the vehicle 40. Then, the vehicle allocation server 20 transmits the reservation data of the user 50 to the determined vehicle 40.

[0021] A driver (not shown) of the vehicle 40 can confirm the reservation data information of the user 50 received from the vehicle dispatch server 20, for example, on a display on an in-vehicle device 41 in the vehicle 40. Based on the confirmed information, the driver can move the vehicle 40 to the boarding point of the user 50, board the user 50, and transport the user 50 to the disembarking point.

[0022] The vehicle 40 in this embodiment is a shared vehicle that can accommodate multiple users 50, and has multiple user seats available for the users 50. Therefore, as long as there are vacant user seats in the vehicle 40, the vehicle dispatch server 20 can dispatch the same vehicle 40 to other users 50 based on the reservation information from the terminal device 60 of each user 50. In this case, there may be multiple users 50 who have the same boarding point and / or disembarking point.

[0023] Next, the vehicle dispatch server 20, the in-vehicle device 41 of the vehicle 40, and the terminal device 60 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0024] 2, the vehicle dispatch server 20 includes a communication unit 21, a storage device 22, and a controller 23. The in-vehicle device 41 includes a communication unit 42, a seating sensor 43, a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor 44, and a controller 45. The terminal device 60 includes a communication unit 61, a display 62 (display unit), and a controller 63 (computer).

[0025] The communication units 21, 42, and 61 are interfaces that connect to the communication network 30 and transmit and receive data. In this embodiment, the in-vehicle device 41 and the terminal device 60 do not communicate with each other directly, but communicate with each other via the vehicle dispatch server 20.

[0026] The storage device 22 of the vehicle dispatch server 20 functions as an accessible storage device. The storage device 22 may be configured to include, for example, a main storage device and an auxiliary storage device. The main storage device may be configured, for example, by a random access memory (RAM). The auxiliary storage device may be configured, for example, by a solid state drive (SSD) or a hard disk drive (HDD). For example, the auxiliary storage device of the storage device 22 may store a customer database 221. The customer database 221 includes information on the history of users 50 who have used the bus dispatch system 10 in the past.

[0027] The controller 23 includes a processor including a central processing unit (CPU) and a memory. The memory includes a read only memory (ROM) and a RAM. The controller 23 functions as a plurality of information processing circuits.

[0028] In this embodiment, an example is shown in which the multiple information processing circuits provided in the controller 23 are realized by software, but it is of course possible to prepare dedicated hardware for executing each information process described below and configure the information processing circuits. Also, the multiple information processing circuits may be configured by individual hardware.

[0029] The controller 23 includes, as a plurality of information processing circuits, a data generation unit 231 (plan data generation unit) and a data transmission control unit 233. Each of these units 231, 233 can be virtually constructed on the hardware of the controller 23 by the CPU executing a boarding and alighting information provision program stored in the memory.

[0030] The data generation unit 231 manages reservation information of the user 50, and generates user data of the user 50 who is assigned the vehicle 40. In addition, the data generation unit 231 generates vehicle data and boarding and alighting plan data of the vehicle 40 assigned to the user 50.

[0031] The user data includes information such as the user ID of the user 50, the boarding point, and the disembarking point.

[0032] The vehicle data includes information such as the vehicle ID, vehicle number, current location, arrangement and passenger capacity of the user seat where the user 50 sits, and number of users currently on board of the vehicle 40 dispatched to the user 50. Information such as the current location of the vehicle 40 and the number of users currently on board can be generated by referring to data, which will be described later, received by the communication unit 21 from the controller 45 of the in-vehicle device 41.

[0033] The boarding and alighting plan data includes the travel route of the vehicle 40 from the boarding point to the alighting point in the reservation information of the user 50, the boarding and alighting points of other users 50 where the vehicle 40 stops along the travel route, the number of users 50 boarding and alighting at each boarding and alighting point, and the scheduled arrival time at each boarding and alighting point.

[0034] The data generation unit 231 generates new user data, vehicle data, and boarding / alighting plan data with updated contents each time the contents of the user data, vehicle data, and boarding / alighting plan data change due to an increase or decrease in the number of users 50 dispatching the vehicle 40, the movement of the vehicle 40, etc.

[0035] The data transmission control unit 233 transmits the user data generated by the data generation unit 231 to the in-vehicle device 41 via the communication unit 21. In addition, the data transmission control unit 233 transmits the vehicle data and the boarding / alighting plan data generated by the data generation unit 231 to the terminal device 60 via the communication unit 21. The data transmission control unit 233 can transmit each piece of data each time the content of each piece of data generated by the data generation unit 231 is updated, or at regular intervals, or each time the communication unit 21 receives a transmission request for each piece of data. In this embodiment, the data transmission control unit 233 and the communication unit 21 can configure a boarding / alighting data transmission unit.

[0036] The seating sensor 43 of the in-vehicle device 41 can detect whether or not the user 50 is seated in the user seat of the vehicle 40. The GPS sensor 44 can detect the current location of the vehicle 40 in which the in-vehicle device 41 is installed.

[0037] The controller 45 includes a processor including a CPU and a memory. The memory includes a ROM and a RAM. The controller 45 functions as a plurality of information processing circuits, similar to the controller 23 of the vehicle dispatch server 20. The information processing circuit functions of the controller 45 may be realized by software or dedicated hardware.

[0038] The controller 45 can display, for example, on a display (not shown) the contents of the user data received by the communication unit 42. In this case, the driver of the vehicle 40 can check the information of the user 50 who is riding in the vehicle 40 on the screen displayed on the display (not shown).

[0039] Furthermore, the controller 45 can identify the vacancy status of each seat in the vehicle 40 and the alighting point of each user 50 seated in each seat, based on the user data received by the communication unit 42 and the detection result of the seating sensor 43. The vacancy status of each seat and the alighting point of each user 50 seated in each seat may be input to the controller 45 by the driver by operating a virtual switch displayed on a display (not shown) of the in-vehicle device 41.

[0040] Furthermore, the controller 45 transmits data indicating the vacancy status of each seat in the vehicle 40 and the drop-off point of the user 50 at each seat to the vehicle dispatch server 20 via the communication unit 42. The controller 45 can transmit data to the vehicle dispatch server 20 every time a change occurs in the vacancy status of each seat in the vehicle 40 or at regular intervals.

[0041] The terminal device 60 communicates with the vehicle dispatch server 20 via the communication network 30. The terminal device 60 is a device that can be carried by the user 50, and can be configured as, for example, a smartphone, a tablet, or the like.

[0042] The display 62 is used as a UI (User Interface) between the shared vehicle dispatch system 10 and the user 50. The display 62 can display an input screen (not shown) for information required to make a reservation for the vehicle 40. The display 62 can also display an information screen regarding the vehicle 40 to be dispatched to the user 50 after the reservation. This information screen will be described later.

[0043] The controller 63 includes a processor including a CPU and a memory. The memory includes a ROM and a RAM. The controller 63 functions as a plurality of information processing circuits, similar to the controller 23 of the vehicle dispatch server 20. In this embodiment, an example is shown in which the plurality of information processing circuits included in the terminal device 60 are realized by software.

[0044] The controller 63 includes, as a plurality of information processing circuits, a data acquisition control unit 631, a position display control unit 632, an event display control unit 633, a user number display control unit 634, and an empty seat display control unit 635. In this embodiment, each of these control units 631 to 635 can be virtually constructed on the hardware of the controller 63 by the CPU executing the boarding and alighting information provision support program in the memory.

[0045] The data acquisition control unit 631 acquires each of the vehicle data and the boarding and alighting plan data from the controller 23 received by the communication unit 61.

[0046] The position display control unit 632 generates data for displaying on the display 62 the positional relationship of the current position of the vehicle 40 relative to the boarding point of the user 50 carrying the terminal device 60, based on the vehicle data and boarding and disembarking plan data acquired by the data acquisition control unit 631.

[0047] The position display control unit 632 can use the generated data to cause the display 62 to display an image showing the positional relationship of the current position of the vehicle 40 relative to the boarding point of the user 50, as necessary.

[0048] The event display control unit 633 generates data for displaying on the display 62 the contents of an event that will occur in the vehicle 40 in which the user 50 who owns the terminal device 60 is riding, based on the vehicle data and the boarding and alighting plan data acquired by the data acquisition control unit 631. This data indicates the contents of an event related to the boarding and alighting of another user 50 that will occur next in the vehicle 40 in which the user 50 is riding.

[0049] The event display control unit 633 can use the generated data to display an image indicating the next event to occur on the display 62, for example in the form of a push notification, as necessary.

[0050] The user number display control unit 634 generates data for displaying on the display 62 the number of users currently in the vehicle 40 before the user 50 carrying the terminal device 60 gets in, based on the vehicle data acquired by the data acquisition control unit 631.

[0051] Using the generated data, the position display control unit 632 can cause the display 62 to display, as necessary, an image indicating the number of users currently in the vehicle 40 before the user 50 gets in.

[0052] The vacant seat display control unit 635 generates data for displaying on the display 62 the vacant seat status of the user seat in the vehicle 40 in which the user 50 carrying the terminal device 60 is riding, based on the vehicle data and boarding and alighting plan data acquired by the data acquisition control unit 631.

[0053] Using the generated data, the vacant seat display control unit 635 can display, as necessary, an image showing the vacant seat status of the user seat of the vehicle 40 in which the user 50 rides, on the display 62. This image may be an image showing, as a recommended seat, the position of an empty seat from which the user 50 does not need to leave when another user 50 gets on or off.

[0054] Next, an example of a procedure for processing to provide boarding and alighting information performed by communication between the vehicle dispatch server 20 and the terminal device 60 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B and FIGS. 4A and 4B.

[0055] First, a first processing procedure example will be described with reference to Figures 3A and 3B. The first processing procedure is an example in which the CPU of the controller 63 of the terminal device 60 executes a boarding / alighting information provision support program, and the controller 63 proactively controls the display of images on the display 62 in the boarding / alighting information provision process.

[0056] In step S1 shown in FIG. 3A, the controller 63 of the terminal device 60 accepts input of the boarding point, the disembarking point, and the number of passengers by the user 50, and transmits this together with the user ID of the user 50 to the vehicle dispatch server 20 as reservation data.

[0057] In step S3, the controller 23 of the vehicle allocation server 20 acquires the reservation data information received from the terminal device 60, stores it in the memory (boarding and alighting data storage unit) of the controller 23, and then accepts a reservation for the vehicle 40 by the user 50. When there are two or more vehicles 40 in the passenger vehicle allocation system 10, the controller 23 of the vehicle allocation server 20 acquires reservation data information for each vehicle 40, stores it in the memory of the controller 23, and accepts a reservation for the vehicle 40 by the user 50.

[0058] In step S5, the controller 23 determines the vehicle 40 to be allocated to the user 50 based on the information in the reservation data, and transmits reservation completion data to the terminal device 60 that transmitted the reservation data. The reservation completion data includes information such as the vehicle ID and vehicle number of the vehicle 40 to be allocated to the user 50, the boarding point and disembarking point of the user 50, the number of passengers, and the arrival time of the vehicle 40 at the boarding point (hereinafter referred to as the dispatch time).

[0059] In step S7, the controller 63 of the terminal device 60 causes a message of reservation completion to be displayed on the display 62. The message of reservation completion can be displayed on the display 62 by, for example, a pop-up image.

[0060] In step S9, the controller 63 checks whether the current time is a first predetermined time before the dispatch time. The first predetermined time can be, for example, 15 minutes. If the current time is the first predetermined time before the dispatch time (YES in step S9), in step S11, the controller 63 generates boarding advance notice information based on the reservation completion data, and causes the display 62 to display an image showing the contents of the information in the form of a push notification.

[0061] 5, an image 70 showing the contents of the boarding notice information has a display portion of a map 72 showing the boarding point of a user 50 (a specified user) with an icon 71. The image 70 also has display portions for a push notification of a message 73 notifying the user 50 that the vehicle will be dispatched in 15 minutes, guidance 74 for the user 50, a dispatch time 75, the number of passengers 76, the name of the boarding point 77, a vehicle ID 78 of the vehicle 40 to be dispatched, and a vehicle number 79.

[0062] In step S13 shown in Fig. 3A, the controller 63 checks whether the current time is a second predetermined time before the dispatch time. The second predetermined time can be, for example, 5 minutes depending on the time when the user 50 (predetermined user) starts moving to the boarding point. When the second predetermined time before the dispatch time is reached (YES in step S13), the controller 63 transmits, in step S15, to the dispatch server 20 a request to transmit vehicle data of the vehicle 40 dispatched to the user 50. The vehicle data includes information on the current position of the vehicle 40 dispatched to the user 50, information on the number of users on board (number of existing passengers), and the like.

[0063] The controller 23 of the vehicle allocation server 20 transmits vehicle data of the vehicle 40 allocated to the user 50 to the terminal device 60 of the user 50 in step S17.

[0064] In step S19, the controller 63 of the terminal device 60 generates boarding preparation information based on the vehicle data received from the vehicle dispatch server 20, and causes an image showing the contents of the information to be displayed on the display 62 in the form of a push notification.

[0065] As shown in Fig. 6, an image 80 showing the contents of the boarding preparation information has display portions 72 to 79 other than the icon 71 of the image 70 in Fig. 5 showing the contents of the boarding advance notice information, as well as a display portion of a boarding status 81 showing the number of user seats in the dispatched vehicle 40 and the number of users currently on board. Fig. 6 shows a case where the number of user seats is four, while the number of users currently on board is three. The display of the boarding status 81 allows the user 50 to know the number of other users 50 on board the vehicle 40 before the vehicle 40 arrives at the boarding point, and therefore the user 50 can prepare for boarding knowing in advance how crowded the vehicle 40 will be.

[0066] The contents of the message 73 and the guidance 74 are changed to correspond to the contents 5 minutes before the dispatch time. In the image 80, in addition to the icon 71 indicating the boarding point of the user 50, an icon 82 indicating the current position of the dispatched vehicle 40 is displayed in the display portion of the map 72.

[0067] In step S21 shown in Fig. 3B, the controller 63 checks whether the dispatched vehicle 40 (reserved vehicle) has arrived at the boarding point of the user 50. Instead of checking the arrival at the boarding point, the controller 63 may check whether the current time has reached the dispatch time.

[0068] When the vehicle 40 arrives at the boarding point or when the dispatch time arrives (YES in step S21), in step S23, the controller 63 generates boarding request information based on the latest predetermined information received from the vehicle dispatch server 20. Then, an image showing the contents of the generated boarding request information is displayed on the display 62 in the form of a push notification.

[0069] As shown in FIG. 7, in image 90 showing the contents of the boarding request information, the contents of message 73 and guidance 74 are changed from the contents of image 80 in FIG. 6 to contents indicating that vehicle 40 has arrived at the boarding point or that the current time has become the dispatch time.

[0070] 3B, the controller 23 of the vehicle dispatch server 20 checks whether the user 50 (passenger) who made the reservation has boarded the vehicle 40 (reserved vehicle) dispatched to the boarding point. The controller 23 can check whether the user 50 who made the reservation has boarded the vehicle 40, based on data transmitted from the in-vehicle device 41, for example, indicating the vacant seat status of each seat in the vehicle 40 and the disembarking point of the user 50 for each seat.

[0071] When the user 50 who made the reservation (predetermined user) gets on the vehicle 40 (YES in step S25), the controller 23 transmits boarding and alighting plan data for the vehicle 40 in which the user 50 has got on to the terminal device 60 of the user 50 in step S27.

[0072] In step S29, the controller 63 of the terminal device 60 acquires the boarding and disembarking plan data received from the vehicle dispatch server 20, generates driving plan information and expected arrival information based on the acquired data, and displays an image showing the contents on the display 62.

[0073] As shown in FIG. 8, in an image 100 showing the contents of the trip plan information and the arrival schedule information, the display portions of the message 73, the vehicle number 79, and the boarding status 81 in the image 90 in FIG. 7 are omitted.

[0074] In addition, instead of the dispatch time 75, boarding point name 77, and vehicle ID 78 of image 90 in Figure 7, image 100 has display sections for the estimated arrival time 101 at the disembarking point (destination) of user 50 (a specified user), the name of the disembarking point 102, and the number of stops on the way to the disembarking point 103.

[0075] The number of stops on the way 103 is the number of points at which the vehicle 40 stops to allow other users 50 to board and disembark before arriving at the disembarking point of the user 50 (a specified user). When a user 50 gets on and a user 50 gets off at the same point, the point is counted as one stop point.

[0076] In addition, in the image 100, in the display portion of the map 72, an icon 104 indicating the drop-off point of the user 50 (specified user) is displayed in addition to the icon 71 indicating the boarding point of the user 50 (specified user) and the icon 82 indicating the current location of the vehicle 40.

[0077] Furthermore, in the image 100, icons 105-107 indicating the boarding and disembarking points of other users 50 are displayed in the display portion of the map 72. The arrows in the icons 105-107 point upward to indicate boarding and downward to disembark. Also, a black arrow indicates that the relevant user 50 is present, and a white arrow (a hollow arrow in the figure) indicates that the relevant user 50 is not present.

[0078] The content of the guidance 74 in the image 100 is changed from the content in the image 90 in Fig. 7 to content indicating an event that will occur next in the vehicle 40 in which the user 50 is riding, regarding the boarding and alighting of another user 50. Fig. 8 shows a case in which the guidance 74 indicates that the other user 50 will alight at the boarding and alighting point of the icon 105 where the vehicle 40 will next stop.

[0079] When the contents of the vehicle data or the boarding / disembarking plan data that the controller 63 receives from the vehicle dispatch server 20 are updated, the display contents of the image 100 in FIGS. 5 to 8 are updated.

[0080] For example, the display content of image 100 in Fig. 8 is updated as vehicle 40 stops at the boarding and alighting points of icons 105 to 107 where other users 50 are boarded and alighted. Specifically, after vehicle 40 stops at the boarding and alighting points of icons 105 and 106, the display content of image 100 in Fig. 8 is updated to omit icons 105 and 106 from image 100 in Fig. 8, as shown in Fig. 9. At this time, the content of guidance 74 in image 100 becomes content informing other users 50 that they will board and alight at the boarding and alighting point of icon 107 where vehicle 40 will next stop.

[0081] After the vehicle 40 stops at the boarding / alighting point of the icon 107 where the last user is to be boarded or alighted, the display content of the image 100 is updated to the content of the image 100 in Fig. 9 with the icon 107 omitted, as shown in Fig. 10. At this time, the content of the guidance 74 in the image 100 informs the user that the vehicle 40 will next stop at the alighting point (destination) of the user 50 (predetermined user).

[0082] 3B, the controller 23 of the vehicle dispatch server 20 checks whether the user 50 (predetermined user) has exited the vehicle 40. The controller 23 can check that the user 50 (predetermined user) has exited the vehicle 40, for example, based on data transmitted from the in-vehicle device 41 indicating the vacant seat status of each seat in the vehicle 40 and the exit point of the user 50 for each seat.

[0083] When the user 50 (predetermined user) gets off the vehicle 40 (YES in step S31), the controller 23 transmits, in step S33, to the terminal device 60 of the user 50, a message that the user 50 has got off the vehicle 40.

[0084] In step S35, the controller 63 of the terminal device 60 displays the questionnaire image 110 of Fig. 11 on the display 62. The questionnaire image 110 is for the user 50 to answer the question about the purpose for which the user used the vehicle 40. When the user 50 touches the selection button 111 of the content that matches the purpose of use in this questionnaire image 110 and touches the send button 112, the controller 63 transmits the data of the questionnaire results to the vehicle dispatch server 20 in step S37.

[0085] In step S39, the controller 23 of the vehicle dispatch server 20 records the contents of the questionnaire result data received from the terminal device 60 in memory.

[0086] In the first processing procedure shown in Fig. 3A and Fig. 3B, step S29 in Fig. 3B corresponds to a data acquisition step, a boarding / alighting display control step, and an event display control step. Also, steps S13, S15, and S19 in Fig. 3A correspond to a position display control step, a user number display control step, and an empty seat display control step.

[0087] Next, a second processing procedure example will be described with reference to Figures 4A and 4B. The second processing procedure is an example in which the CPU of the controller 63 of the terminal device 60 executes a boarding / alighting information provision support program, and the controller 23 of the vehicle dispatch server 20 proactively controls the display of images on the display 62 in the boarding / alighting information provision process.

[0088] 4A, the controller 23 of the vehicle allocation server 20 accepts a reservation of the vehicle 40 by the user 50. In step S53, reservation data required for the reservation may be transmitted to the vehicle allocation server 20 from, for example, a computer (not shown) connected to the communication network 30, or may be directly input to the vehicle allocation server 20.

[0089] In step S55, the controller 23 determines the vehicle 40 to be allocated to the user 50 based on the information in the reservation data, and completes the reservation of the vehicle 40.

[0090] In step S57, the controller 23 checks whether the current time is the first predetermined time before the dispatch time. If it is the first predetermined time before the dispatch time (YES in step S57), in step S59, the controller 23 generates vehicle data of the vehicle 40 dispatched to the user 50 and data of a message to be displayed as ride advance notice information based on the reservation data. Then, both data are transmitted to the terminal device 60 of the user 50.

[0091] The data of the message of the boarding advance notice information is data indicating the contents of the message 73 and the guidance 74 in the image 70 of Fig. 5. In step S61, the controller 63 of the terminal device 60 that has received this data and the vehicle data causes the image 70 indicating the contents of the boarding advance notice information to be displayed on the display 62 in push notification format.

[0092] In step S63 shown in Fig. 4A, the controller 23 of the vehicle allocation server 20 checks whether the current time is the second predetermined time before the vehicle allocation time. If it is the second predetermined time before the vehicle allocation time (YES in step S63), the controller 23 generates vehicle data of the vehicle 40 allocated to the user 50 and data of a message to be displayed as boarding preparation information based on the reservation data in step S65. Then, both data are transmitted to the terminal device 60 of the user 50.

[0093] The data of the message of the boarding preparation information is data indicating the contents of the message 73 and the guidance 74 in the image 80 in Fig. 6. In step S67, the controller 63 of the terminal device 60 that has received this data and the vehicle data causes the image 80 indicating the contents of the boarding preparation information to be displayed on the display 62 in the form of a push notification.

[0094] In step S69 shown in Fig. 4B, the controller 23 of the vehicle dispatch server 20 checks whether the dispatched vehicle 40 (reserved vehicle) has arrived at the boarding point of the user 50. Instead of checking the arrival at the boarding point, the controller 23 may check whether the current time has reached the dispatch time.

[0095] When the vehicle 40 arrives at the boarding point or when the dispatch time arrives (YES in step S69), the process proceeds to step S71. In step S71, the controller 23 generates boarding and alighting plan data for the vehicle 40 boarded by the user 50 and data for a message to be displayed as boarding request information based on the reservation data. Then, both data are transmitted to the terminal device 60 of the user 50.

[0096] The data of the message of the boarding request information is data indicating the contents of the message 73 and the guidance 74 in the image 90 in Fig. 7. In step S73, the controller 63 of the terminal device 60 that has received this data and the boarding and disembarking plan data causes the image 90 indicating the contents of the boarding request information to be displayed on the display 62 in push notification format.

[0097] In step S75 shown in FIG. 4B, the controller 23 of the vehicle allocation server 20 confirms whether or not the user 50 (passenger) who made the reservation has boarded the vehicle 40 (reserved vehicle) that has been dispatched to the boarding point.

[0098] When the user 50 who made the reservation (predetermined user) gets on the vehicle 40 (YES in step S75), the controller 23 transmits boarding and alighting plan data for the vehicle 40 in which the user 50 has got on to the terminal device 60 of the user 50 in step S77.

[0099] In step S79, the controller 63 of the terminal device 60 acquires the boarding and disembarking plan data received from the dispatch server 20, generates driving plan information and expected arrival information based on the acquired data, and displays image 100 of Figure 8 showing the contents on the display 62.

[0100] In step S81 shown in Fig. 4B, the controller 23 of the vehicle dispatch server 20 checks whether or not the user 50 (predetermined user) has exited the vehicle 40. When the user 50 (predetermined user) has exited the vehicle 40 (YES in step S81), the controller 23 transmits data for displaying the questionnaire image 110 of Fig. 11 on the display 62 in step S83.

[0101] In step S85, the controller 63 of the terminal device 60 displays the questionnaire image 110 of Fig. 11 on the display 62. When the user 50 touches the selection button 111 of the content that matches the purpose of use in this questionnaire image 110 and touches the send button 112, the controller 63 transmits the data of the questionnaire result to the vehicle dispatch server 20 in step S87.

[0102] In step S89, the controller 23 of the vehicle dispatch server 20 records the contents of the questionnaire result data received from the terminal device 60 in memory.

[0103] In the second processing procedure shown in Fig. 4A and Fig. 4B, step S79 in Fig. 4B corresponds to the data acquisition step, the boarding / alighting display control step, and the event display control step. Also, step S67 in Fig. 4A corresponds to the position display control step, the user number display control step, and the vacant seat display control step.

[0104] In addition, in the image 90 in Fig. 7 showing the contents of the boarding request information, a seating chart 83 showing the positions of vacant seats recommended for the user 50 (predetermined user) to sit in may be displayed as shown in Fig. 12. By displaying the seating chart 83, the user 50 can estimate whether there are any vacant seats available in the vehicle 40 before the vehicle 40 arrives at the boarding point.

[0105] Specifically, the seating chart 83 can display the vacancy status of the user seats 46 in the vehicle 40 in different colors, for example, as shown in Fig. 13. The arrow in Fig. 13 indicates the traveling direction of the vehicle 40. The seating chart 83 in Fig. 13 indicates that the user seats 46 near the left door 47 in the second row and the right corner of the third row are vacant, and the other user seats 46 in black are in use.

[0106] In addition, among the vacant user seats 46, user seats 46 that are located in a position where the user does not need to leave when other users 50 get on and off through the doors 47 of the vehicle 40 may be displayed as recommended seats in the seating chart 83, distinguished from other vacant user seats 46.

[0107] In the seating chart 83 of Fig. 13, the vacant user seat 46 in the second row close to the door 47 is displayed in white (outlined in the figure) indicating that it is not a recommended seat, because there is a possibility that the user 50 seated in the black user seat 46 in use will need to leave the seat when disembarking. In contrast, the user seat 46 in the right corner of the third row, which is unlikely to need to leave the seat when other users 50 board or disembark, is displayed in a color other than white or black (hatched in the figure) indicating that it is a recommended seat.

[0108] As described above, in this embodiment, an image 100 is displayed on the display 62 of the terminal device 60 of the user 50 who has reserved the vehicle 40, showing the boarding and alighting points of other users 50 where the vehicle 40 will stop by, with icons 105-107 in a form different from the boarding and alighting points of the user 50. In addition, the controller 23 of the vehicle dispatch server 20 generates the vehicle data of the vehicle 40 and the boarding and alighting plan data required for displaying the image 100, and transmits them to the terminal device 60 of the user 50 at the required timing.

[0109] Therefore, the user 50 can grasp information of other users 50 who get on and off the vehicle 40 in which the user 50 is riding, in a unified manner, by displaying the icons 105 to 107 in the image 100. The advantage of being able to grasp this information in a unified manner includes, for example, the following advantages.

[0110] For example, at the drop-off point of the other user 50, depending on the relative position of the seat with respect to the user 50, the user 50 (predetermined user) who does not get off may be forced to temporarily get off in order to make way for the other user 50. In addition, when the other user 50 gets on or off at a point other than the drop-off point of the user 50 (predetermined user), time is required for the vehicle 40 to stop, which may affect the time at which the vehicle 40 arrives at the drop-off point of the user 50 (predetermined user). In particular, when multiple users 50 (other users) get on or off at different points, the vehicle 40 needs to stop each time, and the impact on the time at which the vehicle 40 arrives at the drop-off point of the user 50 (predetermined user) accumulates.

[0111] In general, in order to make the flow of moving bodies in a transportation system smooth, it is preferable that the stopping time of the moving bodies before arriving at the destination is short. Therefore, in the passenger vehicle dispatch system 10, it is useful for a user 50 (a predetermined user) to be able to centrally grasp information on other users 50 who are getting on and off the vehicle 40 in which the user 50 is riding, for example, because the user can know in advance whether the other users 50 need to leave their seats when getting on and off along the way.

[0112] That is, the user 50 (predetermined user) can consider or execute a measure such as moving to another vacant user seat 46 while the vehicle 40 is stopped, as necessary, to clear the way in advance for other users 50 who get on and off along the way. Furthermore, if the user 50 (predetermined user) has placed luggage on an empty user seat 46, the user 50 (predetermined user) can understand while riding whether or not it is necessary to move the luggage from the user seat 46 back to an empty seat, and can consider or execute a measure such as moving the luggage as necessary. Furthermore, the user 50 (predetermined user) can estimate in advance how much the time at which the vehicle 40 will arrive at the drop-off point of the user (predetermined user) may be delayed due to the boarding and disembarking of other users 50.

[0113] The boarding and alighting points of the other user 50 may be displayed using elements other than the icons 105 to 107. In this case, the element used to display the boarding and alighting points of the other user 50 may be an element indicating any one of a boarding only point, a disembarking only point, and a boarding and alighting point. For this element, at least one of characters, figures, symbols, and colors in a different style from the boarding and alighting points of the user 50 who reserved the vehicle 40 may be used.

[0114] Furthermore, since the direction and color of the arrow of each icon 105-107 indicate whether the other users 50 are getting on, getting off, or getting on and off at each boarding / alighting point, for example, it is possible to accurately consider whether it is necessary to leave the seat when the other users 50 get on or off along the way. Note that each icon 105-107 may display the number of other users 50 getting on or off at each boarding / alighting point.

[0115] In this embodiment, icons 71, 104 indicating the boarding and disembarking points of the user 50 who has reserved the vehicle 40 and icons 105 to 107 indicating the boarding and disembarking points of the other users 50 are arranged on the map 72 of the image 100. However, each of the icons 71, 104 to 107 may be arranged on a background other than the map 72, such as a plain background. In this case, by arranging each of the icons 71, 104 to 107 in consideration of the position of each boarding and disembarking point, it is possible to grasp on the image 100 the rough positional relationship of the boarding and disembarking points of the other users 50 relative to the boarding and disembarking point of the user 50 who has reserved the vehicle 40.

[0116] In the present embodiment, while the user 50 is in the vehicle 40 where he / she witnesses other users 50 getting on and off, icons 105-107 indicating the boarding and alighting points of the other users 50 getting on and off the vehicle 40 while the user 50 is in the vehicle are displayed in the image 100 displayed on the display 62 of the terminal device 60. However, icons 105-107 indicating the boarding and alighting points of the other users 50 getting on and off the vehicle 40 while the user 50 is in the vehicle may also be displayed in the images 80 and 90 displayed on the display 62 of the terminal device 60 before the user 50 gets on the vehicle 40. In addition, if the number of users 50 getting on and off is displayed on the icons 105-107, the user 50 can easily estimate the time required for the other users 50 to get on and off.

[0117] In addition, in this embodiment, an icon 82 indicating the current location of the vehicle 40 is displayed on the map 72 of the image 80 from a second predetermined time (e.g., 5 minutes) before the dispatched vehicle 40 arrives at the boarding point of the user 50. This allows the user 50 to intuitively grasp the approach of the dispatched vehicle 40 to the boarding point.

[0118] Furthermore, if the icon 82 is displayed on the map 72 of the image 80 displayed on the display 62 from the second predetermined time before, the icon 82 is not displayed in the image displayed on the display 62 before the second predetermined time, as shown in Fig. 5, for example. Thus, the period during which the current location of the vehicle 40 is made public by displaying the icon 82 is limited.

[0119] The point in time before the second predetermined time is a point in time before the user 50 (predetermined user) starts moving the dispatched vehicle 40 to the boarding point. There is no need to proactively disclose the current location of the vehicle 40 to the user 50 (predetermined user) before heading to the boarding point. Therefore, by limiting the disclosure of the current location of the vehicle 40 to the period from the second predetermined time before the dispatch time onward, it is possible to prevent the privacy of other users 50 who board the vehicle 40 before the second predetermined time from being inadvertently disclosed to a third party.

[0120] However, if no privacy or other issues arise, the icon 82 may be displayed on the map 72 of the images 70 and 90 at an earlier stage, or conversely, the icon 82 may be displayed on the map 72 of the image 100 after the user 50 gets into the dispatched vehicle 40.

[0121] Furthermore, in this embodiment, while the user 50 is riding in the dispatched vehicle 40, the guidance 74 of the image 100 displayed on the display 62 of the terminal device 60 is configured to display the next event occurring regarding the boarding and alighting of other users 50. This allows the riding user 50 to know in advance what purpose the vehicle 40 will stop at the next boarding and alighting point. Note that the configuration for displaying the next event in the guidance 74 may be omitted.

[0122] The above-described embodiment is merely an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made to the design and other aspects of the present invention without departing from the technical concept of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0123] 10. Shared vehicle dispatch system 20. Vehicle dispatch server (boarding and alighting information providing device) 21 Communication unit (boarding and alighting data transmission unit) 23 Controller (boarding and alighting data storage unit) 40 vehicles 46 User seats 50 users (predetermined users, other users) 60 Terminal Equipment 62 Display (Display unit) 63 Controller (computer) 71 Icon (Pick-up location for a given user) 72 Map 74 Guidance (next event occurring regarding boarding and disembarking) 81 Vehicle status (number of users in the vehicle) 82 Icon (Vehicle Location) 83 Seat chart (user seat availability) 104 Icon (drop-off point for a given user) 105~107 Icons (other users' boarding and alighting points) 231 Data Generation Unit (Plan Data Generation Unit) 233 Data transmission control unit (boarding and alighting data transmission unit) 631 Data Acquisition Control Unit 632 Position display control unit 633 Event display control unit 634 User number display control unit 635 Vacant Seat Display Control Unit

Claims

1. a data acquisition step of acquiring boarding and alighting plan data, generated for a vehicle in which a specific user is riding, including boarding and alighting points of other users riding in the vehicle, from a boarding and alighting information providing device that generates the boarding and alighting plan data while the specific user is riding in the vehicle; a boarding / alighting display control step of displaying, on a display unit, boarding / alighting points of the other users where the vehicle will stop during the boarding / alighting of the specified user based on the boarding / alighting plan data, in a manner different from that of the specified user, using at least one of characters, figures, symbols, and colors to indicate any one of a boarding only point, a disembarking only point, and a boarding and disembarking point; a vacant seat display control step of displaying, on the display unit, a vacant seat status of a user seat of the vehicle before the predetermined user gets on the vehicle; Run the following on your computer: In the vacant seat display control step, a vacant seat that does not need to be left when the other user gets on or off among the user's seats is displayed on the display unit as the vacant seat state. A program to assist with providing boarding and disembarking information.

2. 2. The boarding / alighting information provision support program according to claim 1, wherein the elements include icons indicating the boarding / alighting points on a map.

3. 3. The boarding / alighting information provision support program according to claim 1, wherein the elements include icons each indicating the boarding / alighting of the other users by using an arrow symbol in a different direction.

4. The boarding and alighting information provision support program according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a position display control step of causing the computer to display on the display unit the positional relationship of the vehicle relative to the boarding point of the specified user from a predetermined time before the scheduled arrival time of the vehicle at the boarding point of the specified user.

5. The boarding / disembarking information provision support program according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising an event display control step of causing the computer to display on the display unit the contents of the next event that will occur regarding the user's boarding / disembarking from the vehicle while the specified user is riding thereon.

6. The boarding and alighting information provision support program according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a user number display control step of causing the computer to display on the display unit the number of users currently boarding the vehicle before the specified user boards the vehicle.

7. 7. The boarding / alighting information provision support program according to claim 1, wherein in the boarding / alighting display control step, the display unit displays the number of people of the other users getting on and off at the boarding / alighting points.

Images