Vehicle operation management device, vehicle operation management system, vehicle operation management method, and vehicle operation management program

Abstract

To obtain a vehicle operation managing device that can shorten a travel time of a vehicle while improving an accuracy of vehicle operation in response to user demand.SOLUTION: A vehicle operation managing device 10 comprises: a storage unit 20 that stores in advance an operation plan 24 for a vehicle 74, which contains an operation route including a plurality of stops; a movement demand acquisition unit 40 that acquires a movement demand 22 of a user of the vehicle 74; a stop characteristic acquisition unit 30 that acquires a stop characteristic 21 which is a characteristic of a stop regarding the movement demand 22; and a route and stop determining unit 50 that determines a stop at which the vehicle 74 is not stopped among the plurality of stops included in the operation route, based on the movement demand 22 and the stop characteristic 21.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle operation management device, a vehicle operation management system, a vehicle operation management method, and a vehicle operation management program for managing vehicle operation. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, buses run along a predetermined route and stop at predetermined bus stops to allow passengers to board and disembark. If there are no passengers to disembark and there are no passengers at a bus stop, the bus driver may pass the bus stop. In addition, since buses run on public roads, they may be delayed due to traffic jams, etc. Therefore, passengers who want to board a bus must continue to wait at the bus stop so that the bus will stop there, and in case the bus is delayed even if the departure time has passed.

[0003] To address these problems, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that allows users to make bus reservations. By making a bus reservation, users do not need to wait at a bus stop for the bus to arrive. In addition, if there are no passengers getting off and no reservations for the bus, the bus driver can pass the bus through the bus stop without stopping it, thereby reducing the amount of time the bus is wasted at the stop. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2002-236997 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Generally, the number of passengers getting on and off at bus stops is not the same for each bus stop, and bus stops near facilities such as train stations, hospitals, and commercial facilities are expected to have a large demand from passengers. In addition, at such bus stops, it is expected that passengers who are not aware of the bus's departure time will arrive at the bus stop just before the bus's original departure time. However, according to the above-mentioned conventional technology, the bus driver will pass through bus stops where there are no passengers getting off and no bus boarding reservations without stopping the bus. Therefore, when the above-mentioned conditions are met, the bus driver will pass through bus stops where passenger demand is expected without stopping, which may result in the problem of not being able to meet the demand from passengers.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to provide a vehicle operation management device that can reduce vehicle travel time while improving the accuracy of vehicle operation in response to user demand. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the vehicle operation management device of the present disclosure includes a storage unit that stores in advance a vehicle operation plan including an operation route including a plurality of stops, a travel demand acquisition unit that acquires travel demand of a vehicle user, a stop characteristic acquisition unit that acquires stop characteristics that are characteristics of stops regarding the travel demand, and a route stop determination unit that determines stops at which the vehicle will not stop among a plurality of stops included in the operation route based on the travel demand and the stop characteristics. When the intermediate stop determination unit determines a stop at which the bus will not stop, it selects a route that does not pass through the stop at which the bus will not stop, and updates the arrival time and departure time at the stop at which the bus will not stop and at a stop after the stop at which the bus will not stop, for the operation plan. It is characterized by: Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, the vehicle operation management device has an advantage of being able to reduce the vehicle's travel time while improving the accuracy of vehicle operation in response to user demand. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1]FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a vehicle operation management system according to a first embodiment; [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of travel demands stored in a storage unit of a vehicle operation management device according to a first embodiment; [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an operation plan before and after an update in a case where a stop at which a vehicle is not stopped is determined and an operation plan is updated by a stop determination unit of a vehicle operation management device according to a first embodiment; [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of stop characteristics when a route stop determination unit of a vehicle operation management device according to the first embodiment determines a high route priority; [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of stop characteristics when a route stop determination unit of a vehicle operation management device according to the first embodiment determines a low route priority; [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example in which the route stop determination unit of the vehicle operation management device according to the first embodiment determines route priorities using predicted travel demand as stop characteristics and determines stops at which the vehicle will not stop. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example in which the route stop determination unit of the vehicle operation management device according to the first embodiment determines route priority using user priority as a bus stop characteristic and determines a bus stop at which the vehicle will not stop. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example in which the route stop determination unit of the vehicle operation management device according to the first embodiment determines route priority using the presence or absence of alternative transportation means as a stop characteristic, and determines a stop at which the vehicle will not stop. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a comparative example between a case where a route stop determination unit of a vehicle operation management device according to embodiment 1 determines whether or not to stop a vehicle at a stop by using stop characteristics and a case where a route stop determination unit determines whether or not to stop a vehicle at a stop by not using stop characteristics. [Figure 10] A flowchart showing the operation of the vehicle operation management device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a processing circuit that realizes a vehicle operation management device according to a first embodiment when the processing circuit is configured with a processor and a memory. [Figure 12]FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a processing circuit that realizes a vehicle operation management device according to a first embodiment when the processing circuit is configured with dedicated hardware. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a route stop determination unit according to the third embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of learning data according to the third embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a neural network according to the third embodiment; [Figure 16] Flowchart of learning process of the learning device according to the third embodiment [Figure 17] 13 is a flowchart of an inference process performed by the inference device according to the third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A vehicle operations management device, a vehicle operations management system, a vehicle operations management method, and a vehicle operations management program according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0011] Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a vehicle operation management system 100 according to the first embodiment. The vehicle operation management system 100 includes a vehicle operation management device 10, an external system 71, a demand collection terminal 72, and a vehicle control terminal 73 mounted on a vehicle 74. The vehicle operation management device 10 manages the operation of the vehicle 74 mounted with the vehicle control terminal 73. In this embodiment, the vehicle 74 managed by the vehicle operation management device 10 is assumed to be a bus that stops at a plurality of stops set in advance on a route according to user demand. The vehicle 74 may be a vehicle driven by a driver, or may be something like an autonomous vehicle in which a driver does not drive the vehicle 74.

[0012] The external system 71 provides the bus stop characteristics 21, which are characteristics of the bus stops, to the vehicle operation management device 10. The bus stop characteristics 21 will be described later. The connection between the vehicle operation management device 10 and the external system 71 may be online or offline.

[0013] The demand collection terminal 72 provides the travel demand 22 of the user of the vehicle 74 to the vehicle operation management device 10. The travel demand 22 will be described later. The vehicle operation management device 10 may communicate with the demand collection terminal 72 via the Internet or a dedicated network.

[0014] The vehicle control terminal 73 is an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) mounted on the vehicle 74. For example, when the vehicle 74 is driven by a driver, the vehicle control terminal 73 provides the driver with information on stops to be passed through and stops not to be passed through, acquired from the vehicle operation management device 10, and transmits the position information of the vehicle 74, the arrival time and departure time at the stop, and the like, to the vehicle operation management device 10. When the vehicle 74 is an autonomous vehicle, the vehicle control terminal 73 controls the operation of the vehicle 74 according to instructions from the vehicle operation management device 10, and transmits the position information of the vehicle 74, the arrival time and departure time at the stop, and the like, to the vehicle operation management device 10. When the operation plan 24 has not been updated by the vehicle operation management device 10, the vehicle control terminal 73 acquires the operation plan 24 stored in the vehicle operation management device 10 from the vehicle operation management device 10, and when the operation plan 24 has been updated by the vehicle operation management device 10, acquires the operation plan 24 updated by the vehicle operation management device 10. The vehicle operation management device 10 may communicate with the vehicle control terminal 73 via the Internet or a dedicated network.

[0015] A detailed description will be given of the configuration and operation of the vehicle operation management device 10. As shown in Fig. 1, the vehicle operation management device 10 includes a storage unit 20, a bus stop characteristic acquisition unit 30, a travel demand acquisition unit 40, a route stop determination unit 50, and an operation plan implementation unit 60.

[0016] The memory unit 20 stores stop characteristics 21, travel demand 22, operation status 23, and operation plan 24.

[0017] The bus stop characteristics 21 are characteristics specific to each bus stop at which the vehicle 74 may stop in the operation plan 24. The bus stop characteristics 21 may be different for the same bus stop, depending on the day of the week, the time of day, or the season. The bus stop characteristics 21 may be acquired by the bus stop characteristics acquisition unit 30 from an external system 71 outside the vehicle operation management device 10 and dynamically stored in the storage unit 20, or may be statically stored in advance, i.e., held in the storage unit 20 of the vehicle operation management device 10 if there is no significant change in the past operation of the vehicle 74. There are various types of bus stop characteristics 21, and examples of them include predicted travel demand, user priority, and the presence or absence of alternative travel means.

[0018] The predicted travel demand is information indicating the expected scale of users boarding vehicles 74 at the bus stop. The predicted travel demand is a prediction of travel demand 22 expected at the bus stop. The predicted travel demand is calculated, for example, from past operation records, event schedules, weather conditions, usage of surrounding transportation facilities, usage of surrounding facilities, and congestion at surrounding facilities.

[0019] The user priority is information indicating whether or not a user who boards the vehicle 74 at the bus stop is a user who should be given priority for transportation. The user priority is information indicating the priority of a user who boards the vehicle 74 at the bus stop. For example, a bus stop that is frequently used by elderly people, pregnant women, important customers, etc. may be ranked with a high priority, whereas a bus stop that is used only by company employees, etc. may be ranked with a low priority.

[0020] The presence or absence of alternative transportation means is information indicating whether or not there is an alternative transportation means available for a user boarding a vehicle 74 at a bus stop in the event that the user does not use the vehicle 74 whose operation is managed by the vehicle operation management device 10. For example, a bus stop with no alternative transportation means is assigned a high priority, and a bus stop with an alternative transportation means is assigned a low priority.

[0021] The bus stop characteristics 21 may be one of a predicted travel demand, a user priority, and the presence or absence of an alternative means of transportation, or a combination of these.

[0022] The travel demand 22 is information indicating at which bus stop a user wishes to board and at which bus stop he / she wishes to disembark. The travel demand 22 is dynamically updated in response to operations such as the user's registration of a reservation and the user's change of reservation. The travel demand 22 is, for example, a compilation of information such as the number of passengers, which is the number of passengers boarding at the bus stop, the number of passengers disembarking at the bus stop, and the number of unused passengers, which is the number of passengers boarding upstream from the bus stop and disembarking downstream from the bus stop, for each bus stop. The travel demand 22 may include, for example, a compilation of information such as the number of passengers transported, which is the number of passengers boarding upstream from the currently operating point and disembarking downstream from the currently operating point of a vehicle 74 in operation, and the number of vacant passengers obtained by subtracting the number of passengers transported from the number of passengers that can be transported by the vehicle 74.

[0023] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of travel demand 22 stored in the storage unit 20 of the vehicle operation management device 10 according to the first embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the travel demand 22 includes a reservation time for boarding the vehicle 74, a boarding stop, and an alighting stop for each user ID (IDentifier) ​​for identifying a user. It is assumed that each stop is assigned a unique ID. The travel demand 22 shown in FIG. 2 is an example, and the travel demand 22 may include information other than the information shown in FIG. 2. The travel demand 22 may be dynamically stored in the storage unit 20 by the travel demand acquisition unit 40 from a demand collection terminal 72 outside the vehicle operation management device 10, or may be statically stored in advance in the storage unit 20 of the vehicle operation management device 10 if there is no significant change in the past operation of the vehicle 74.

[0024] The operation status 23 is information indicating the arrival time of the vehicle 74, the departure time of the vehicle 74, etc. at the stops on the operation plan 24. The operation status 23 can also be said to be information indicating whether the vehicle 74 is operating according to the operation plan 24, i.e., on schedule, or whether it is delayed.

[0025] The operation plan 24 is information indicating when the vehicle 74 will arrive at and depart from each stop on the operation route. The operation plan 24 includes an operation route including a plurality of stops in advance. In this embodiment, the operation plan 24 of the vehicle 74 stored in the storage unit 20 may be dynamically updated while the vehicle 74 is in operation by the operation of the intermediate stop determination unit 50 described later.

[0026] The bus stop characteristic acquisition unit 30 acquires the bus stop characteristic 21, which is a characteristic of a bus stop for the travel demand 22. For example, the bus stop characteristic acquisition unit 30 stores the bus stop characteristic 21 acquired from the external system 71 in the storage unit 20 and outputs the bus stop characteristic 21 to the route bus stop determination unit 50. Alternatively, the bus stop characteristic acquisition unit 30 acquires the bus stop characteristic 21 stored in advance in the storage unit 20 from the storage unit 20 and outputs the bus stop characteristic 21 to the route bus stop determination unit 50. That is, the bus stop characteristic acquisition unit 30 acquires the bus stop characteristic 21 from outside the vehicle operation management device 10 or from the storage unit 20. Here, various variations are possible for the bus stop characteristic 21 acquired by the bus stop characteristic acquisition unit 30. In this case, the bus stop characteristic acquisition unit 30 acquires the bus stop characteristic 21 from various external systems 71 by the bus stop characteristic 21.

[0027] For example, when the bus stop characteristic 21 is a past operation record, the bus stop characteristic acquisition unit 30 acquires the bus stop characteristic 21 from a data server storing the operation record of the operation system as the external system 71. When the bus stop characteristic 21 is a user priority, the bus stop characteristic acquisition unit 30 can also acquire the bus stop characteristic 21 from a data server storing the operation record of the operation system as the external system 71. When the bus stop characteristic 21 is a scheduled event such as a concert or a sports game, the bus stop characteristic acquisition unit 30 acquires the bus stop characteristic 21 from a server managing event information for the area as the external system 71. When the bus stop characteristic 21 is a weather condition, the bus stop characteristic acquisition unit 30 acquires the bus stop characteristic 21 from a weather forecast system as the external system 71. Furthermore, when the bus stop characteristic 21 is the usage status, congestion status, etc. of the transport facilities around the bus stop, the bus stop characteristic acquisition unit 30 acquires the bus stop characteristic 21 from the operation management system of the transport facilities around the bus stop as the external system 71. When the bus stop characteristic 21 is the usage status, congestion status, etc. of the facilities around the bus stop, the bus stop characteristic acquisition unit 30 acquires the bus stop characteristic 21 from the building management system of the facilities around the bus stop as the external system 71. When the bus stop characteristic 21 is the presence or absence of an alternative means of transportation, the bus stop characteristic acquisition unit 30 acquires the bus stop characteristic 21 from the system that manages, as the external system 71, guide maps, route maps of other transport facilities, timetable information of other transport facilities, etc.

[0028] The travel demand acquisition unit 40 acquires the travel demand 22 of the user of the vehicle 74. For example, the travel demand acquisition unit 40 stores the travel demand 22 acquired from the demand collection terminal 72 in the storage unit 20 and outputs it to the route stop determination unit 50. That is, the travel demand acquisition unit 40 acquires the travel demand 22 from outside the vehicle operation management device 10 or from the storage unit 20. Here, the demand collection terminal 72 may be a reservation terminal or a ticket vending machine installed at a bus stop, or may be a mobile terminal that the user can carry. The mobile terminal may be a dedicated one, or may be a smartphone with an application compatible with the vehicle operation management system 100 installed. In addition, the demand collection terminal 72 may be a terminal on which an operator who accepts telephone reservations from users performs operations such as registering and changing reservations. The demand collection terminal 72 may be installed in accommodation facilities, commercial facilities, etc.

[0029] The operation plan implementation unit 60 issues instructions to the vehicle control terminal 73 mounted on the vehicle 74 based on the operation plan 24 stored in the storage unit 20, and controls the operation of the vehicle 74. In addition, the operation plan implementation unit 60 acquires the arrival time of the vehicle 74 at the stop, the departure time of the vehicle 74 from the stop, position information of the vehicle 74, and the like from the vehicle control terminal 73, compares the acquired information with the operation plan 24, determines whether the vehicle 74 is operating according to the operation plan 24 or is delayed, and updates the operation status 23 stored in the storage unit 20.

[0030] The intermediate stop determination unit 50 determines a stop at which the vehicle 74 will not stop among a plurality of stops included in the operation route based on the travel demand 22 and the stop characteristics 21. Here, in the present embodiment, when the intermediate stop determination unit 50 determines a stop at which the vehicle 74 will not stop, the intermediate stop determination unit 50 can select an operation route that does not pass through the stop at which the vehicle 74 will not stop. In this case, the intermediate stop determination unit 50 updates the arrival time and departure time at the stop at which the vehicle will not stop and at the stop after the stop at which the vehicle will not stop, for the operation plan 24.

[0031] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the operation plan 24 before the update and an example of the operation plan 24 after the update when the route stop determination unit 50 of the vehicle operation management device 10 according to the first embodiment determines a stop at which the vehicle 74 will not stop and updates the operation plan 24. FIG. 3 shows an example when the route stop determination unit 50 determines that the vehicle 74 will not stop at the stop [2], where the upper part shows an example of the operation plan 24 before the update and the lower part shows an example of the operation plan 24 after the update. Note that in the upper part, the table on the left and the graph on the right show the same content, and in the lower part, the table on the left and the graph on the right show the same content. In the graph on the right side of the lower part, the dotted line shows the state before the update and the dashed line shows the state after the update. For example, when the vehicle 74 can travel from the bus stop [1] to the bus stop [3] by taking a shortcut without passing in front of the bus stop [2], the intermediate stop determination unit 50 selects a route that does not pass in front of the bus stop [2], i.e., does not pass through the bus stop [2]. In addition, the operation plan 24 may have alternative route candidates registered in advance when a shortcut can be taken without passing through any of the bus stops, or may search for an optimal route each time from a drivable road network. In the example of FIG. 3, the intermediate stop determination unit 50 does not stop the vehicle 74 at the bus stop [2] and selects a route that does not pass through the bus stop [2], so that the vehicle 74 can arrive at the bus stop [3] earlier, and therefore the arrival time and departure time of the vehicle 74 at the bus stop [3] are made earlier.

[0032] Here, the stops that are the subject of the intermediate stop determination unit 50 when determining the stops at which the vehicle 74 will not stop are limited to stops at which there is no demand for both boarding and alighting by users in the travel demand 22. The intermediate stop determination unit 50 does not include stops at which there is at least one of boarding and alighting demand in the travel demand 22 as subjects of the determination of the stops at which the vehicle 74 will not stop. However, the intermediate stop determination unit 50 may include, for example, even if there is a demand for boarding in the travel demand 22, as subjects of the determination of the stops at which the vehicle 74 will not stop if the vehicle 74 is full.

[0033] The intermediate stop determination unit 50 determines the timing to determine the stop at which the vehicle 74 will not stop, based on the operation status 23 of the vehicle 74. Here, the intermediate stop determination unit 50 determines the timing to determine the stop at which the vehicle 74 will not stop, so that the earlier the timing is, the greater the shortcut and the shorter the travel time can be when the vehicle 74 is not stopped at the stop [2], but if the timing is too early, it will not be possible to respond to the travel demand 22 that occurs after that. Therefore, the intermediate stop determination unit 50 determines whether or not to stop the vehicle 74 at the stop [2] after the vehicle 74 departs from or passes the stop [1] that is one stop before the stop [2].

[0034] There are various possible methods for the route stop determination unit 50 to determine the stops at which the vehicle 74 will not stop, and one example is a method in which the route stop determination unit 50 determines the stops at which the vehicle 74 will not stop according to a priority specific to each stop. The route stop determination unit 50 determines a route priority indicating the priority of each stop based on the stop characteristics 21. The route stop determination unit 50 determines whether or not to stop the vehicle 74 at a stop corresponding to the route priority based on the travel demand 22 and the route priority.

[0035] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the stop characteristic 21 when the via stop determination unit 50 of the vehicle operation management device 10 according to the first embodiment determines a high via priority. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the stop characteristic 21 when the via stop determination unit 50 of the vehicle operation management device 10 according to the first embodiment determines a low via priority. Both of FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 use the stop [2] as an example. The via stop determination unit 50 determines the via priority so as to prioritize a stop having a stop characteristic 21 that is expected to generate a large amount of travel demand 22 that should be prioritized for transportation. The via stop determination unit 50 can determine the via priority by, for example, comparing the number of users per hour in the predicted travel demand with a prescribed threshold value. In addition, the via stop determination unit 50 increases the via priority when, for example, there is a hospital or the like near the stop and demand from the elderly or the like is expected, and decreases the via priority in other cases. In addition, the route stop determination unit 50 increases the route priority of a stop for which there is no alternative means of transportation, and decreases the route priority of a stop for which there is an alternative means of transportation.

[0036] The via stop determination unit 50 may determine the via priority using only one of the predicted travel demand, the user priority, and the presence or absence of an alternative travel means, or may determine the via priority using a combination of these. When the via stop determination unit 50 determines the via priority using all of the predicted travel demand, the user priority, and the presence or absence of an alternative travel means, the via stop determination unit 50 may determine the via priority by weighting each item. In this embodiment, the via stop determination unit 50 sets the via priority of the bus stop to either a high via priority or a low via priority, but this is not limited to this. The via stop determination unit 50 may set the via priority of the bus stop to three or more stages. Hereinafter, an example in which the via priority of the bus stop is two stages, a high via priority and a low via priority, will be described.

[0037] The route stop determination unit 50 sets a high route determination threshold for a stop with a high route priority. The route stop determination unit 50 refers to the route priority and the travel demand 22 and determines whether or not to route the vehicle 74 so as to stop at a stop with a high route priority. For example, the route stop determination unit 50 counts the number of users who board the bus upstream of the stop and get off downstream of the stop as the unnecessary number of people, and determines that "if the unnecessary number of people < the route determination threshold is true, then route the vehicle 74, and if not, then do not route the vehicle."

[0038] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example in which the route stop determination unit 50 of the vehicle operation management device 10 according to the first embodiment determines route priority using the predicted travel demand as the stop characteristic 21, and determines a stop at which the vehicle 74 is not stopped. The route stop determination unit 50 determines a high priority when the number of users per hour is 36 in the predicted travel demand, and determines a low priority when the number of users per hour is 12. The route stop determination unit 50 also calculates a route determination threshold from the number of users per hour. In the example of FIG. 6, the route determination threshold is calculated by the formula shown in FIG. 6 with constant 1=1 / 12 and constant 2=-1, but this is in consideration of the maximum number of passengers that can board the vehicle 74, and examples of constant 1 and constant 2 are not limited to these. The route stop determination unit 50 calculates a route determination threshold=2 when the route priority is high, and calculates a route determination threshold=0 when the route priority is low.

[0039] When the route priority is high and the number of unused persons is one, the route stop determination unit 50 determines that the vehicle 74 will stop at the stop [2] because the travel demand 22 is likely to occur and there is also vacancy in the vehicle 74, and causes the vehicle 74 to route through the stop [2]. In addition, when the route priority is high and the number of unused persons is two, the route stop determination unit 50 determines that the vehicle 74 will not stop at the stop [2] because there is no vacancy in the vehicle 74, and does not cause the vehicle 74 to route through the stop [2]. In addition, when the route priority is low and the number of unused persons is one, the route stop determination unit 50 determines that the vehicle 74 will not stop at the stop [2] because the travel demand 22 is likely to occur and there is also vacancy in the vehicle 74, and does not cause the vehicle 74 to route through the stop [2]. In addition, when the route priority is low and the number of unused passengers is two, the route stop determination unit 50 determines not to stop the vehicle 74 at the stop [2] because there is no vacancy in the vehicle 74 and the likelihood of travel demand 22 occurring is low, and does not route the vehicle 74 to the stop [2].

[0040] 7 is a diagram showing an example in which the route stop determination unit 50 of the vehicle operation management device 10 according to the first embodiment determines route priority using user priority as the stop characteristic 21, and determines a stop at which the vehicle 74 will not stop. The route stop determination unit 50 calculates a route determination threshold based on the user priority. When the route priority is high, the route stop determination unit 50 calculates a route determination threshold of 2, and when the route priority is low, the route determination unit 50 calculates a route determination threshold of 0.

[0041] When the route priority is high and the number of unused persons is 1, the route stop determination unit 50 determines that the vehicle 74 will stop at the stop [2] because the high-priority travel demand 22 is likely to occur and there is vacancy in the vehicle 74, and routes the vehicle 74 to the stop [2]. In addition, when the route priority is high and the number of unused persons is 2, the route stop determination unit 50 determines that the vehicle 74 will not stop at the stop [2] because the high-priority travel demand 22 is likely to occur but there is no vacancy in the vehicle 74, and does not route the vehicle 74 to the stop [2]. In addition, when the route priority is low and the number of unused persons is 1, the route stop determination unit 50 determines that the vehicle 74 will not stop at the stop [2] for the travel demand 22 that has a low priority and will occur immediately before, and does not route the vehicle 74 to the stop [2]. In addition, when the route priority is low and the number of unused persons is two, the route stop determination unit 50 determines that the vehicle 74 will not stop at the stop [2] for the travel demand 22 that has a low priority and occurs immediately before, and does not route the vehicle 74 to the stop [2].

[0042] 8 is a diagram showing an example in which the route stop determination unit 50 of the vehicle operation management device 10 according to the first embodiment determines route priority using the presence or absence of alternative transportation means as the stop characteristics 21, and determines stops at which the vehicle 74 will not stop. The route stop determination unit 50 calculates a route determination threshold based on the presence or absence of alternative transportation means. When there is no alternative transportation means, the route stop determination unit 50 calculates a route determination threshold=2, and when there is an alternative transportation means, the route determination threshold=0.

[0043] When the route priority is high and the number of unused people is 1, the route stop determination unit 50 determines that the vehicle 74 will stop at the stop [2] because the travel demand 22 is likely to occur in a situation where there is no alternative means of transportation and there is also vacancy in the vehicle 74, and routes the vehicle 74 to the stop [2]. In addition, when the route priority is high and the number of unused people is 2, the route stop determination unit 50 determines that the vehicle 74 will not stop at the stop [2] because the travel demand 22 is likely to occur in a situation where there is no alternative means of transportation and there is not vacancy in the vehicle 74, and does not route the vehicle 74 to the stop [2]. In addition, when the route priority is low and the number of unused people is 1, the route stop determination unit 50 determines that the vehicle 74 will not stop at the stop [2] for the travel demand 22 that will occur immediately before in a situation where there is an alternative means of transportation, and does not route the vehicle 74 to the stop [2]. In addition, when the route priority is low and the number of unused passengers is two, there is no vacancy in the vehicle 74, and an alternative means of transportation is available, the route stop determination unit 50 determines not to stop the vehicle 74 at the stop [2] for the immediately preceding travel demand 22, and does not route the vehicle 74 through the stop [2].

[0044] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a comparative example between a case where the intermediate stop determination unit 50 of the vehicle operation management device 10 according to the first embodiment uses the stop characteristics 21 to determine whether or not to stop the vehicle 74 at a stop, and a case where the intermediate stop determination unit 50 determines whether or not to stop the vehicle 74 at a stop without using the stop characteristics 21. If the intermediate stop determination unit 50 determines whether or not to stop the vehicle 74 at the stop [2] based on the number of people getting off without using the stop characteristics 21, when the intermediate priority is high and the number of unnecessary people is 1 person, the intermediate stop determination unit 50 determines not to stop the vehicle 74 at the stop [2] and does not allow the vehicle 74 to pass through the stop [2]. For this reason, the vehicle 74 may not be able to meet the travel demand 22 with high priority. In addition, if the route stop determination unit 50 does not use the stop characteristics 21 and determines whether or not to stop the vehicle 74 at the stop [2] based on the number of vacant passengers, when the route priority is low and the number of unnecessary passengers is 1, it determines to stop the vehicle 74 at the stop [2] and routes the vehicle 74 to the stop [2]. For this reason, the vehicle 74 may needlessly route to the stop [2] with a low priority.

[0045] In contrast, in this embodiment, the intermediate stop determination unit 50 uses the stop characteristics 21 to determine whether or not to stop the vehicle 74 at a stop. This allows the vehicle operation management device 10 to shorten the travel time of the vehicle 74 while improving the accuracy of the operation of the vehicle 74 in response to the demand of the user. Here, in the example shown in FIG. 6 to FIG. 9, the installation position of the stop [2] is a detour from the road directly connecting the stop [1] to the stop [3], so the effect of shortening the travel time is easy to understand, but even if the operation route from the stop [1] to the stop [3] is a single road, the vehicle operation management device 10 can obtain the same effect.

[0046] For example, when the intermediate stop determination unit 50 determines a stop at which the vehicle 74 is not to stop, the vehicle 74 does not need to change lanes and decelerate, or accelerate to depart, which are necessary to stop at the stop. Therefore, the vehicle operation management device 10 can obtain the effect of shortening the travel time of the vehicle 74 even when the operation route of the vehicle 74 is a single road. In addition, by determining not to stop the vehicle 74 at a stop, the vehicle operation management device 10 can reduce the number of times the vehicle 74 changes lanes and decelerates to stop, and accelerates to depart, thereby improving the ride comfort and comfort of the user in the vehicle 74. When the operation route of the vehicle 74 is a single road, the intermediate stop determination unit 50 can determine a stop at which the vehicle 74 is not to stop just before the target stop, so that the travel demand 22 of the user can be better met.

[0047] In addition, when the intermediate stop determination unit 50 determines not to stop the vehicle 74 at the stop [2] and does not route the vehicle 74 through the stop [2], the arrival time and departure time of the vehicle 74 at the stop [3] will be advanced as shown in Fig. 3. Therefore, the intermediate stop determination unit 50 may avoid determining not to stop the vehicle 74 at the stop [2] if it is considered that this would be detrimental to the user.

[0048] For example, when the vehicle 74 operates about once per hour, a user who is unable to board the vehicle 74 that was originally available due to the earlier departure time of the vehicle 74 will have to wait another hour, which will be a major disadvantage. Therefore, the intermediate bus stop determination unit 50 avoids determining not to stop the vehicle 74 at the bus stop [2] on a route with a small number of operations. On the other hand, when the vehicle 74 operates about once every two to three minutes, even if the user is unable to board the vehicle 74 that was originally available, the next vehicle 74 will arrive soon, so the user will not be greatly disadvantaged. Therefore, the intermediate bus stop determination unit 50 may determine whether or not to determine a bus stop at which the vehicle 74 will not stop, depending on the route on which the vehicle 74 operates. For a vehicle 74 that may depart earlier, the user's disadvantage can be mitigated by indicating in advance in the bus stop timetable or the like that the departure time of the vehicle 74 may be earlier.

[0049] In addition, when the operation of vehicle 74 is delayed and not in line with operation plan 24, determining a stop that will not be passed through and traveling via a shortcut is effective in recovering from the delay of vehicle 74, so the intermediate stop determination unit 50 may perform control to determine a stop at which vehicle 74 will not stop only when the operation of vehicle 74 is delayed.

[0050] The vehicle operation management device 10 may perform the above-described operation for all vehicles 74 operated by the company that operates the vehicles 74, or may perform the operation for each specified number of runs, for example, for every two runs of the operated vehicles 74. In addition, in the vehicle operation management device 10, when the route stop determination unit 50 determines that a certain vehicle 74 will not stop at stop [2] and will not route through stop [2], the route stop determination unit 50 may temporarily change the route priority of stop [2] so that the next vehicle 74 in operation can be easily determined to stop at stop [2].

[0051] The operation of the vehicle operation management device 10 described above will be described using a flowchart. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the vehicle operation management device 10 according to the first embodiment. In the vehicle operation management device 10, the travel demand acquisition unit 40 acquires the travel demand 22 from the demand collection terminal 72 while the vehicle 74 is in operation (steps S11 and S13). Specifically, the travel demand acquisition unit 40 acquires the travel demand 22 from the demand collection terminal 72, and registers or changes the travel demand 22 in the storage unit 20 or the route stop determination unit 50 (step S12). Note that, in the example of FIG. 10, it is assumed that the stop characteristic 21 is stored in advance in the storage unit 20, but the stop characteristic acquisition unit 30 can acquire the stop characteristic 21 from the external system 71 by the same operation as the travel demand acquisition unit 40 acquires the travel demand 22.

[0052] The via stop determination unit 50 updates the operation plan 24 while the vehicle 74 is in operation (steps S21, S25). Specifically, the via stop determination unit 50 determines whether or not it is time to stop the vehicle 74 at the stop [2], that is, whether or not it is time to decide whether or not to route the vehicle 74 to the stop [2], based on the operation status 23 (step S22). As described above, when deciding whether or not to stop the vehicle 74 at the stop [2], the via stop determination unit 50 performs the decision after the vehicle 74 departs from or passes the stop [1] that is one stop before the stop [2]. If it is not time to decide the route, the via stop determination unit 50 waits (step S22: No), and if it is time to decide the route (step S22: Yes), it determines the route priority of the stop based on the stop characteristics 21 (step S23). The route stop determination unit 50 determines whether or not to stop the vehicle 74 at a stop corresponding to the route priority based on the travel demand 22 and the route priority, i.e., whether or not to route the vehicle 74 through the stop (step S24). If the route stop determination unit 50 does not stop the vehicle 74 at the stop corresponding to the route priority, i.e., does not route the vehicle 74 through the stop, it updates the operation plan 24.

[0053] While the vehicle 74 is in operation, the operation plan implementation unit 60 executes the operation plan 24 stored in the storage unit 20 to control the operation of the vehicle 74 (steps S31, S34). Specifically, the operation plan implementation unit 60 updates the operation status 23 stored in the storage unit 20 based on the position information of the vehicle 74 acquired from the vehicle control terminal 73 mounted on the vehicle 74 (step S32). The operation plan implementation unit 60 determines the travel route of the vehicle 74 based on the operation plan 24 stored in the storage unit 20 (step S33) and controls the operation of the vehicle 74.

[0054] Next, a hardware configuration of the vehicle operation management device 10 according to the first embodiment will be described. In the vehicle operation management device 10, the storage unit 20 is a memory. The bus stop characteristic acquisition unit 30, the travel demand acquisition unit 40, the route stop determination unit 50, and the operation plan implementation unit 60 are realized by a processing circuit. The processing circuit may be a memory that stores a program and a processor that executes the program stored in the memory, or may be dedicated hardware. The processing circuit is also called a control circuit.

[0055] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the processing circuit 90 in the case where the processing circuit for realizing the vehicle traffic management device 10 according to the first embodiment is configured with a processor 91 and a memory 92. The processing circuit 90 shown in FIG. 11 is a control circuit and includes a processor 91 and a memory 92. When the processing circuit 90 is configured with the processor 91 and the memory 92, each function of the processing circuit 90 is realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. The software or firmware is described as a program and stored in the memory 92. In the processing circuit 90, each function is realized by the processor 91 reading and executing the program stored in the memory 92. That is, the processing circuit 90 includes a memory 92 for storing a program that results in the processing of the vehicle traffic management device 10 being executed. This program can also be said to be a program for causing the vehicle traffic management device 10 to execute each function realized by the processing circuit 90. This program may be provided by a storage medium in which the program is stored, or may be provided by other means such as a communication medium.

[0056] The above program can also be said to be a program that causes the vehicle operation management device 10 to execute the following steps: a storage step for pre-storing an operation plan 24 of the vehicle 74, which includes an operation route including a plurality of stops; a travel demand acquisition step for acquiring the travel demand 22 of the user of the vehicle 74; a stop characteristic acquisition step for acquiring stop characteristics 21, which are characteristics of stops for the travel demand 22; and a bypass stop determination step for determining, based on the travel demand 22 and the stop characteristics 21, stops among the plurality of stops included in the operation route at which the vehicle 74 will not stop.

[0057] Here, the processor 91 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a processing device, an arithmetic device, a microprocessor, a microcomputer, or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), etc. Also, the memory 92 is, for example, a non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a flash memory, an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), an EEPROM (Electrically EPROM), a magnetic disk, a flexible disk, an optical disk, a compact disk, a mini disk, or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), etc.

[0058] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the processing circuit 93 when the processing circuit for realizing the vehicle operation management device 10 according to the first embodiment is configured with dedicated hardware. The processing circuit 93 shown in FIG. 12 corresponds to, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or a combination of these. The processing circuit 93 may be partially realized with dedicated hardware and partially realized with software or firmware. In this way, the processing circuit 93 can realize each of the above-mentioned functions by dedicated hardware, software, firmware, or a combination of these.

[0059] As described above, according to this embodiment, the vehicle operation management device 10 stores in advance the operation plan 24 of the vehicle 74 including the operation route including a plurality of stops, and determines the stops at which the vehicle 74 will not stop among the plurality of stops included in the operation route based on the travel demand 22 and the stop characteristics 21, and updates the operation plan 24 if there is a stop at which the vehicle 74 will not stop. In this way, the vehicle operation management device 10 can shorten the travel time of the vehicle 74 while improving the accuracy of the operation of the vehicle 74 in response to the demand of the user. The vehicle operation management device 10 can further shorten the travel time of the vehicle 74 by not passing in front of the stops at which the vehicle 74 will not stop, and by taking a shortcut if possible.

[0060] Embodiment 2 In the first embodiment, in the vehicle operation management device 10, the intermediate stop determination unit 50 uses the operation status 23 to determine whether or not it is the timing to make a decision when deciding whether or not to stop the vehicle 74 at a stop, but does not use it in the decision itself of whether or not to stop the vehicle 74 at a stop. In the second embodiment, a case will be described in which the intermediate stop determination unit 50 uses the operation status 23 when deciding whether or not to stop the vehicle 74 at a stop.

[0061] In the second embodiment, the configuration of the vehicle operation management system 100 including the vehicle operation management device 10 is the same as the configuration of the vehicle operation management system 100 in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1. In the second embodiment, the intermediate stop determination unit 50 uses the travel demand 22, the stop characteristics 21, and the operation status 23 of the vehicle 74 to determine a stop at which the vehicle 74 will not stop among a plurality of stops included in the operation route. For example, if the information indicated by the operation status 23 indicates that the vehicle 74 is delayed, the intermediate stop determination unit 50 can reduce the delay of the vehicle 74 by increasing the number of stops at which the vehicle 74 will not stop in determining the stops at which the vehicle 74 will not stop.

[0062] Therefore, when the delay time of the vehicle 74 indicated by the operation status 23 is equal to or greater than a prescribed threshold, the route stop determination unit 50 can, for example, further halve the calculated route determination threshold, thereby increasing the number of stops at which the vehicle 74 will not stop, as compared to the first embodiment. The route stop determination unit 50 may use multiple thresholds so that the route determination threshold can be made smaller as the delay time increases.

[0063] As a result, the vehicle operation management device 10 can further improve the accuracy of operation of the vehicle 74 in response to user demand, while shortening the traveling time of the vehicle 74.

[0064] Embodiment 3 In the first and second embodiments, an example has been described in which the intermediate stop determination unit 50 determines, on a rule basis, a stop at which the vehicle 74 will not stop among a plurality of stops included in the operation route. In the third embodiment, a case will be described in which the intermediate stop determination unit 50 determines, using a trained model, a stop at which the vehicle 74 will not stop among a plurality of stops included in the operation route. Components having the same functions as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and duplicated explanations will be omitted. Below, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly explained.

[0065] The intermediate stop determination unit 50 of the present embodiment includes a learning device 51 and an inference device 55. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the intermediate stop determination unit 50 according to the third embodiment. First, the learning device 51 will be described. The learning device 51 includes a data acquisition unit 52, a model generation unit 53, and a learned model storage unit 54.

[0066] The data acquisition unit 52 acquires, as learning data, travel demand 22, stop characteristics 21, and information indicating stops at which the vehicle 74 will not stop among a plurality of stops included in the travel route.

[0067] Here, the learning data is data in which the travel demand 22 and the bus stop characteristics 21 as input data are associated with information indicating a bus stop at which the vehicle 74 will not stop among a plurality of bus stops included in the travel route as correct answer data. Note that if there is at least one of boarding and disembarking demand in the travel demand 22, the data is not included in the learning data. However, without being limited to this, for example, even if there is boarding demand at a bus stop in the travel demand 22, if the vehicle 74 is full, the bus stop may be included in the determination of a bus stop at which the vehicle 74 will not stop.

[0068] Using FIG. 14, an example will be described in which the data acquisition unit 52 acquires learning data based on past information about the bus stop [2] stored in the storage unit 20. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of learning data according to the third embodiment. The data acquisition unit 52 acquires the travel demand 22 and the bus stop characteristics 21 about the bus stop [2] as input data. In FIG. 14, the travel demand 22 is the number of unnecessary passengers at the time of deciding the route at the bus stop [2] and the number of passengers actually boarding at the bus stop [2], and the bus stop characteristics 21 are the predicted travel demand amount for the bus stop [2], the user priority of the bus stop [2], and the presence or absence of an alternative travel means for the bus stop [2].

[0069] An example of the correspondence between the travel demand 22 and the bus stop characteristics 21, which are input data, and information indicating a bus stop at which the vehicle 74 is not to be stopped among a plurality of bus stops included in the operation route, which is the correct answer data, will be described. For example, in the situation 1 of FIG. 14, the number of unnecessary people at the time of determining the route at the bus stop [2] is 1, the number of passengers actually at the bus stop [2] is 1, the predicted travel demand is 36 people / hour, the user priority is high, and there is no alternative travel means. In the situation 1, the predicted travel demand is higher than the situations 2 and 3 described later, the user priority is higher than the situation 3, and one passenger actually boards the bus stop [2], so it is preferable to stop the vehicle 74 at the bus stop [2]. Therefore, in this embodiment, the correct answer data is set to information indicating that the vehicle 74 is to be stopped at the bus stop [2] in response to the input data of the situation 1. In other words, stop [2] is not included in the information indicating stops at which vehicle 74 is not to stop among the multiple stops included in the route, which is the correct data.

[0070] In addition, in the situation 2 of FIG. 14, the number of unnecessary passengers at the time of deciding the route at the bus stop [2] is 0, the number of passengers at the actual bus stop [2] is 2, the predicted travel demand is 12 passengers / hour, the user priority is high, and there is no alternative travel means. In the situation 2, the predicted travel demand is lower than the situation 1, but the number of unnecessary passengers at the time of deciding the route at the bus stop [2] is 0, the capacity of the vehicle 74 is larger than in the situations 1 and 3, and there are actually two passengers at the bus stop [2]. Therefore, in this embodiment, the correct answer data is set to information indicating that the vehicle 74 is to stop at the bus stop [2] in response to the input data of the situation 2. That is, the correct answer data, which indicates the stop at which the vehicle 74 is not to stop among the multiple stops included in the operation route, does not include the bus stop [2].

[0071] On the other hand, in the situation 3 of FIG. 14, the number of unnecessary people at the timing of deciding to pass through the bus stop [2] is 1, the number of passengers at the actual bus stop [2] is 0, the predicted travel demand is 12 people / hour, the user priority is low, and there is an alternative transportation means. In the situation 3, the predicted travel demand is low and the user priority is low compared to the situation 1. In addition, in the situation 3, there is an alternative transportation means, and there are no passengers boarding at the actual bus stop [2]. Therefore, it is preferable not to stop the vehicle 74 at the bus stop [2]. Therefore, in this embodiment, the correct answer data is set to information indicating that the vehicle 74 will not stop at the bus stop [2] in response to the input data of the situation 3. That is, the correct answer data, which indicates the information indicating the bus stops at which the vehicle 74 will not stop among the multiple bus stops included in the operation route, includes the bus stop [2]. The correspondence between the travel demand 22 and the bus stop characteristics 21, which are the input data, and the information indicating the bus stops at which the vehicle 74 is not to stop among the multiple bus stops included in the operation route, which is the correct answer data, can be appropriately set. Also, the learning data shown in FIG. 14 is an example, and the travel demand 22 and the bus stop characteristics 21 can take various conditions.

[0072] Returning to the explanation of Fig. 13, the model generation unit 53 learns information indicating stops at which the vehicle 74 will not stop, among the multiple stops included in the operation route, based on the learning data. That is, the model generation unit 53 receives the travel demand 22 and the stop characteristics 21 as input, and generates a learned model that outputs information indicating stops at which the vehicle 74 will not stop, among the multiple stops included in the operation route.

[0073] The learning algorithm used by the model generation unit 53 may be a known algorithm such as supervised learning, unsupervised learning, or reinforcement learning. As an example, a case where a neural network is applied will be described. The model generation unit 53 learns information indicating stops at which the vehicle 74 is not to stop among a plurality of stops included in the operation route, for example, by so-called supervised learning according to a neural network model. Here, supervised learning refers to a method of providing a set of input and result (label) data to the learning device 51, learning the features of the learning data, and inferring the result from the input.

[0074] A neural network is composed of an input layer consisting of multiple neurons, an intermediate layer (hidden layer) consisting of multiple neurons, and an output layer consisting of multiple neurons. The intermediate layer may be one layer, or two or more layers.

[0075] Fig. 15 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a neural network according to the third embodiment. For example, in the case of a three-layered neural network as shown in Fig. 15, when multiple inputs are input to the input layer (X1-X3), the values ​​are multiplied by a weight W1 (w11-w16) and input to the intermediate layer (Y1-Y2), and the result is further multiplied by a weight W2 (w21-w26) and output from the output layer (Z1-Z3). This output result changes depending on the values ​​of the weights W1 and W2.

[0076] In this embodiment, the neural network learns information indicating which of the multiple stops included in the operating route will not stop the vehicle 74, by so-called supervised learning, in accordance with learning data created based on a combination of travel demand 22, stop characteristics 21, and information indicating which of the multiple stops included in the operating route will not stop the vehicle 74, which are acquired by the data acquisition unit 52.

[0077] That is, the neural network learns by inputting travel demand 22 and stop characteristics 21 into the input layer and adjusting weights W1 and W2 so that the results output from the output layer approach information indicating stops at which vehicle 74 will not stop among the multiple stops included in the operating route.

[0078] The model generation unit 53 executes the above-described learning to generate and output a trained model.

[0079] The trained model storage unit 54 stores the trained model output from the model generation unit 53.

[0080] Next, a description will be given of the inference device 55. As shown in FIG.

[0081] The data acquisition unit 56 acquires the travel demand 22 and the bus stop characteristics 21 from the memory unit 20 .

[0082] The inference unit 57 infers stops at which the vehicle 74 will not stop, among the multiple stops included in the operation route obtained by using the trained model. That is, the inference unit 57 inputs the travel demand 22 and the stop characteristics 21 acquired by the data acquisition unit 56 to this trained model, and can output information indicating stops at which the vehicle 74 will not stop, among the multiple stops included in the operation route inferred from the travel demand 22 and the stop characteristics 21.

[0083] Next, a learning process performed by the learning device 51 will be described with reference to Fig. 16. Fig. 16 is a flowchart showing the learning process performed by the learning device 51 according to the third embodiment.

[0084] In step S41, the data acquisition unit 52 acquires the travel demand 22, the stop characteristics 21, and information indicating the stops at which the vehicle 74 does not stop among the multiple stops included in the operation route. Note that the travel demand 22, the stop characteristics 21, and information indicating the stops at which the vehicle 74 does not stop among the multiple stops included in the operation route are acquired simultaneously, but it is sufficient that the travel demand 22, the stop characteristics 21, and information indicating the stops at which the vehicle 74 does not stop among the multiple stops included in the operation route are input in association with each other, and the data of the travel demand 22, the stop characteristics 21, and information indicating the stops at which the vehicle 74 does not stop among the multiple stops included in the operation route may be acquired at different times.

[0085] In step S42, the model generation unit 53 learns information indicating which of the multiple stops included in the operation route will not stop the vehicle 74, based on the learning data created based on a combination of the travel demand 22, the stop characteristics 21, and information indicating which of the multiple stops included in the operation route will not stop the vehicle 74, acquired by the data acquisition unit 52, through a so-called supervised learning process, and generates a learned model.

[0086] In step S43, the trained model storage unit 54 stores the trained model generated by the model generation unit 53.

[0087] Next, a process for obtaining information indicating stops at which the vehicle 74 is not to stop among a plurality of stops included in a travel route using the inference device 55 will be described with reference to Fig. 17. Fig. 17 is a flowchart relating to the inference process of the inference device 55 according to the third embodiment.

[0088] In step S51, the data acquisition unit 56 acquires the travel demand 22 and the bus stop characteristics 21 from the storage unit 20.

[0089] In step S52, the inference unit 57 inputs the travel demand 22 and the stop characteristics 21 into the learned model stored in the learned model memory unit 54, and obtains information indicating stops at which the vehicle 74 will not stop among the multiple stops included in the operation route.

[0090] In step S53, the inference unit 57 outputs information indicating stops at which the vehicle 74 will not stop, among the multiple stops included in the operation route obtained by the trained model.

[0091] In step S54, the route stop determination unit 50 updates the operation plan 24 when the vehicle 74 is not to stop at the stop corresponding to the route priority, that is, when the vehicle 74 is not to route through the stop.

[0092] As in the first embodiment, the vehicle operation management device 10 can shorten the travel time of the vehicle 74 while improving the accuracy of operation of the vehicle 74 in response to the demand of the user. In addition, the intermediate stop determination unit 50 uses a trained model for inferring, from the travel demand 22 and the stop characteristics 21, which of the multiple stops included in the operation route, which stops the vehicle 74 will not stop at, and outputs information indicating which of the multiple stops included in the operation route, which stops the vehicle 74 will not stop at, from the travel demand 22 and the stop characteristics 21 acquired by the data acquisition unit 56. This makes it possible to accurately determine whether or not a stop is one where the vehicle 74 should stop, for various conditions that the travel demand 22 and the stop characteristics 21 can take.

[0093] Although the example has been shown in which the learning device 51 and the inference device 55 are included in the route stop determination unit 50 and are used to learn information indicating stops at which the vehicle 74 is not to stop among a plurality of stops included in the operation route, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the learning device 51, or the learning device 51 and the inference device 55, may be connected to the route stop determination unit 50 via a network and may be a device separate from the vehicle operation management device 10. Furthermore, the learning device 51, or the learning device 51 and the inference device 55 may exist on a cloud server.

[0094] In addition, in the present embodiment, a case has been described in which supervised learning is applied to the learning algorithm used by the model generating unit 53, but the present invention is not limited to this. As for the learning algorithm, reinforcement learning, unsupervised learning, semi-supervised learning, or the like can also be applied in addition to supervised learning.

[0095] The model generation unit 53 may also use data in which the travel demand 22 as input data and information indicating a stop at which the vehicle 74 is not to stop among a plurality of stops included in the operation route as correct answer data are associated with each other. In this case, a trained model according to the stop characteristics 21 may be generated. The inference device 55 switches the trained model according to the stop characteristics 21, and inputs the travel demand 22 acquired by the data acquisition unit 56 into this trained model, thereby being able to output information indicating a stop at which the vehicle 74 is not to stop among a plurality of stops included in the operation route inferred from the travel demand 22.

[0096] The model generating unit 53 may learn information indicating a stop at which the vehicle 74 is not stopped among a plurality of stops included in the operation route according to learning data created for a plurality of vehicle operation management devices 10. Furthermore, the model generating unit 53 may acquire learning data from a plurality of vehicle operation management devices 10 used in the same area, or may learn information indicating a stop at which the vehicle 74 is not stopped among a plurality of stops included in the operation route by using learning data collected from a plurality of vehicle operation management devices 10 operating independently in different areas. In addition, the vehicle operation management device 10 that collects the learning data may be added to the target midway, or may be removed from the target. Furthermore, the learning device 51 that has learned information indicating a stop at which the vehicle 74 is not stopped among a plurality of stops included in the operation route for a certain vehicle operation management device 10 may be applied to another vehicle operation management device 10, and information indicating a stop at which the vehicle 74 is not stopped among a plurality of stops included in the operation route for the other vehicle operation management device 10 may be re-learned and updated.

[0097] In the first to third embodiments, the vehicle operation management device 10 operates so as not to stop the vehicle 74 at a stop where the user's travel demand 22 is not expected, but the operation method of the vehicle operation management device 10 is not limited to this. For example, in the examples of Figs. 6 to 8, an event venue is located near the stop [2], and when an event is not held at the event venue, there are almost no users, and when an event is held at the event venue, many users are expected. In such a case, the vehicle operation management device 10 may determine not to stop the vehicle 74 at the stop [2] when an event is not held at the event venue, and may determine to stop the vehicle 74 at the stop [2] on the day when an event is held at the event venue. Since the operation route via the stop [2] is originally assumed in the operation plan 24, the vehicle operation management device 10 can flexibly control the operation of the vehicle 74 even when a sudden number of users is expected. In this type of operation, in the vehicle operation management device 10, the intermediate stop determination unit 50 updates the operation plan 24 during normal times, but does not update the operation plan 24 when an event is held. Therefore, compared to a case where stop [2] is not originally included in the operation plan 24 and the vehicle stops at stop [2] on an ad-hoc basis, the vehicle operation management device 10 can reduce the processing load and can quickly determine the next stop.

[0098] In the first to third embodiments, the vehicle 74 is assumed to be a bus, and the vehicle operation management device 10 determines a stop at which the vehicle 74 is not stopped and controls the operation of the vehicle 74. However, the control target of the vehicle operation management device 10 is not limited to the case where the vehicle 74 is a bus. For example, the vehicle operation management device 10 can also control a delivery vehicle that has a predetermined route and collects and delivers luggage. In this case, the vehicle operation management device 10 prevents the delivery vehicle from passing through stores, warehouses, etc. that do not have reservations for luggage collection, delivery, etc., so that the driver of the delivery vehicle can efficiently collect and deliver luggage. In addition, the vehicle operation management device 10 can be applied to ship transportation, such as a ferry that has a predetermined operation route and connects multiple islands. In this case, the transport target of the ship transportation may be a human being or luggage. In addition, the vehicle operation management device 10 can be applied to aerial delivery using a drone, etc., as long as the operation route is determined in advance.

[0099] The configurations shown in the above embodiments are merely examples, and may be combined with other known technologies, or the embodiments may be combined with each other. Also, parts of the configurations may be omitted or modified without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0100] Although the preferred embodiments have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions can be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the claims.

[0101] Various aspects of the present disclosure are summarized below as appendices.

[0102] (Appendix 1) A storage unit that stores in advance a vehicle operation plan including an operation route including a plurality of stops; A travel demand acquisition unit that acquires travel demand of a user of the vehicle; A bus stop characteristic acquisition unit that acquires a bus stop characteristic that is a characteristic of the bus stop for the travel demand; a stop determining unit for determining a stop at which the vehicle will not stop among the plurality of stops included in the operation route based on the travel demand and the stop characteristics; A vehicle operation management device comprising: (Appendix 2) The bus stop characteristics are a predicted travel demand amount that predicts the travel demand expected at the bus stop. 2. A vehicle operation management device according to claim 1. (Appendix 3) The bus stop characteristics are information indicating the priority of the user boarding at the bus stop. 3. A vehicle operation management device according to claim 1 or 2. (Appendix 4) The information indicating the priority of the users is set so that the priority of at least one of the elderly, pregnant women, and important customers is set higher than that of the other users. 4. A vehicle operation management device according to claim 3. (Appendix 5) The information indicating the priority of the user is set such that the priority of an employee is set lower than that of the other users. 5. A vehicle operation management device according to claim 3 or 4. (Appendix 6) The bus stop characteristics are information indicating whether or not there is an alternative means of transportation for the user boarding at the bus stop. 6. A vehicle operation management device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. (Appendix 7) When the bus stop determination unit determines a bus stop at which the bus will not stop, the bus stop determination unit selects a route that does not pass through the bus stop at which the bus will not stop. 7. A vehicle operation management device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. (Appendix 8) The intermediate stop determination unit updates, for the operation plan, arrival times and departure times at the stops at which the bus does not stop and at the stops subsequent to the stops at which the bus does not stop. 8. A vehicle operation management device according to claim 7. (Appendix 9) The route stop determination unit determines a route priority indicating a priority of each stop based on the stop characteristics, and determines whether or not to stop the vehicle at the stop corresponding to the route priority based on the travel demand and the route priority. 9. A vehicle operation management device according to any one of claims 1 to 8. (Appendix 10) The intermediate stop determination unit further determines the stops at which the vehicle will not stop by using the operation status of the vehicle. 10. A vehicle operation management device according to any one of claims 1 to 9. (Appendix 11) The intermediate stop determination unit determines a timing for determining the stop at which the vehicle will not stop based on an operation status of the vehicle. 11. A vehicle operation management device according to any one of claims 1 to 10. (Appendix 12) The route stop determination unit is A data acquisition unit that acquires the travel demand and the bus stop characteristics; an inference unit that uses a trained model to output information indicating the stops at which the vehicle will not stop among the plurality of stops included in the operation route; 12. A vehicle operation management device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, comprising: (Appendix 13) The route stop determination unit is A data acquisition unit that acquires the travel demand and the bus stop characteristics; an inference unit that outputs information indicating a stop at which the vehicle will not stop among the plurality of stops included in the operation route from the travel demand and the stop characteristics acquired by the data acquisition unit, using a trained model for inferring a stop at which the vehicle will not stop among the plurality of stops included in the operation route from the travel demand and the stop characteristics; 12. A vehicle operation management device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, comprising: (Appendix 14) The travel demand acquisition unit acquires the travel demand from outside the vehicle operation management device or from the storage unit. 14. A vehicle operation management device according to any one of claims 1 to 13. (Appendix 15) The bus stop characteristic acquisition unit acquires the bus stop characteristics from outside the vehicle operation management device or from the storage unit. 15. A vehicle operation management device according to any one of claims 1 to 14. (Appendix 16) A demand collection terminal that provides travel demands of vehicle users; A vehicle operation management device according to any one of appendices 1 to 13, which stores in advance a vehicle operation plan including a route including a plurality of stops, determines a stop at which the vehicle will not stop among the plurality of stops included in the route based on the travel demand and the stop characteristics, and updates the operation plan when there is a stop at which the vehicle will not stop; a vehicle control terminal mounted on the vehicle, which acquires the stored operation plan from the vehicle operation management device if the operation plan has not been updated, and acquires the updated operation plan from the vehicle operation management device if the operation plan has been updated; A vehicle operation management system comprising: (Appendix 17) A storage step of storing in advance a vehicle operation plan including an operation route including a plurality of stops; A travel demand acquisition step of acquiring travel demand of a user of the vehicle; A stop characteristic acquisition step of acquiring stop characteristics that are characteristics of the stop for the travel demand; a stop determining step of determining, based on the travel demand and the stop characteristics, a stop at which the vehicle will not stop among the plurality of stops included in the operation route; A vehicle operation management method comprising: (Appendix 18) The bus stop characteristics are a predicted travel demand amount that predicts the travel demand expected at the bus stop. 18. A vehicle operation management method according to claim 17, (Appendix 19) The bus stop characteristics are information indicating the priority of the user boarding at the bus stop. 19. The vehicle operation management method according to claim 17 or 18. (Appendix 20) The information indicating the priority of the users is set so that the priority of at least one of the elderly, pregnant women, and important customers is set higher than that of the other users. 20. A vehicle operation management method according to claim 19, (Appendix 21) The information indicating the priority of the user is set such that the priority of an employee is set lower than that of the other users. 21. The vehicle operation management method according to claim 19 or 20, (Appendix 22) The bus stop characteristics are information indicating whether or not there is an alternative means of transportation for the user boarding at the bus stop. 22. A vehicle operation management method according to any one of claims 17 to 21. (Appendix 23) In the step of determining the bus stops at which the bus will not stop, if the bus stops at which the bus will not stop are determined, a route that does not pass through the bus stops at which the bus will not stop is selected. 23. A vehicle operation management method according to any one of appendices 17 to 22. (Appendix 24) In the intermediate stop determination step, the arrival time and the departure time at the stop at which the bus does not stop and at the stop subsequent to the stop at which the bus does not stop are updated for the operation plan. 24. A vehicle operation management method according to claim 23. (Appendix 25) In the route stop determination step, a route priority indicating a priority of each stop is determined based on the stop characteristics, and whether or not to stop the vehicle at the stop corresponding to the route priority is determined based on the travel demand and the route priority. 25. A vehicle operation management method according to any one of claims 17 to 24. (Appendix 26) In the step of determining the intermediate bus stops, the bus stops at which the vehicle is not to be stopped are determined using an operation status of the vehicle. 26. A vehicle operation management method according to any one of appendices 17 to 25. (Appendix 27) In the intermediate stop determination step, a timing for determining the stop at which the vehicle will not stop is determined based on an operation status of the vehicle. 27. A vehicle operation management method according to any one of appendices 17 to 26. (Appendix 28) The route stop determination step includes: A data acquisition step of acquiring the travel demand and the bus stop characteristics; an inference step of outputting information indicating the stops at which the vehicle will not stop among the plurality of stops included in the operation route by using a trained model; 28. A vehicle operation management method according to any one of claims 17 to 27, comprising: (Appendix 29) The route stop determination step includes: A data acquisition step of acquiring the travel demand and the bus stop characteristics; an inference step of outputting information indicating the stops at which the vehicle will not stop among the plurality of stops included in the operation route from the travel demand and the stop characteristics acquired in the data acquisition step, using a trained model for inferring the stops at which the vehicle will not stop among the plurality of stops included in the operation route from the travel demand and the stop characteristics; 28. A vehicle operation management method according to any one of claims 17 to 27, comprising: (Appendix 30) In the travel demand acquisition step, the travel demand is acquired from outside the vehicle operation management device or from a storage unit included in the vehicle operation management device. 30. A vehicle operation management method according to any one of appendices 17 to 29. (Appendix 31) In the bus stop characteristic acquisition step, the bus stop characteristics are acquired from an external device of the vehicle operation management device or from a storage unit included in the vehicle operation management device. 31. A vehicle operation management method according to any one of appendices 17 to 30. (Appendix 32) A storage step of storing in advance a vehicle operation plan including an operation route including a plurality of stops; A travel demand acquisition step of acquiring travel demand of a user of the vehicle; A stop characteristic acquisition step of acquiring stop characteristics that are characteristics of the stop for the travel demand; a stop determining step of determining, based on the travel demand and the stop characteristics, a stop at which the vehicle will not stop among the plurality of stops included in the operation route; A vehicle operation management program that causes a computer to execute the above steps. [Explanation of symbols]

[0103] 10 vehicle operation management device, 20 memory unit, 21 stop characteristics, 22 travel demand, 23 operation status, 24 operation plan, 30 stop characteristic acquisition unit, 40 travel demand acquisition unit, 50 intermediate stop determination unit, 51 learning device, 52, 56 data acquisition unit, 53 model generation unit, 54 learned model memory unit, 55 inference device, 57 inference unit, 60 operation plan implementation unit, 71 external system, 72 demand collection terminal, 73 vehicle control terminal, 74 vehicle, 100 vehicle operation management system.

Claims

1. A storage unit that stores in advance a vehicle operation plan including an operation route including a plurality of stops; A travel demand acquisition unit that acquires travel demand of a user of the vehicle; A bus stop characteristic acquisition unit that acquires a bus stop characteristic that is a characteristic of the bus stop for the travel demand; a stop determining unit for determining a stop at which the vehicle will not stop among the plurality of stops included in the operation route based on the travel demand and the stop characteristics; Equipped with When the intermediate stop determination unit determines the stop at which the bus will not stop, the intermediate stop determination unit selects a route that does not pass through the stop at which the bus will not stop, and updates the arrival time and departure time at the stop at which the bus will not stop and at the stop after the stop at which the bus will not stop, for the operation plan. A vehicle operation management device comprising:

2. A storage unit that stores in advance a vehicle operation plan including an operation route including a plurality of stops; A travel demand acquisition unit that acquires travel demand of a user of the vehicle; A bus stop characteristic acquisition unit that acquires a bus stop characteristic that is a characteristic of the bus stop for the travel demand; a stop determining unit for determining a stop at which the vehicle will not stop among the plurality of stops included in the operation route based on the travel demand and the stop characteristics; Equipped with The intermediate stop determination unit determines a timing for determining the stop at which the vehicle will not stop based on an operation status of the vehicle. A vehicle operation management device comprising:

3. The bus stop characteristics are a predicted travel demand amount that predicts the travel demand expected at the bus stop.

3. The vehicle operation management device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The bus stop characteristics are information indicating the priority of the user boarding at the bus stop.

3. The vehicle operation management device according to claim 1 or 2.

5. The information indicating the priority of the users is set so that the priority of at least one of an elderly person, a pregnant woman, and an important customer is set higher than that of the other users.

5. The vehicle operation management device according to claim 4.

6. The bus stop characteristics are information indicating whether or not there is an alternative means of transportation for the user boarding at the bus stop.

3. The vehicle operation management device according to claim 1 or 2.

7. The route stop determination unit determines a route priority indicating a priority of each stop based on the stop characteristics, and determines whether or not to stop the vehicle at the stop corresponding to the route priority based on the travel demand and the route priority.

3. The vehicle operation management device according to claim 1 or 2.

8. The intermediate stop determination unit further determines the stops at which the vehicle will not stop by using the operation status of the vehicle.

3. The vehicle operation management device according to claim 1 or 2.

9. The route stop determination unit is A data acquisition unit that acquires the travel demand and the bus stop characteristics; an inference unit that outputs information indicating a stop at which the vehicle will not stop among the plurality of stops included in the operation route from the travel demand and the stop characteristics acquired by the data acquisition unit, using a trained model for inferring a stop at which the vehicle will not stop among the plurality of stops included in the operation route from the travel demand and the stop characteristics; 3. The vehicle operation management device according to claim 1, further comprising:

10. The travel demand acquisition unit acquires the travel demand from outside the vehicle operation management device or from the storage unit.

3. The vehicle operation management device according to claim 1 or 2.

11. The bus stop characteristic acquisition unit acquires the bus stop characteristics from outside the vehicle operation management device or from the storage unit.

3. The vehicle operation management device according to claim 1 or 2.

12. The travel demand includes a vacant number of people obtained by subtracting the number of people to be transported from the number of people that can be transported by the vehicle, The intermediate stop determination unit determines not to stop the vehicle at the stop if there is no available number of passengers.

3. The vehicle operation management device according to claim 1 or 2.

13. The bus stop characteristics are event information about events held in the vicinity of the bus stop.

3. The vehicle operation management device according to claim 1 or 2.

14. The intermediate stop determination unit determines, based on the event information, that when the event is not being held, not to stop the vehicle at the stop corresponding to the stop characteristic which is the event information. The vehicle operation management device according to claim 13.

15. The intermediate stop determination unit determines, based on the event information, that when the event is being held, to stop the vehicle at the stop corresponding to the stop characteristic which is the event information. The vehicle operation management device according to claim 13.

16. In the operation plan, candidates of alternative operation routes in the case where a shortcut can be taken without passing through the bus stop are registered in advance.

2. The vehicle operation management device according to claim 1 .

17. In the operation plan, an optimal operation route is searched for each time from a drivable road network as a candidate for an alternative operation route when a shortcut can be taken without passing through the bus stop.

2. The vehicle operation management device according to claim 1 .

18. The intermediate stop determination unit determines whether or not to stop the vehicle at the stop after the vehicle departs from or passes through a stop immediately before the stop.

3. The vehicle operation management device according to claim 2.

19. A demand collection terminal that provides travel demands of vehicle users; The vehicle operation management device according to claim 1 or 2, which stores in advance a vehicle operation plan including a route including a plurality of stops, determines a stop at which the vehicle will not stop among the plurality of stops included in the operation route based on the travel demand and the stop characteristics, and updates the operation plan when there is a stop at which the vehicle will not stop; a vehicle control terminal mounted on the vehicle, which acquires the stored operation plan from the vehicle operation management device if the operation plan has not been updated, and acquires the updated operation plan from the vehicle operation management device if the operation plan has been updated; A vehicle operation management system comprising:

20. A storage step of storing in advance a vehicle operation plan including an operation route including a plurality of stops; A travel demand acquisition step of acquiring travel demand of a user of the vehicle; A stop characteristic acquisition step of acquiring stop characteristics that are characteristics of the stop for the travel demand; a stop determining step of determining a stop at which the vehicle will not stop among the plurality of stops included in the operation route based on the travel demand and the stop characteristics; Including, When the bus stop at which the bus does not stop is determined in the intermediate stop determination step, a route that does not pass through the bus stop at which the bus does not stop is selected, and the arrival time and the departure time at the bus stop at which the bus does not stop and at the stop after the bus stop at which the bus does not stop are updated in the operation plan. A vehicle operation management method comprising:

21. A storage step of pre-storing a vehicle operation plan including an operation route including a plurality of stops; A travel demand acquisition step of acquiring travel demand of a user of the vehicle; A stop characteristic acquisition step of acquiring stop characteristics that are characteristics of the stop for the travel demand; a stop determining step of determining a stop at which the vehicle will not stop among the plurality of stops included in the operation route based on the travel demand and the stop characteristics; Including, In the intermediate stop determination step, a timing for determining the stop at which the vehicle will not stop is determined based on an operation status of the vehicle. A vehicle operation management method comprising:

22. The bus stop characteristics are a predicted travel demand amount that predicts the travel demand expected at the bus stop.

22. The vehicle operation management method according to claim 20 or 21.

23. The bus stop characteristics are information indicating the priority of the user boarding at the bus stop.

22. The vehicle operation management method according to claim 20 or 21.

24. The information indicating the priority of the users is set so that the priority of at least one of an elderly person, a pregnant woman, and an important customer is set higher than that of the other users. The vehicle operation management method according to claim 23.

25. The bus stop characteristics are information indicating whether or not there is an alternative means of transportation for the user boarding at the bus stop.

22. The vehicle operation management method according to claim 20 or 21.

26. In the route stop determination step, a route priority indicating a priority of each stop is determined based on the stop characteristics, and whether or not to stop the vehicle at the stop corresponding to the route priority is determined based on the travel demand and the route priority.

22. The vehicle operation management method according to claim 20 or 21.

27. In the step of determining the intermediate bus stops, the bus stops at which the vehicle is not to be stopped are determined using an operation status of the vehicle.

22. The vehicle operation management method according to claim 20 or 21.

28. The route stop determination step includes: A data acquisition step of acquiring the travel demand and the bus stop characteristics; an inference step of outputting information indicating the stops at which the vehicle will not stop among the plurality of stops included in the operation route from the travel demand and the stop characteristics acquired in the data acquisition step, using a trained model for inferring the stops at which the vehicle will not stop among the plurality of stops included in the operation route from the travel demand and the stop characteristics; The vehicle operation management method according to claim 20 or 21, further comprising:

29. In the travel demand acquisition step, the travel demand is acquired from outside the vehicle operation management device or from a storage unit included in the vehicle operation management device.

22. The vehicle operation management method according to claim 20 or 21.

30. In the bus stop characteristic acquisition step, the bus stop characteristics are acquired from an external device of the vehicle operation management device or from a storage unit included in the vehicle operation management device.

22. The vehicle operation management method according to claim 20 or 21.

31. A storage step of storing in advance a vehicle operation plan including an operation route including a plurality of stops; A travel demand acquisition step of acquiring travel demand of a user of the vehicle; A stop characteristic acquisition step of acquiring stop characteristics that are characteristics of the stop for the travel demand; a stop determining step of determining a stop at which the vehicle will not stop among the plurality of stops included in the operation route based on the travel demand and the stop characteristics; The computer executes the above. When the bus stop at which the bus does not stop is determined in the intermediate stop determination step, a route that does not pass through the bus stop at which the bus does not stop is selected, and the arrival time and the departure time at the bus stop at which the bus does not stop and at the stop after the bus stop at which the bus does not stop are updated in the operation plan. A vehicle operation management program comprising:

32. A storage step of pre-storing a vehicle operation plan including an operation route including a plurality of stops; A travel demand acquisition step of acquiring travel demand of a user of the vehicle; A stop characteristic acquisition step of acquiring stop characteristics that are characteristics of the stop for the travel demand; a stop determining step of determining a stop at which the vehicle will not stop among the plurality of stops included in the operation route based on the travel demand and the stop characteristics; The computer executes the above. In the intermediate stop determination step, a timing for determining the stop at which the vehicle will not stop is determined based on an operation status of the vehicle. A vehicle operation management program comprising:

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