Rental car management device, system, method and program

Abstract

To efficiently eliminate uneven distribution of vehicles between areas. [Solution] A rental car management device connected to an operator terminal and a user terminal via a network, the rental car management device comprises: an external data acquisition means for acquiring external data related to external traffic conditions; a demand forecasting means for predicting potential demand for each route between areas based on the external data; a supply and demand balance index calculation means for calculating a supply and demand balance index showing the supply and demand balance for each area based on the target number of vehicles for each area input from the operator terminal, the reservation status received from the user terminal, and the demand predicted by the demand forecasting means; a fare adjustment means for adjusting the fare for each route defined by the combination of a departure area and a destination area based on the supply and demand balance index; and an information transmission means for transmitting fare information for each route adjusted by the fare adjustment means to the user terminal.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The embodiments described herein relate to a technology for dynamically adjusting rental car rates, and more particularly to a technology for adjusting rates based on the balance of vehicle supply and demand between areas to optimize vehicle allocation. [Background technology]

[0002] In rental car services, especially one-way services that allow users to return the vehicle to a different location from where they rented it, vehicle distribution often becomes uneven, with vehicles concentrating in certain areas or conversely, being in short supply. In order to resolve this uneven distribution of vehicles, operators have traditionally had to incur manpower and costs by forwarding vehicles to areas where they are needed.

[0003] To address this issue, for example, a technique for estimating vehicle usage fees is known. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-166017 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for calculating the estimated price of a vehicle based on user information, but this technology only presents a price according to the attributes of each individual user. Therefore, there was no idea of ​​grasping the dynamic supply and demand situation, such as the excess or shortage (uneven distribution) of vehicles between areas in the entire rental car business, in real time, and inducing the movement of vehicles by changing prices and eliminating the uneven distribution itself.

[0006] In conventional rental car systems, if vehicles are unevenly distributed, operators have to bear significant transportation costs. In addition, users may experience opportunity losses when they are unable to make a reservation due to a lack of vehicles in their desired area.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a rental car management device, system, method, and program that can reduce the operator's transportation costs and improve user convenience by predicting demand for rental cars based on external data and dynamically adjusting the fees for each route depending on the balance of vehicle supply and demand between areas. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above problem, one embodiment of the rental car management device of the present invention is a rental car management device connected to an operator terminal and a user terminal via a network, and the rental car management device comprises: an external data acquisition means for acquiring external data related to external traffic conditions; a demand prediction means for predicting potential demand for each route between areas based on the external data; a supply and demand balance index calculation means for calculating a supply and demand balance index indicating the supply and demand balance for each area based on the target number of vehicles for each area input from the operator terminal, the reservation status received from the user terminal, and the demand predicted by the demand prediction means; a fare adjustment means for adjusting the fare for each route defined by the combination of a departure area and a destination area based on the supply and demand balance index; and an information transmission means for transmitting fare information for each route adjusted by the fare adjustment means to the user terminal. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, by dynamically adjusting the fee according to the balance of vehicle supply and demand, it is possible to encourage the use of vehicles from areas with an excess to areas with a shortage, which has the effect of enabling operators to reduce the cost of manual transportation and enabling users to use the service more flexibly and at a favorable price. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a rental car fee adjustment system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a management device. [Figure 3] 1 is a flowchart showing the overall processing flow of the fee adjustment system according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] This is a conceptual diagram showing the uneven distribution of vehicles between areas (imbalance between supply and demand). [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a table that compiles the vehicle availability status for each area. [Figure 6] 10 is a table showing an example of calculating a supply and demand balance index. [Figure 7] 10 is a table showing an example of calculating a price gradient coefficient. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a data flow of price calculation logic. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a rental car fee adjustment system 1 according to an embodiment. The system 1 has a configuration in which a management device 100, one or more business operator terminals 200 (200a to 200c), and one or more user terminals 300 (300a to 300c) are connected to each other via a network so that they can communicate with each other. The management device 100 is a server computer or the like that executes the core processing of the embodiment. The business operator terminal 200 is a computer used by the rental car company, and the user terminal 300 is a smartphone, PC, or the like used by the rental car user. Note that the number of business operator terminals and user terminals is not limited to this.

[0012] 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the management device 100. The management device 100 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 101, a read-only memory (ROM) 102, a random access memory (RAM) 103, a hard disk drive (HDD) 104, and an external interface (I / F) 105, which are connected via a system bus 106. The CPU 101 reads programs stored in the ROM 102 or the HDD 104 into the RAM 103 and executes them to perform various processes, which will be described later. The external I / F 105 is an interface for communicating with the operator terminal 200 and the user terminal 300 via a network.

[0013] The business operator terminal 200 is configured by, for example, a personal computer, and similarly to the management device 100, is provided with a CPU, ROM, RAM, HDD, external I / F, etc. It also has input devices such as a keyboard and mouse for receiving information input by the business operator, and an output device such as a display for displaying information (not shown).

[0014] The user terminal 300 is configured, for example, by a smartphone, tablet, or personal computer, and similarly to the management device 100, is equipped with a CPU, ROM, RAM, storage device, external I / F, etc. The user terminal 300 also has a display unit (display) for presenting various information to the user, and is equipped with input devices such as a touch panel, keyboard, and mouse (not shown).

[0015] As a reservation acceptance means, the management device 100 accepts reservations based on more abstract conditions such as "departure area" and "vehicle class" rather than the user specifying a specific vehicle or parking space via the user terminal 300. This enables flexible pricing and vehicle allocation according to the supply-demand balance without being bound by the physical location of vehicles. In this specification, the term "area" refers to a concept that includes both a single parking location (parking lot) and a grouping of multiple parking locations based on geographic or operational considerations. Furthermore, the "supply-demand balance index (BI)" refers to an index that quantitatively evaluates the vehicle surplus / shortage situation in each area based on a calculation formula described below.

[0016] FIG. 3 is an overall flowchart of the fare adjustment process in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, in this system, the management device 100 first acquires external traffic data (such as Shinkansen and expressways) and uses this data to construct a demand forecasting model (Q(P)) (STEP 1). The external traffic data includes, for example, information on congestion and road closures on expressways by area, the operation status of trains and Shinkansen trains, delay information, and accident information. For example, this data is automatically updated at specific time intervals and stored in a specified database (not shown). Sources of external data include, for example, operation status data and traffic information services published by public transportation operators and expressway operators, and data provided by road traffic information centers. Next, the management device 100 multiplies this demand forecast by a reservation rate (r) that reflects market awareness and promotional activities to calculate the predicted number of reservations (Q(P) × r) (STEP 2). The calculated predicted reservation quantity is used by the management device 100 to calculate a supply and demand balance index for each area (STEP 3), and the index is input to the price adjustment logic of the management device 100 (STEP 4). Finally, the price information adjusted by the management device 100 is notified to the user terminal 300 through various channels (STEP 5). Each step will be described in detail below.

[0017] (STEP 1: Demand forecast) The management device 100 functions as an external data acquisition means and acquires data related to external traffic conditions ("External Traffic Data" in FIG. 3). This external data includes, for example, the reservation status of bullet trains and express buses (occupancy rate, average price, etc.), and traffic congestion forecast data for expressways.

[0018] Next, the management device 100 functions as a demand forecasting means, integrating the acquired external data and indexing it as a "route congestion level" for each route. This congestion level is regarded as a fluctuation in demand in the entire market, and by applying it to a predetermined demand curve model, for example, Q = a / (P + b) (Q: demand, P: price, a, b: coefficients), potential demand (Q) corresponding to price (P) is calculated ("Demand forecasting model Q(P)" in Figure 3).

[0019] (STEP 2: Calculate the predicted number of reservations) Next, the management device 100, as a predicted reservation number calculation means, calculates the specific predicted reservation number that can be expected to be acquired by the company's service from the total potential demand predicted in STEP 1 ("Calculation of predicted reservation number" in FIG. 3). This is calculated by multiplying the demand Q(P) calculated in STEP 1 by the "reservation rate (r)" that reflects the market situation (predicted reservation number = Q(P) × r).

[0020] The reservation rate (r) is dynamically calculated, for example, by multiplying the base rate by the "market awareness coefficient," which is modeled from factors such as the reach of social media and the number of existing customers, and the "promotional measures impact coefficient," which is calculated from factors such as the conversion rates of various campaigns ("Reservation Rate" in Figure 3).

[0021] (STEP 3: Calculate the supply and demand balance index) Next, the management device 100 functions as a supply and demand balance index calculation means ("Supply and demand balance index" in FIG. 3). First, the management device 100 tally up information such as the maximum number of parking spaces per area (or parking lot) and the target number (threshold) based on management goals, which are set in advance by the rental car company via the company terminal 200, and the number of confirmed reservations accumulated through reservations made from the user terminal 300.

[0022] FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram that schematically illustrates the uneven distribution of vehicles between areas that this system aims to solve. As shown in FIG. 4, an imbalance occurs between the demand (N) and supply (C) of vehicles between areas (Pool A, B, C) as users move between areas. For example, if the demand (Nca) from Area C to Area A is low compared to the demand (Nac) from Area A to Area C, an excess of vehicles will be accumulated in Area C, resulting in a shortage of vehicles in Area A. The purpose of this embodiment is to resolve this imbalance in supply and demand through dynamic price adjustment.

[0023] Based on this aggregated data and the predicted number of reservations calculated in STEP 2, the management device 100 calculates a "supply and demand balance index (BI)" that indicates the vehicle surplus or shortage status in each area. Figure 5 is an example of a "pool sufficiency status table" that aggregates and manages daily changes in the number of vehicles in a specific area (Tokyo). This table is used to manage, in chronological order, the number of planned parking spaces that reflects the daily inflow (IN) and outflow (OUT) of vehicles, and the predicted number of spaces in anticipation of future reservations, and serves as the basic data for calculating the supply and demand balance index.

[0024] The supply and demand balance index is calculated, for example, using the formula BI = (number of planned parking spaces - target number of spaces) / tolerance band. Here, the "target number of spaces" is, for example, the average value of the upper threshold (high threshold) and lower threshold (low threshold), and the "tolerance band" is a coefficient for normalizing deviation from the target, given by, for example, (high threshold - low threshold) / 2. If this index is close to 0, supply and demand are in balance; if it is positive, there is a vehicle shortage; and if it is negative, there is an excess of vehicles. Figure 6 shows an example of how the supply and demand balance index is calculated for each area.

[0025] Figure 6 is a table showing specific examples of supply and demand balance indicators calculated from basic data for each area. In this example, the indicator based on confirmed reservations (demand balance index BI) shows that the Tokyo area has a slight vehicle shortage (BI = 0.11), the Nagoya area has an excess of vehicles (BI = -0.40), and the Osaka area has a significant vehicle shortage (BI = 1.00). In addition, an indicator that takes future forecasts into account (demand balance index BI (forecast)) is also calculated.

[0026] (STEP 4: Price adjustment) Next, the management device 100 functions as a fare adjustment means ("price adjustment logic" in Figure 3) and automatically adjusts the fare for each route based on the supply and demand balance index calculated in STEP 3. Specifically, the management device 100 first calculates a "price gradient coefficient (K)" that indicates the direction and degree of price adjustment for the route as the difference between the supply and demand balance indexes of the departure point and the destination point (K = BI departure point - BI destination point). Figure 7 shows an example of calculating this price gradient coefficient.

[0027] Figure 7 is a table showing specific examples of price slope coefficients calculated for each route using the supply-demand balance index (BI) calculated in Figure 6. This coefficient is calculated from the difference in supply-demand balance between the departure and arrival points, and determines the direction and degree of price adjustment. For example, for a route departing from Nagoya (BI = 1.00), where there is a vehicle shortage, and heading to Tokyo (BI = 0.11), where the shortage is relatively low, the price slope coefficient is positive (0.89), indicating that prices will be adjusted upward to curb further vehicle outflow. Conversely, for a route heading from Tokyo to Nagoya, the coefficient is negative (-0.89), indicating that prices will be lowered to encourage an inflow into Nagoya, where there is a vehicle shortage.

[0028] For example, a route going from an area with an excess of vehicles (negative BI) to an area with a shortage of vehicles (positive BI) will have a negative price gradient coefficient K. The management device 100 uses this coefficient K and an "adjustment sensitivity coefficient (α)," which is a tuning parameter that can be set or changed arbitrarily by the rental car company via the company terminal 200 to adjust the degree to which this is reflected in the price, to calculate the final adjusted price, for example, using the formula "adjusted price = base price × (1 + K × α)."

[0029] 8 is a diagram showing a data flow when calculating the final offer price. First, the management device 100 acquires route information from the CarRoute table, which stores the base price for each route (STEP 4.1). Next, using the date, time, and area as keys, it acquires price adjustment information from a price adjustment table, which stores adjustment rates and adjustment amounts calculated based on the supply and demand balance (STEP 4.2). Then, using this information, it calculates the final offer price based on the formula "base price + base price × adjustment rate + adjustment amount" (STEP 4.3).

[0030] It is desirable that the upper and lower limits of the range of the adjusted price be set via the operator terminal 200, taking into consideration the prices of alternative means of transportation (such as the Shinkansen) and the cost of forwarding the vehicle in-house.

[0031] (STEP 5: Notifications and Channel Linkage) Finally, the management device 100 functions as an information transmission means ("Notification / Channel Linkage" in FIG. 3) and transmits the fare information adjusted in STEP 4 to the user terminal 300. In particular, the management device 100 automatically extracts routes with high price gradient coefficients and large discount rates, routes with upcoming departure dates, etc., and notifies the user terminal 300 of this information through multiple channels, such as by posting it as "recommended information" on a website, distributing it through an official account of a messaging application, or distributing information about oversupplied routes to specific communities.

[0032] The application screen displayed on the display unit of the user terminal 300 will be described. The user terminal 300 displays a user interface on a website that allows the user to search by inputting the desired departure point, destination, date and time, etc. The user terminal 300 pushes advantageous route information and displays it as "campaign information" on the menu screen of an application on a smartphone or the like. The user checks this information displayed on the application screen of the user terminal 300 and makes a reservation for the desired route. This effectively encourages users to make reservations. Furthermore, for "delivery-required routes" where the business operator absolutely needs to move a vehicle, the management device 100 can present them at a negative price, in which the business operator pays the transportation costs, based on the settings from the business operator terminal 200.

[0033] Through the above process, this system enables users to move vehicles between areas through dynamic pricing based on data, effectively eliminating vehicle uneven distribution, which brings great benefits to both rental car companies and users.

[0034] The benefits for operators include: first, a significant reduction in transportation costs, as vehicles can now be transported between areas, which previously required manpower and land transportation costs, by offering incentives to users to drive; second, by preventing vehicles from remaining in a specific area and allowing the necessary number of vehicles to be deployed to areas where demand is high, the overall vehicle utilization rate can be improved, preventing loss of revenue opportunities.

[0035] On the other hand, the benefits for users are as follows: first, by selecting a route that travels from an area with an excess of vehicles to an area with a shortage, users can rent cars at a lower price than the regular rate, and in some cases even at a discount where the operator pays the transportation costs. Second, by eliminating uneven vehicle distribution, situations where a vehicle is unavailable due to a shortage in the desired area are reduced, increasing the number of reservation opportunities. In this way, this system builds a mutually beneficial relationship between operators and users, maximizing the value of the entire rental car service.

[0036] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, this embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. This novel embodiment can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0037] In the above embodiment, the fare adjustment for each route was based on a price gradient coefficient, but the fare adjustment method is not limited to this. If the fare is adjusted for each combination of departure area and arrival area based on a supply and demand balance index, the price gradient coefficient does not need to be used. For example, the fare may be adjusted using multiple preset adjustment amounts or adjustment rates for each combination of departure area and arrival area.

[0038] Furthermore, the fee does not have to be adjusted using a value obtained by multiplying the price gradient coefficient by an adjustment sensitivity coefficient that can be set by the operator via the carrier terminal. For example, the fee may be adjusted based only on the price gradient coefficient without using the adjustment sensitivity coefficient.

[0039] The management device 100 does not have to calculate the supply and demand balance index by taking into account the predicted number of reservations calculated by multiplying the predicted demand by the reservation rate calculated based on market recognition and sales promotion measures. For example, after predicting the potential demand, the management device 100 may calculate the supply and demand balance index without calculating the predicted divisor, and adjust the fare for each route.

[0040] The management device 100 may not accept reservations based on a specific vehicle specified by the user via the user terminal, but may instead accept reservations based on an area and a vehicle class. For example, the management device 100 may be configured to accept reservations based on a specific vehicle specified by the user via the user terminal.

[0041] The fare may not be adjusted to a negative price at which the operator pays the transportation fee to the user for a route where the supply-demand balance index for the departure area indicates an excess of vehicles and the supply-demand balance index for the destination area indicates a shortage of vehicles. For example, the fare may be set to 0 yen instead of a negative price.

[0042] The management device 100 does not need to automatically extract a route with a higher discount rate based on the price gradient coefficient and preferentially transmit information about that route to the user terminal 300. In this case, for example, the menu screen displayed on the user terminal 300 does not need to display the price according to the discount rate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 1. System 100…Management device 101...CPU 102...ROM 103...RAM 104...Storage device 105...External communication interface 106...Bus 200...Base terminal 300...User terminal

Claims

1. A rental car management device connected to a business operator terminal and a user terminal via a network, an external data acquisition means for acquiring external data relating to external traffic conditions; a demand forecasting means for forecasting potential demand for each route between areas based on the external data; a supply and demand balance index calculation means for calculating a supply and demand balance index indicating the supply and demand balance for each area based on the target number of units for each area input from the provider terminal, the reservation status received from the user terminal, and the demand predicted by the demand prediction means; a fare adjustment means for adjusting a fare for each route defined by a combination of a departure area and a destination area based on the supply-demand balance index; an information transmitting means for transmitting the toll information for each route adjusted by the toll adjusting means to the user terminal; A rental car management device comprising:

2. 2. The rental car management device according to claim 1, wherein the fee adjustment means adjusts the fee for each route based on a price gradient coefficient calculated to reflect the degree of imbalance between the supply and demand balance index of the departure area and the supply and demand balance index of the arrival area.

3. 3. The rental car management device according to claim 2, wherein the fee adjustment means adjusts the fee using a value obtained by multiplying the price gradient coefficient by an adjustment sensitivity coefficient that can be set by the operator via the operator terminal.

4. The rental car management device further comprising a predicted reservation number calculation means for calculating a predicted reservation number by multiplying the demand predicted by the demand prediction means by a reservation rate calculated based on market recognition and sales promotion measures, 2. The rental car management device according to claim 1, wherein the supply and demand balance index calculation means calculates the supply and demand balance index taking into account the predicted number of reservations.

5. The rental car management device 2. The rental car management device according to claim 1, further comprising a reservation acceptance means for accepting reservations by a user specifying an area and a vehicle class through said user terminal, without specifying a specific vehicle.

6. 2. The rental car management device according to claim 1, wherein the fee adjustment means adjusts the fee to a negative price at which the operator pays transportation costs to the user for a route where the supply and demand balance index in the departure area indicates an excess of vehicles and the supply and demand balance index in the arrival area indicates a shortage of vehicles.

7. 3. The rental car management device according to claim 2, wherein the information transmission means automatically extracts routes with higher discount rates based on the price gradient coefficient and transmits information about those routes to the user terminal with priority.

8. A rental car management system including a rental car management device, a business operator terminal, and a user terminal, which are connected via a network, The rental car management device an external data acquisition means for acquiring external data relating to external traffic conditions; a demand forecasting means for forecasting potential demand for each route between areas based on the external data; a supply and demand balance index calculation means for calculating a supply and demand balance index indicating the supply and demand balance for each area based on the target number of units for each area input from the provider terminal, the reservation status received from the user terminal, and the demand predicted by the demand prediction means; a fare adjustment means for adjusting a fare for each route defined by a combination of a departure area and a destination area based on the supply-demand balance index; an information transmitting means for transmitting the toll information for each route adjusted by the toll adjusting means to the user terminal; A rental car management system comprising:

9. A rental car management method executed by a rental car management device in a system including a rental car management device, a business operator terminal, and a user terminal, which are connected via a network, an external data acquisition step of acquiring external data related to external traffic conditions; a demand forecasting step of forecasting potential demand for each route between areas based on the external data; a supply and demand balance index calculation step of calculating a supply and demand balance index indicating the supply and demand balance for each area based on the target number of units for each area input from the provider terminal, the reservation status received from the user terminal, and the demand predicted in the demand prediction step; a fare adjustment step of adjusting a fare for each route defined by a combination of a departure area and a destination area based on the supply and demand balance index; an information transmitting step of transmitting the fare information for each route adjusted in the fare adjusting step to the user terminal; A rental car management method comprising:

10. A program for causing a computer to function as the rental car management device according to claim 1.

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