Control system, dispatch system, dispatch planning method, and computer program

Abstract

To provide a control system for transport vehicles capable of effectively utilizing rest facilities on toll roads and relieving congestion of the facilities.SOLUTION: A control system 1 includes: a congestion information acquisition unit 11 that acquires congestion information representing congestion states of two rest facilities respectively provided on an inbound lane and an outbound lane corresponding to the same point on a toll road; and a vehicle allocation plan determination unit 13 that uses the acquired congestion information to determine a vehicle-allocation plan including a traveling schedule causing a transport vehicle 7 capable of transporting a user who rides on a vehicle parked in a parking facility being one of the two rest facilities, to travel from the parking facility to a facility on the opposite lane side being the other of the two rest facilities.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a control system, a vehicle dispatching system, a vehicle, a vehicle dispatching plan creation method, and a computer program for creating a vehicle dispatching plan for a vehicle that transports users.

Background Art

[0002] Toll roads such as highways are provided with rest facilities such as service areas and parking areas. Such rest facilities are provided with parking lots, and users of the rest facilities park their vehicles in the parking lots and use the rest facilities. Parking lots in rest facilities are often large enough to park a large number of vehicles, and there may be a distance from the parked position to buildings such as toilets and food court streets in the rest facilities, and it may take time to move on foot. Therefore, if a vehicle for moving to buildings such as toilets and food court streets in the rest facilities is operated so that it can be used after the user gets off the vehicle they came in at the parking lot, the convenience of users of the rest facilities may be improved.

[0003] [[ID=1�]] By the way, in recent years, a vehicle dispatching system that dispatches vehicles traveling within a defined route or within a defined range in response to user requests has attracted attention. In Patent Document 1, as a technology expected to be applied to on-demand transportation in depopulated areas and suburban new towns, a vehicle operation management device that allocates a vehicle to a passenger in response to a vehicle dispatching request from a user's mobile terminal is disclosed. When the vehicle operation management device described in Patent Document 1 receives a boarding request including the boarding desired time, boarding desired location, and alighting desired location from a user via a mobile terminal, it allocates a vehicle for transporting the user and creates an operation schedule to dispatch the allocated vehicle according to the boarding request.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

[0005] If the operation described in Patent Document 1, in which the boarding position of the transport vehicle is changed depending on the situation, is applied to the transport vehicle at a rest facility, there is a possibility that the boarding position of the transport vehicle may be determined to be far from where the user parked their regular vehicle. For this reason, the operation described in Patent Document 1 may impair convenience for users who wish to park their regular vehicle and board the transport vehicle.

[0006] This disclosure has been made in view of the above, To improve convenience for users who park their own vehicles when boarding transport vehicles. The objective is to obtain a control system for transport vehicles that can perform the following actions. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the aforementioned problems and achieve the objectives, the control system relating to this disclosure is: equipment A congestion information acquisition unit that acquires congestion information indicating the congestion status , mixed Using miscellaneous information, Transport vehicles that transport users to destinations corresponding to the facilities they will be using. Vehicle dispatch planning department, which determines the vehicle dispatch plan, including the scheduled route. and , equipped The vehicle dispatch planning unit calculates the boarding position where the user will board the transport vehicle, based on parking location correspondence information that shows the correspondence between the parking space where the user parks their general vehicle and the stopping position of the transport vehicle. . [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] The control system relating to this disclosure is: To improve convenience for users who park their own vehicles when boarding transport vehicles. It has the effect of being able to do so. 。 [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This figure shows an example configuration of the dispatch system according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 2] A diagram showing an example of the uphill and downhill facilities in Embodiment 1. [Figure 3] A diagram showing an example of usage information in Embodiment 1. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of a driving path that allows stopping at positions corresponding to each parking space in Embodiment 1. [Figure 5] A diagram showing an example of congestion information in Embodiment 1. [Figure 6] A diagram showing an example of a store included in the restaurant district of Embodiment 1. [Figure 7] A diagram showing an example of facility information in Embodiment 1. [Figure 8] Figure showing an example of the transport vehicle information in Embodiment 1 [Figure 9] Figure showing an example of the vehicle allocation plan in Embodiment 1 [Figure 10] Sequence diagram showing an example of the operation in the vehicle allocation system of Embodiment 1 [Figure 11] Flowchart showing an example of the process for creating the vehicle allocation plan in Embodiment 1 [Figure 12] Flowchart showing an example of the process for creating the vehicle allocation plan in Embodiment 1 when utilization information is not used [Figure 13] Figure showing an example of an uphill facility with multiple buildings in Embodiment 1 [Figure 14] Figure showing a configuration example of a computer system for realizing the control system in Embodiment 1 [Figure 15] Figure showing a configuration example of the vehicle allocation system according to Embodiment 2 [Figure 16] Figure showing an example of the utilization information in Embodiment 2 [Figure 17] Figure showing an example of the transport vehicle information in Embodiment 2 [Figure 18] Figure showing an example of the facility information in Embodiment 2 [Figure 19] Flowchart showing an example of the process for creating the vehicle allocation plan in Embodiment 2 [Figure 20] Figure showing an example of the corresponding information stored in the priority information storage unit in Embodiment 2 [Figure 21] Figure showing an example of the priority information in Embodiment 2 [Figure 22] Figure showing another example of the priority information in Embodiment 2 [Figure 23] Flowchart showing an example of the process for creating the vehicle allocation plan in Embodiment 2 when priority is used [Figure 24] Figure showing a configuration example of the vehicle allocation system according to Embodiment 3 [Figure 25] Figure showing an example of the display screen of the parking lot vacancy information in the rest facility in Embodiment 3 [Figure 26] Flowchart showing an example of the process for creating the vehicle allocation plan in Embodiment 3 [Figure 27] Flowchart for recreating the vehicle dispatch plan in Embodiment 3 [Figure 28] This figure shows an example configuration of the dispatch system according to Embodiment 4. [Figure 29] A diagram showing an example of the dispatch rules in Embodiment 4. [Figure 30] A flowchart showing an example of the process for creating a vehicle dispatch plan in Embodiment 4. [Figure 31] This figure shows an example configuration of the dispatch system according to Embodiment 5. [Figure 32] A flowchart showing an example of the waiting location determination process in Embodiment 5. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] The control system, dispatch system, vehicles, dispatch plan creation method, and computer program according to the embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0011] Embodiment 1. Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example configuration of the dispatch system according to Embodiment 1. The dispatch system 2 of this embodiment includes a control system 1 and a facility management system 6. The control system 1 manages the dispatch of transport vehicles 7. Transport vehicles 7 are vehicles capable of transporting users who have parked their vehicles at rest facilities provided on toll roads to their destinations within the facilities. Rest facilities are, for example, rest facilities such as service areas and parking areas, and are equipped with parking lots. Rest facilities are, for example, facilities provided on both the uphill and downhill lanes corresponding to the same point on a toll road, for example, rest facilities with the same name located at the same point on both the uphill and downhill lanes. Hereinafter, vehicles that carry users and travel on toll roads to arrive at rest facilities will also be referred to as general vehicles to distinguish them from transport vehicles 7.

[0012] The facility management system 6 manages the congestion status of the inbound and outbound facilities. The control system 1 receives usage information, which is information indicating the user's request for use of the transport vehicle 7, from user terminals, which are, for example, at least one of the following: a mobile terminal 3, a vehicle-mounted terminal 4, and a bus stop terminal 5. A user terminal is a terminal that can be operated by the user. In Figure 1, one mobile terminal 3, one vehicle-mounted terminal 4, and one bus stop terminal 5 are shown, but the number of each of these terminals is not limited to one. The facility management system 6 uses the usage information and the congestion status of each rest facility obtained from the facility management system 6 to assign a transport vehicle 7 to the user and create a dispatch plan that includes the scheduled travel time of the transport vehicle 7. The fee for the use of the transport vehicle 7 may be free or charged. There are no particular restrictions on the method of determining the fee and the method of collecting the fee if it is charged, and any method may be used.

[0013] The transport vehicle 7 can travel within the uphill facility and also travel from the uphill facility to the downhill facility. Similarly, the transport vehicle 7 can travel within the downhill facility and also travel from the downhill facility to the uphill facility. The route between the uphill and downhill facilities on which the transport vehicle 7 travels may be a dedicated passage for the transport vehicle 7, or it may be an existing dedicated passage that allows travel between the uphill and downhill facilities. Furthermore, the route between the uphill and downhill facilities on which the transport vehicle 7 travels may include public roads.

[0014] Figure 2 shows an example of the uphill and downhill facilities in this embodiment. In the example shown in Figure 2, the uphill facility 8 is provided on the uphill lane 201 of the toll road, and the downhill facility 9 is provided on the downhill lane 202 of the toll road. The uphill facility 8 includes a parking lot 81 where general vehicles can park, toilets 83-1 to 83-3, and a restaurant area 84. The toilets 83-1 to 83-3 and the restaurant area 84 are located inside the building. The parking lot 81 also has multiple parking spaces 85 for large vehicles and multiple parking spaces 86 for regular vehicles. The downhill facility 9 is similar to the uphill facility 8, including a parking lot 91 where general vehicles can park, toilets 93-1 to 93-3, and a restaurant area 94. The toilets 93-1 to 93-3 and the restaurant area 94 are located inside the building. The parking lot 91 also has multiple parking spaces 95 for large vehicles and multiple parking spaces 96 for regular vehicles. In the example shown in Figure 2, the inbound facility 8 and the outbound facility 9 have almost identical configurations, but the configurations of the inbound facility 8 and the outbound facility 9 may differ.

[0015] In the example shown in Figure 2, the transport vehicle 7 can travel along the dashed route 300, which has four stops each at the inbound facility 8 and the outbound facility 9. The transport vehicle 7 travels from the departure point to the destination as indicated in the travel schedule notified by the control system 1. Therefore, the transport vehicle 7 does not need to travel along the entire route 300, but will travel along at least a portion of the route 300 within the limits of one-way traffic and other traffic restrictions within the parking lot. Each stop is equipped with a stop terminal 5-1 to 5-8. Stop terminals 5-1 to 5-8 are each the same as stop terminal 5 shown in Figure 1. The route traveled by the transport vehicle 7 is not limited to the route 300 shown in Figure 2, nor is the number of stops limited to the example shown in Figure 2.

[0016] As shown in Figure 2, the transport vehicle 7 can travel within both the uphill facility 8 and the downhill facility 9, and can also move from the uphill facility 8 to the downhill facility 9, and from the downhill facility 9 to the uphill facility 8.

[0017] Returning to the explanation of Figure 1, Mobile terminal 3 is a device carried by the user, such as a smartphone or tablet. Vehicle-mounted terminal 4 is a device mounted on a regular vehicle. Bus stop terminal 5 is a terminal installed at a bus stop where the transport vehicle 7 stops. Mobile terminal 3, vehicle-mounted terminal 4, and bus stop terminal 5 are all user terminals that accept usage information input from the user and are capable of processing reservations for the transport vehicle 7. In Figure 1, three types of user terminals are illustrated: mobile terminal 3, vehicle-mounted terminal 4, and bus stop terminal 5. However, it is sufficient to use at least one of these types, and it is not necessary to use all three.

[0018] As shown in Figure 1, the mobile terminal 3 comprises a communication unit 31, an input reception unit 32, a location acquisition unit 33, a usage information generation unit 34, and an information display unit 35. The communication unit 31 communicates with the control system 1 via a network. This network includes, but is not limited to, a mobile phone network or the internet, and can be any network. The input reception unit 32 receives input operations from the user and outputs input information corresponding to the input operation to the usage information generation unit 34. The location acquisition unit 33 detects the location of the mobile terminal 3 and outputs location information indicating the detected location to the usage information generation unit 34. The location acquisition unit 33 acquires the current location using, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver. The usage information generation unit 34 generates usage information based on the input information received from the input reception unit 32 and outputs the generated usage information to the communication unit 31. Alternatively, the mobile terminal 3 may perform the process of reserving the transport vehicle 7 by installing application software for the process of reserving the transport vehicle 7, or the control system 1 may function as a web server and the mobile terminal 3 may perform the process of reserving the transport vehicle 7 by accessing a website.

[0019] Figure 3 shows an example of user information in this embodiment. In the example shown in Figure 3, the user information includes the desired boarding location, which is the location where the user wishes to board the transport vehicle 7; the desired boarding time, which is the time at which the user wishes to board the transport vehicle 7; the purpose for which the user will use the rest facility; and the number of passengers. When receiving input of each piece of information included in the user information from the user, the information display unit 35 may, for example, display an input screen that accepts input for each item shown on the left side of Figure 3, with the right side being the input field, and the user may enter the information for each item into the input field. This input screen is displayed by the information display unit 35 via the application software described above or by accessing a website.

[0020] The desired boarding location may be information indicating a bus stop within the rest facility, or information indicating the location where the user parked their vehicle. Here, after the user arrives at the rest facility and parks their vehicle in the rest facility's parking lot (in the example in Figure 2, parking lot 81 or parking lot 91), the user operates the mobile terminal 3, which then transmits the usage information. For example, the control system 1 sends a map of the rest facility, including the locations of bus stops within the rest facility, to the mobile terminal 3. The communication unit 31 of the mobile terminal 3 outputs the received map to the information display unit 35, which displays the map. The user then checks the map, selects a bus stop close to their current parking location, and inputs identification information indicating the selected bus stop as the desired boarding location. Alternatively, a map showing the locations of bus stops may be displayed within the parking lot, and the user can check the map, select a bus stop close to their current parking location, and input identification information indicating the selected bus stop as the desired boarding location. Alternatively, the parking lot may be divided into multiple areas in advance, and information indicating the areas may be displayed within the parking lot, allowing the user to input information indicating the area where they parked their vehicle as the desired boarding location. In this case, the control system 1 maintains a correspondence between each area and the nearest bus stop, and can use this correspondence to find the bus stop corresponding to the desired boarding location. Furthermore, when a user inputs a desired boarding location in this manner, the location acquisition unit 33 does not need to output location information to the user information generation unit 34. Also, in this case, the mobile terminal 3 does not need to be equipped with the location acquisition unit 33.

[0021] Alternatively, the transport vehicle 7 may travel within the parking lot, within the limits of one-way traffic and other traffic restrictions, by determining the travel route, and the bus stops may be located at positions corresponding to each parking space in the parking lot. In this case, for example, the boarding position will be a position close to each parking space along the travel route. For example, by pre-determining the correspondence between parking spaces and boarding positions along the travel route, the boarding position corresponding to a parking space can be determined. Figure 4 shows an example of a travel route when no bus stops are provided. In the travel route 301 shown in Figure 4, each parking space is designated as a stopping position, and the user information generation unit 34 holds parking position correspondence information indicating the correspondence between parking spaces and stopping positions. When a parking space is specified as the desired boarding position in the user information, the user information generation unit 34 calculates the boarding position corresponding to the parking space based on the parking position correspondence information. In the example shown in Figure 4, for example, the stopping position corresponding to parking space 861 is position 863, and the stopping position corresponding to parking space 862 is also position 863. In this case, it is not necessary to provide a bus stop terminal 5 at each bus stop. For example, each parking space in the parking lot may be assigned identification information, and the user may confirm this identification information and input it as their desired pick-up location. Alternatively, the location of the mobile terminal 3 may be used as the desired pick-up location. In this case, the user information generation unit 34 generates user information using the location information input from the location acquisition unit 33 as the desired pick-up location, and the control system 1 pre-stores space location information indicating the location of each parking space in the parking lot, and identifies the parked parking space using the space location information and the location information of the mobile terminal 3.

[0022] Returning to the explanation of Figure 3, regarding the desired boarding time, the user may input the desired boarding time, or the user information generation unit 34 may set the current time as the desired boarding time. The purpose is input by the user. The purpose may be, for example, either using the toilet or eating. For example, the purpose may be presented as a selection on the input screen, and the user may choose from the options. Furthermore, the purpose may be further subdivided, with the type of restaurant specified, such as Japanese food, Western food, ramen, light meals, etc. In addition, purposes other than using the toilet and eating, such as shopping, may also be selectable.

[0023] In this example, the control system 1 creates a dispatch plan for transport vehicles 7 for a set of rest facilities, one for the inbound and one for the outbound side of a service area at a single location. However, the system is not limited to this example; it may also create a dispatch plan for transport vehicles 7 for each location, i.e., for each service area with the same name, for rest facilities at multiple locations, such as H Service Area, F Service Area, and G Parking Area. In this case, a dispatch plan corresponding to one location is created using the method described in this embodiment, and this process is carried out for each service area at each location, thereby creating separate dispatch plans for transport vehicles 7 for multiple service areas. When the control system 1 creates a dispatch plan for transport vehicles 7 for multiple service areas at multiple locations, the usage information may include identification information for the rest facilities that the user wishes to use. The identification information for rest facilities may also include information indicating whether it is an inbound or outbound facility. Alternatively, the identification information for bus stops may include identification information for facilities. That is, the identification information for bus stops may be assigned in a way that does not overlap among the rest facilities under management. Furthermore, if the location information of the mobile device 3 is included as the desired boarding location in the usage information, the control system 1 may use the location information to determine which facility the general vehicle corresponding to the usage information is parked at.

[0024] Returning to the explanation of Figure 1, the vehicle-mounted terminal 4 comprises a communication unit 41, an input receiving unit 42, a location acquisition unit 43, a usage information generation unit 44, and an information display unit 45. The vehicle-mounted terminal 4 may be part of a car navigation system or an autonomous driving system, or it may be a separate terminal. The functions of the communication unit 41, input receiving unit 42, location acquisition unit 43, usage information generation unit 44, and information display unit 45 are the same as those of the communication unit 31, input receiving unit 32, location acquisition unit 33, usage information generation unit 34, and information display unit 35 of the mobile terminal 3, so redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0025] The bus stop terminal 5 comprises a communication unit 51, an input reception unit 52, a usage information generation unit 53, and an information display unit 54. The functions of the communication unit 51, input reception unit 52, usage information generation unit 53, and information display unit 54 are the same as those of the communication unit 31, input reception unit 32, usage information generation unit 34, and information display unit 35 of the mobile terminal 3, so redundant explanations are omitted. However, since the location of the bus stop terminal 5 is fixed, the usage information generation unit 53 stores its own identification information (bus stop identification information) which is predetermined as the desired boarding location in the usage information. The bus stop terminal 5 may also accept reservations for other bus stop terminals 5 as the desired boarding location. In this case, for example, its own identification information may be displayed as the initial value for the desired boarding location on the input screen, and the user may be able to change it from the initial value through input operations. In addition, although an example in which the location of the bus stop terminal 5 is fixed is described here, the location of the bus stop terminal 5 may be changed. In this case, the bus stop terminal 5 may be equipped with a location acquisition unit, or the location of the bus stop terminal 5 may be set in the facility management system 6 each time a change occurs.

[0026] The facility management system 6 includes a congestion information transmission unit 61 and a congestion management unit 62. The congestion management unit 62 acquires congestion status in the rest facility and outputs congestion information indicating the acquired congestion status to the congestion information transmission unit 61. The congestion information may include congestion status for each piece of equipment within the rest facility, or it may include congestion status for the rest facility as a whole. The congestion management unit 62 may, for example, acquire images from surveillance cameras and use the images to determine the congestion status, or it may acquire congestion information by receiving input on the congestion status from the rest facility manager. In addition, if each individual toilet is equipped with a sensor to detect whether or not it is in use, the congestion management unit 62 may acquire the detection results from the sensor. The congestion information transmission unit 61 transmits the congestion information to the control system 1 via a network. This network may be a dedicated line, the internet, a mobile phone network, etc. The facility management system 6 may, for example, transmit congestion information to the control system 1 periodically, or transmit it to the control system 1 when the congestion information changes.

[0027] Figure 5 shows an example of congestion information in this embodiment. As shown in Figure 5, congestion information includes the congestion status for each facility, such as toilets and restaurant areas. In the example shown in Figure 5, as illustrated in Figure 2, the inbound facility 8 has three toilets, toilets 83-1 to 83-3, and one restaurant area 84, and the outbound facility 9 has three toilets, toilets 93-1 to 93-3, and one restaurant area 94. Toilets 83-1 to 83-3 correspond to toilets #1 to #3 in the inbound facility in Figure 5, respectively, and toilets 93-1 to 93-3 correspond to toilets #1 to #3 in the outbound facility in Figure 5, respectively. Note that toilets 83-1 to 83-3 and 93-1 to 93-3 are toilet spaces equipped with one or more individual toilets. In the example shown in Figure 5, the congestion status is represented in three stages: crowded, normal, and empty (empty). However, the congestion status is not limited to these, and may be represented in two stages, whether crowded or not, or in four or more stages. For example, in the case of restrooms, congestion levels are defined in advance as follows: crowded when there are two or more people waiting; normal when there is one or fewer people waiting and the number of available individual restrooms is less than 30% of all individual restrooms; and empty when 30% or less of all individual restrooms are empty. The same applies to restaurant areas, where congestion levels are calculated based on factors such as the ratio of empty seats and the number of people waiting.

[0028] In the example shown in Figure 5, each rest facility is equipped with multiple facilities such as toilets and a restaurant area, and the congestion information includes information showing the congestion status of each facility, but it is not limited to this, and the congestion information may also include the congestion status of each store in the restaurant area. Figure 6 shows an example of stores included in the restaurant area of ​​this embodiment. Figure 6 shows an example of stores that make up the restaurant area 84 of the uphill facility 8 shown in Figure 2. If the congestion information includes, for example, the congestion status of each store as shown in Figure 6, then when the type of restaurant is specified as the purpose in the usage information, the control system 1 can select the store that is the target facility for the user based on the congestion information of each store.

[0029] Furthermore, congestion information may also be based on the congestion status of individual facilities, such as facility 8 for the northbound lane and facility 9 for the southbound lane. In this case, the congestion status of rest facilities may be determined based on the congestion status of the parking lot.

[0030] Returning to the explanation of Figure 1, the control system 1 comprises a congestion information acquisition unit 11, a usage information acquisition unit 12, a dispatch plan determination unit 13, a vehicle communication unit 14, a facility information storage unit 15, a transport vehicle information storage unit 16, and a dispatch plan storage unit 17.

[0031] The congestion information acquisition unit 11 receives congestion information indicating the congestion status of rest facilities from the facility management system 6 via the network, acquires the congestion information, and outputs the acquired congestion information to the vehicle dispatch plan determination unit 13.

[0032] The facility information storage unit 15 stores facility information that shows information about each piece of equipment within the rest facility. Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of facility information in this embodiment. In the example shown in Figure 7, similar to the example shown in Figure 5, the inbound facility 8 is equipped with three toilets 83-1 to 83-3 and one restaurant area 84, as illustrated in Figure 2, and the outbound facility 9 is equipped with three toilets 93-1 to 93-3 and one restaurant area 94. As shown in Figure 7, the facility information includes each piece of equipment and the location of the equipment (location of the entrance / exit). In the example shown in Figure 7, the location of the equipment is indicated by the unit of bus stops, that is, by the identification information of the nearest bus stop. However, the location of the equipment may also be indicated by coordinates (coordinates of the entrance / exit). In this case, the facility information storage unit 15 stores bus stop location information that shows the location (coordinates) of each bus stop. Using the bus stop location information and the facility information, the bus stop corresponding to each piece of equipment can be determined. The bus stop corresponding to each piece of equipment is, for example, the nearest bus stop to each piece of equipment.

[0033] Furthermore, as explained using Figure 6, when managing congestion levels for each store, the facility information also includes information specific to each store. In the example shown in Figure 6, there are two entrances to the restaurant area 84, entrances 87-1 and 87-2, and the restaurant area 84 includes two ramen restaurants, ramen shops 88-1 and 88-2. The nearest entrance to ramen shop 88-1 is entrance 87-1, and the nearest bus stop to entrance 87-1 is bus stop #4, where bus stop terminal 5-4 is installed. The nearest entrance to ramen shop 88-2 is entrance 87-2, and the nearest bus stop to entrance 87-2 is bus stop #3, where bus stop terminal 5-3 is installed. In this way, a bus stop corresponding to each store can be defined, and for example, the facility information stores information indicating the corresponding bus stop as the location corresponding to each store. Alternatively, the coordinates of the entrances corresponding to each store may be stored as the location in the facility information. Control system 1 can suggest to the user whichever of ramen shops 88-1 and 88-2 is available as their destination, and if the user accepts the suggestion, it can determine a dispatch plan to transport the user to the bus stop corresponding to the available shop.

[0034] The transport vehicle information storage unit 16 stores transport vehicle information. Figure 8 shows an example of transport vehicle information in this embodiment. As shown in Figure 8, the transport vehicle information includes the maximum number of passengers for each transport vehicle 7. The transport vehicle information may also include the remaining battery charge, fuel charge, and driving range of the transport vehicle 7. The remaining battery charge is updated each time it is obtained from the transport vehicle 7.

[0035] The user information acquisition unit 12 acquires user information by receiving it via the network from at least one of the user terminals, which is a mobile terminal 3, a vehicle-mounted terminal 4, or a bus stop terminal 5, and outputs the acquired user information to the dispatch plan determination unit 13.

[0036] The dispatch plan determination unit 13 uses congestion information indicating the congestion status of rest facilities to determine a dispatch plan that includes a scheduled trip for transport vehicles 7 capable of transporting users riding in vehicles (general vehicles) parked at one of the two rest facilities, the parking facility on the uphill and downhill lanes, from the parking facility to the other rest facility on the opposite lane. In detail, first, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 determines the destination to which the user will be transported based on the purpose in the usage information and the congestion information. Specifically, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 determines candidate facilities that match the purpose, and if there is a facility among the candidate facilities that is not congested, it determines the non-congested facility as the user's target facility, and determines the stop corresponding to the user's target facility as the destination (destination of transport vehicle 7).

[0037] The dispatch plan determination unit 13 then uses the determined destination and usage information, the facility information stored in the facility information storage unit 15, the current location of the transport vehicle 7, the transport vehicle information stored in the transport vehicle information storage unit 16, and the dispatch plan stored in the dispatch plan storage unit 17 to determine which transport vehicle 7 to assign to the user corresponding to the usage information, and determines the travel schedule for that transport vehicle 7. The dispatch plan determination unit 13 determines the dispatch plan using the determined travel schedule and stores the determined dispatch plan in the dispatch plan storage unit 17. The dispatch plan storage unit 17 stores the dispatch plan. The dispatch plan includes the travel schedules for all transport vehicles 7. The dispatch plan determination unit 13 also outputs the travel schedule to the vehicle communication unit 14. The vehicle communication unit 14 transmits the travel schedule to the corresponding transport vehicle 7 via the network. Details of the operation of the dispatch plan determination unit 13 will be described later. This network may be a dedicated line, a mobile phone network, the internet, etc. The vehicle communication unit 14 also obtains the current location from the transport vehicle 7. If the transport vehicle 7 is an electric vehicle, the vehicle communication unit 14 may also receive the remaining battery charge from the transport vehicle 7.

[0038] Figure 9 shows an example of a vehicle dispatch plan in this embodiment. As shown in Figure 9, the dispatch plan includes, for example, the scheduled boarding time (scheduled departure time), boarding location (departure point), scheduled arrival time, destination, and seat availability information for each transport vehicle 7. Each row in the dispatch plan shows the planned route for one trip of each transport vehicle 7. The destination is determined based on the purpose and congestion information in the usage information, as described above. The scheduled boarding time is determined according to the desired boarding time in the usage information, and the boarding location (departure point) is determined according to the desired boarding location in the usage information. In the example shown in Figure 9, the identification information of the bus stops corresponding to the bus stop terminals 5-1 to 5-8 shown in Figure 2 is shown as bus stops #1 to #8, respectively. For example, vehicle #1, one of the transport vehicles 7, is scheduled to transport a user who has parked a general vehicle at the upbound facility 8 from bus stop #1 within the upbound facility 8 to bus stop #3 within the upbound facility 8. When the schedule for vehicle #1 is created, toilet #2 (toilet 83-2) in the northbound facility 8 is not crowded, and the user is transported to stop #3, which corresponds to toilet #2 (toilet 83-2). Vehicle #2, one of the transport vehicles 7, is scheduled to transport a user who has parked their general vehicle at the northbound facility 8 from stop #2 in the northbound facility 8 to stop #8 in the southbound facility 9. When the schedule for vehicle #2 is created, all the toilets in the northbound facility 8 are crowded, and the southbound facility 9 is not crowded, with toilet #3 (toilet 93-3) available, so the user is transported to toilet #3 in the southbound facility 9. Thus, in this embodiment, if the facilities at the rest stop where a user has parked their general vehicle are crowded, and the facilities at the rest stop on the opposite lane are available, the schedule is determined to transport the user to the rest stop on the opposite lane. In this way, the dispatch planning unit 13 can determine the travel schedule for the transport vehicle 7 to travel from the rest facility where a user has parked their general vehicle to a rest facility on the opposite side of the road if it determines, using congestion information, that the rest facility is congested.

[0039] Furthermore, the vacancy information shown in Figure 9 indicates the number of vacant seats obtained by subtracting the number of passengers scheduled to board in the dispatch plan from the maximum passenger capacity of each transport vehicle 7. For example, in the example shown in Figure 9, if the maximum passenger capacity of transport vehicle 7, vehicle #2, is 8 people, and the number of passengers scheduled to board in the travel plan shown in the second row of Figure 9 is 5 people, then the number of vacant seats will be 3. In the example shown in Figure 9, a single number is listed because the number of vacant seats is constant regardless of the section, but vacancy information is shown for each section of the travel route. For example, if the travel plan is from stop #2 to stop #8 and there are 3 vacant seats, and there is usage information indicating that 3 people are scheduled to board at stop #2 and stop #3 has been determined as the destination, then it is possible to have the passengers corresponding to that usage information board transport vehicle 7, which is scheduled to travel from stop #2 to stop #8. In this case, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 determines the travel schedule for the transport vehicle 7, which is scheduled to travel from stop #2 to stop #8, to allow passengers to board from stop #2 to stop #3. The dispatch plan determination unit 13 then updates the available seat information corresponding to the travel schedule in the dispatch plan to indicate that there are no available seats in the section from stop #2 to stop #3, and that there are 3 available seats in the section from stop #3 to stop #8, and 3 available seats in stop #8. The dispatch plan determination unit 13 may also create a dispatch plan in which passengers share the transport vehicle 7 by managing the available seat information in this way.

[0040] Furthermore, as explained using Figure 6, if congestion information and facility information include information for each store, and the type of restaurant is specified as the purpose in the usage information, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 can determine a store that is not crowded from among the types of restaurants that match the purpose as the user's target facility. For example, if a ramen shop is specified as the type of restaurant in the usage information, and the user's general vehicle is parked at the northbound facility 8, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 can determine a dispatch plan to transport the user to the bus stop corresponding to whichever of the two ramen shops 88-1 and 88-2 is available. Also, if there is a ramen shop at the southbound facility 9, and both ramen shops 88-1 and 88-2 at the northbound facility 8 are crowded, and the ramen shop at the southbound facility 9 is available, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 may create a dispatch plan to transport the user to the bus stop corresponding to the ramen shop at the southbound facility 9.

[0041] Returning to the explanation of Figure 1, the transport vehicle 7 comprises a communication unit 71, a plan storage unit 72, a position acquisition unit 73, a vehicle control unit 74, and vehicle components 75. Here, we describe an example where the transport vehicle 7 is an autonomous vehicle, but the transport vehicle 7 may also be a vehicle driven by a crew member.

[0042] The communication unit 71 receives the travel schedule from the control system 1 and stores the received travel schedule in the plan storage unit 72. The vehicle components 75 are various devices mounted on the transport vehicle 7, such as the engine, brakes, and transmission. The vehicle control unit 74 can control the vehicle components 75 without requiring human operation. In other words, the vehicle control unit 74 performs control for automatic driving. The vehicle control unit 74 controls the driving of the transport vehicle 7 based on the travel schedule stored in the plan storage unit 72. If the transport vehicle 7 is a vehicle driven by a crew member, the control system 1 may transmit the travel schedule to a mobile terminal (not shown) for the crew member, and the crew member may be given driving instructions when the travel schedule is displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal, or the crew member may be given driving instructions when the travel schedule is displayed on a display unit (not shown) inside the transport vehicle 7.

[0043] The position acquisition unit 73 acquires the current position of the transport vehicle 7 and outputs the acquired current position to the communication unit 71. The position acquisition unit 73 acquires the current position using, for example, a GPS receiver. The communication unit 71 transmits the current position to the control system 1. The communication unit 71 may also transmit the remaining battery charge, fuel level, and remaining driving distance of the transport vehicle 7 to the control system 1.

[0044] Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. Figure 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the dispatch system of this embodiment. Figure 10 shows an example in which a mobile terminal 3 is used as the user terminal, but the same operation is performed when a vehicle-mounted terminal 4 or a bus stop terminal 5 is used as the user terminal. The user operates the mobile terminal 3 to reserve a transport vehicle 7. As a result, as shown in Figure 10, the mobile terminal 3 receives input from the user (step S1). In detail, the input reception unit 32 receives input from the user and outputs input information indicating the received input content to the usage information generation unit 34. The items to be input include, for example, the desired boarding location, desired boarding time, purpose, and number of people, but as mentioned above, the desired boarding time may not be entered and the current time may be used.

[0045] The mobile terminal 3 generates usage information (step S2) and transmits the generated usage information to the control system 1 (step S3). Specifically, the usage information generation unit 34 generates usage information using the input information received from the input reception unit 32 and outputs the generated usage information to the communication unit 31. The communication unit 31 transmits the usage information received from the usage information generation unit 34 to the control system 1.

[0046] Meanwhile, the facility management system 6 transmits congestion information to the control system 1 periodically or when there is a change in congestion information (step S4). Specifically, the congestion management unit 62 acquires the congestion status in the rest facilities and outputs congestion information indicating the acquired congestion status to the congestion information transmission unit 61. The congestion information transmission unit 61 transmits the congestion information to the control system 1.

[0047] Furthermore, each transport vehicle 7 transmits its current position to the control system 1 (step S5). Specifically, the position acquisition unit 73 periodically acquires the current position of the transport vehicle 7 and outputs the acquired current position to the communication unit 71. The communication unit 71 transmits the current position received from the position acquisition unit 73 to the control system 1.

[0048] When control system 1 receives usage information, it creates a dispatch plan (step S6). The method for creating the dispatch plan will be described later. Control system 1 sends the information to be notified to the user from the created dispatch plan to the mobile terminal 3 as a reservation result (step S7). The reservation result is, for example, the scheduled boarding time, boarding location, scheduled arrival time, and destination of the dispatch plan corresponding to the usage information received in step S3.

[0049] Alternatively, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 may, after determining the user's target equipment based on usage information and congestion information, output the determination result (user's target equipment) to the usage information acquisition unit 12 before creating a dispatch plan that reflects the user's target equipment. The usage information acquisition unit 12 may then send the determination result to the mobile terminal 3, the source of the usage information, to request user approval. The mobile terminal 3 displays the received determination result, and the user confirms the displayed determination result and decides whether or not to approve the determined target equipment. The user inputs the decision result, i.e., whether or not to approve the determination result, into the mobile terminal 3, and the mobile terminal 3 sends the decision result to the control system 1. If the received decision result indicates approval of the determination result, the control system 1 proceeds with the dispatch plan creation process. If the received decision result indicates not to approve the determination result, the control system 1 excludes the target equipment, determines the target equipment again, and sends the decision result to the mobile terminal 3. The control system 1 repeats these processes until it receives a decision result from the mobile terminal 3 indicating approval of the determination result. Alternatively, the control system 1 may select multiple candidate target facilities based on congestion information and transmit the selected facilities to the mobile terminal 3. The user selects a target facility from among the multiple facilities and inputs the selection result into the mobile terminal 3, which then transmits the selection result to the control system 1. The control system 1 then creates a dispatch plan using the target facilities selected by the user.

[0050] Furthermore, the control system 1 transmits the scheduled route for the transport vehicle 7 from the dispatch plan to the transport vehicle 7 (step S8). Thereafter, the transport vehicle 7 travels according to the received scheduled route. These operations enable dispatching according to the usage information.

[0051] Next, the process of creating a dispatch plan in the control system 1, that is, the process of step S6 in Figure 10, will be explained. Figure 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the dispatch plan creation process in this embodiment. The dispatch plan determination unit 13 determines candidate facilities to be used using the usage information (step S11). Specifically, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 uses the purpose in the usage information received from the usage information acquisition unit 12 to determine facilities that match the purpose as candidate facilities to be used by the user. For example, if the rest facilities that are the subject of the dispatch plan creation are the upbound facility 8 and downbound facility 9 shown in Figure 2, and the purpose in the usage information is the toilet, then toilets 83-1 to 83-3 and 93-1 to 93-3 will be candidate facilities to be used. Also, if the purpose is to eat, then the restaurant area 84 and 94 will be candidate facilities to be used. As mentioned above, if the type of restaurant is also specified in the purpose, the candidate facilities to be used will be determined on a store-by-store basis.

[0052] Next, the vehicle dispatch plan determination unit 13 determines whether there are any unoccupied facilities among the candidate facilities within the parking facility (step S12). Specifically, the vehicle dispatch plan determination unit 13 extracts the congestion status of facilities within the parking facility from the congestion information received from the congestion information acquisition unit 11, and determines whether there are any unoccupied facilities based on the extracted congestion status. A parking facility is a facility from which a user corresponding to the usage information boards the transport vehicle 7. For example, if the rest facilities that are the subject of the vehicle dispatch plan are the uphill facility 8 and downhill facility 9 shown in Figure 2, and a user parks a general vehicle at the uphill facility 8, they will board the transport vehicle 7 from the uphill facility 8. In this case, the uphill facility 8 is the parking facility. Also, the rest facility on the opposite side of the lane from the parking facility is called the opposite lane facility. If the uphill facility 8 is the parking facility, the opposite lane facility is the downhill facility 9, and if the downhill facility 9 is the parking facility, the opposite lane facility is the uphill facility 8.

[0053] If there are available facilities within the parking facility that are not crowded (Step S12 Yes), the dispatch plan determination unit 13 determines the destination within the parking facility (Step S13). Specifically, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 determines the target facility to be used by the user from among the available facilities among the available facilities among the available facilities (facilities determined as candidates for facilities to be used), and determines the destination corresponding to the target facility. For example, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 uses congestion information to determine the target facility to be the least crowded facility among the available facilities among the available facilities in the parking facility. If there are multiple facilities that are the least crowded, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 may, for example, determine the facility closest to the desired pick-up location in the usage information as the target facility, or it may determine the target facility from among them based on predetermined criteria such as round robin. The dispatch plan determination unit 13 refers to the facility information stored in the facility information storage unit 15 and determines the location corresponding to the determined target facility as the destination.

[0054] Next, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 uses the determined destination, usage information, transport vehicle information, dispatch plan, and the current location of each transport vehicle 7 to determine which transport vehicle 7 will perform the transport according to the usage information (step S14).

[0055] In detail, the system calculates the time it will take for the transport vehicle 7 to travel from the desired boarding location to the destination using the desired boarding location and the determined destination in the user information. For example, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 predetermines the distance between each stop on the transport vehicle 7's route and calculates the travel time using the distance between each stop and the predetermined average speed of the transport vehicle 7. The dispatch plan determination unit 13 calculates the estimated arrival time at the destination using the desired boarding time and the travel time in the user information. Then, based on the dispatch plan, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 creates a dispatch plan to allow the user corresponding to the user information to board the transport vehicle 7, i.e., to share a ride, if there is a transport vehicle 7 among the transport vehicles 7 whose travel schedule has already been determined that includes a section from the desired boarding location corresponding to the user information to the destination, and the number of empty seats in that section is less than or equal to the number of passengers in the user information, and the difference between the estimated arrival time at the desired boarding location and the desired boarding time in the user information is less than or equal to a threshold. Furthermore, if there are no ride-sharing transport vehicles 7 available, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 extracts transport vehicles 7 that are not scheduled to travel between the desired boarding time and the scheduled arrival time, based on the dispatch plan and transport vehicle information. The dispatch plan determination unit 13 uses the transport vehicle information stored in the transport vehicle information storage unit 16 and the number of passengers in the usage information to determine which of the extracted transport vehicles 7 can accommodate the number of passengers in the usage information. If there are multiple transport vehicles 7 that have been determined, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 determines which transport vehicle 7 will perform the transport according to the usage information based on the current positions of these multiple transport vehicles 7. For example, among the multiple transport vehicles 7, the transport vehicle 7 whose current position is closest to the desired boarding location is determined to be the transport vehicle 7 that will perform the transport according to the usage information. Also, for example, if the scheduled boarding time is more than a certain amount of time away from the present, the dispatch plan determines which transport vehicle 7 among the multiple transport vehicles 7 whose current position is closest to the desired boarding location is determined to be the transport vehicle 7 that will perform the transport according to the usage information.

[0056] Furthermore, if there are no transport vehicles 7 that are not scheduled to travel between the desired boarding time and the scheduled arrival time, the dispatch planning unit 13 updates the desired boarding time to a certain time later and performs the same process. If there are still no transport vehicles 7 that are not scheduled to travel even after updating the desired boarding time to a certain time later, the dispatch planning unit 13 updates the desired boarding time to a certain time later again and repeats the same process. If there are still no transport vehicles 7 that are not scheduled to travel even after delaying the desired boarding time by more than the specified time, the dispatch planning unit 13 may determine that the transport vehicle 7 is unavailable for reservation and send a message to the user terminal that sent the usage information via the usage information acquisition unit 12 indicating that it is unavailable for reservation.

[0057] The dispatch plan shown in Figure 9 shows the scheduled travel times for each transport vehicle 7, but the dispatch plan may also show the time periods when each transport vehicle 7 is not in use, i.e., the time periods when there are no scheduled travel times. For example, the dispatch plan may show the schedule for each transport vehicle 7 up to a certain time in the future, indicating the time periods when it is scheduled to travel and the time periods when it is not. If the dispatch plan does not show the time periods when each transport vehicle 7 is not scheduled to travel, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 can identify the transport vehicles 7 that are not scheduled to travel by referring to the dispatch plan and the transport vehicle information. Alternatively, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 may plan for the transport vehicles 7 to travel along a predetermined route according to a predetermined timetable, and then create a dispatch plan to assign users to transport vehicles 7 with available seats in the corresponding sections based on the usage information and the determined destination. In this case, based on the usage information, the number of services may be increased if there are many users, and the number of services may be decreased if there are few users. The method of creating a dispatch plan described above is just one example, and the method of creating a dispatch plan is not limited to the example described above.

[0058] Next, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 determines the travel schedule for the determined transport vehicle 7, updates the dispatch plan using the determined travel schedule (step S15), and terminates the process. In step S15, specifically, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 determines the boarding time (departure time), boarding location (departure point), arrival time, and destination, respectively, based on the boarding time (departure time), boarding location (departure point), arrival time, and destination of the transport vehicle 7 determined in step S14, using the desired boarding time, desired boarding location, estimated arrival time, and destination. Then, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 updates the dispatch plan by adding the determined travel schedule to the dispatch plan stored in the dispatch plan storage unit 17, and stores the updated dispatch plan in the dispatch plan storage unit 17.

[0059] Furthermore, if the result in step S12 is determined to be "No", the dispatch plan determination unit 13 determines whether there are any uncongested facilities among the candidate facilities on the opposite lane side (step S16). Specifically, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 extracts the congestion status of the facilities on the opposite lane side from the candidate facilities determined in step S11 from the congestion information received from the congestion information acquisition unit 11, and determines whether there are any uncongested facilities based on the extracted congestion status.

[0060] If there is an uncongested facility among the candidates for facilities on the opposite lane side (Step S16 Yes), the dispatch plan determination unit 13 determines the destination within the facilities on the opposite lane side (Step S17) and proceeds to Step S14. In detail, in Step S17, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 determines the target facility to be used by the user from among the uncongested facilities among the candidates for facilities on the opposite lane side (facilities determined as candidates for facilities to be used), similar to Step S13, and determines the destination corresponding to the target facility.

[0061] If the result in step S16 is determined to be No, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 proceeds to step S13. In this case, in step S13, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 determines the target facility from among the candidates for the facility to be used that are crowded within the parking facility. If the result in step S16 is No, the facility corresponding to the usage information will be crowded in both the parking facility and the facility on the opposite side, so the facility in the parking facility that is closer to the user may be determined as the target facility, or a facility that is less crowded compared to other facilities may be determined as the target facility.

[0062] As described above, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 determines candidate facilities to be used by the user based on the purpose included in the usage information acquired by the usage information acquisition unit 12. The dispatch plan determination unit 13 then uses congestion information to select a target facility corresponding to the usage information from the candidate facilities, determines the destination of the transport vehicle 7 corresponding to the usage information based on the selected target facility, and determines the travel schedule of the transport vehicle 7 to be assigned to the usage information based on the determined destination. Furthermore, if there is a candidate facility within the parking facility that is not congested, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 selects that candidate facility as the target facility. If all candidates within the parking facility are congested and there is a candidate facility on the opposite lane that is not congested, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 selects that candidate facility as the target facility. In addition, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 determines the transport vehicle 7 to be assigned to the usage information based on the number of passengers included in the usage information and the maximum number of passengers for each transport vehicle 7.

[0063] Furthermore, if the control system 1 receives the remaining battery charge from the transport vehicle 7, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 may create a dispatch plan that also takes into account the remaining battery charge of the transport vehicle 7. In this case, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 may also determine the charging schedule for the transport vehicle 7 using the remaining battery charge and the transport vehicle 7's planned travel time, and include the charging period in the dispatch plan.

[0064] As described above, the vehicle dispatch planning unit 13 determines destinations according to the purpose in the usage information, based on the congestion status. This allows the vehicle dispatch planning unit 13 to determine a dispatch plan for transport vehicles 7 that transport users of rest facilities in order to alleviate congestion at the rest facilities. Furthermore, since users can be guided to rest facilities that are not congested, the waiting time for users at rest facilities can be reduced.

[0065] In particular, on toll roads, the times of congestion may differ between the inbound and outbound lanes. For example, on weekdays, the inbound lanes may be congested in the morning and the outbound lanes in the evening, while on holidays, the outbound lanes may be congested in the morning and the inbound lanes in the evening. Also, the days when the inbound and outbound lanes are congested may differ, such as the outbound lanes being congested in the first half of a long holiday and the inbound lanes being congested in the second half. The congestion levels of rest facilities corresponding to each inbound and outbound lane depend on the congestion levels of the respective lanes. Therefore, there may be times when one of the inbound facility 8 and the outbound facility 9 is congested while the other is not. During such times, congestion can be alleviated by transporting users of the congested rest facility to the other rest facility.

[0066] In the example described above, congestion was managed on a per-facility basis at the rest facility level. However, the travel schedule for transport vehicle 7 may be determined using the congestion status and usage information for each rest facility, or it may be determined using the congestion status for each rest facility without using usage information. In this case, the congestion information includes the congestion status of both the northbound facility 8 and the southbound facility 9. The congestion status may be the congestion status of the parking lot at each rest facility, or it may be a congestion status that takes into account both the parking lot congestion status and the congestion status of each facility. Generally, when a rest facility is not crowded, users tend to park their general vehicles near facilities such as toilets and restaurants. On the other hand, when a rest facility is crowded, the number of general vehicles parked far from the facilities increases, and the number of users who want to use transport vehicle 7 to get to the facilities increases. Also, if the northbound facility 8 is crowded and the southbound facility 9 is not, operating transport vehicle 7 from the northbound facility 8 to the southbound facility 9 can guide users to the less crowded southbound facility 9.

[0067] Therefore, for example, if a dispatch plan is created to dispatch transport vehicles 7 according to the congestion level of each rest facility, without using usage information, that is, without requiring reservations, the number of services increases as the degree of congestion increases, then users of the rest facilities can be transported in a way that alleviates congestion at the rest facilities. In this case, steps S1, S2, S3, and S7 shown in Figure 10 will not be performed. For example, a dispatch plan is created so that the number of services by which transport vehicles 7 circulate along the route 300 shown by the dashed line in Figure 2, stopping at each stop #1 to #8, increases as the degree of congestion at the upbound facility 8 increases. For example, the degree of congestion may be indicated in multiple stages, and the time interval between services may be determined according to each stage.

[0068] Furthermore, when using usage information, it is not necessary to include the purpose in the usage information. Since the purposes of using rest facilities are generally one of the following: using the toilet, eating, or shopping, the control system 1 can assume that the user's purpose is one of the following by receiving the usage information. Therefore, for example, the destination stops for the transport vehicle 7 may be set to two locations near the buildings of the inbound facility 8 and the outbound facility 9, and the dispatch planning unit 13 may decide that one of these two locations is the destination. For example, when the dispatch planning unit 13 receives usage information from a user who has parked a general vehicle at the inbound facility 8, if the inbound facility 8 is not crowded, it may decide that the destination will be a stop at the inbound facility 8, and if the inbound facility 8 is crowded overall and the outbound facility 9 is empty, it may decide that the destination corresponding to the usage information will be a stop at the outbound facility 9.

[0069] Furthermore, the dispatch planning unit 13 may create a dispatch plan to operate a service that goes from the congested facility 8 to the less congested facility 9 when one of the two facilities, the inbound facility 8 or the outbound facility 9, is congested while the other is not. For example, when one of the two facilities, the inbound facility 8 or the outbound facility 9, is congested while the other is not, the dispatch plan may be created to operate a service that goes back and forth between stop #4 and stop #8 in Figure 2. When one of the two facilities, the inbound facility 8 or the outbound facility 9, is congested, information indicating that the rest facilities on the opposite lane are not congested may be displayed on the stop terminal 5 or signage within the congested rest facility, and the location of the stop for the transport vehicle 7 to the opposite lane may be displayed to encourage users to move to the opposite lane. When operating a service that goes from the congested facility to the less congested facility, a route that circles within the inbound facility 8 and the outbound facility 9 may or may not be provided. In other words, multiple bus stops may be provided within the upbound facility 8 and the downbound facility 9, or one bus stop may be provided within one rest facility.

[0070] Figure 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the process for creating a vehicle dispatch plan in this embodiment when usage information is not used. The vehicle dispatch plan determination unit 13 performs the process shown in Figure 12, for example, at predetermined intervals, that is, every time a predetermined amount of time has elapsed. In the example shown in Figure 12, the vehicle dispatch plan determination unit 13 determines whether or not the inbound facility 8 is congested (step S21). In detail, the vehicle dispatch plan determination unit 13 uses congestion information to determine whether or not the inbound facility 8 is congested. If the inbound facility 8 is congested (step S21 Yes), it determines whether or not the outbound facility 9 is congested (step S22). If the outbound facility 9 is congested (step S22 Yes), the vehicle dispatch plan determination unit 13 terminates the process.

[0071] If the southbound facility 9 is not congested (step S22 No), that is, if the northbound facility 8 is congested and the southbound facility 9 is not congested, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 uses the dispatch plan and the current position of the transport vehicle 7 to determine which transport vehicle 7 to run (step S23). In detail, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 refers to the dispatch plan stored in the dispatch plan storage unit 17 and determines which transport vehicle 7 to run from among the transport vehicles 7 that are not scheduled to run within a certain time and whose current position is close to the designated departure point. The designated departure point is a designated stop at the congested rest facility. If the answer is Yes in step S21 and No in step S22, the congested rest facility is the northbound facility 8, for example, stop #4 at the northbound facility 8. Also, if the answer is No in step S21 and Yes in step S25, as described later, step S23 is performed, but in this case, the congested rest facility is the southbound facility 9. In this case, the designated departure point is a designated stop within the southbound facility 9, for example, stop #8.

[0072] Next, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 determines the travel schedule for the determined transport vehicle 7, updates the dispatch plan using the determined travel schedule (step S24), and terminates the process. In detail, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 determines the scheduled boarding time (scheduled departure time) from the current location of the determined transport vehicle 7, and determines the scheduled arrival time using the scheduled boarding time and the required time. For example, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 determines the scheduled boarding time by adding an estimated value of the time required from the current location of the determined transport vehicle 7 to the departure point, and then adding a certain amount of time for the user to board. The destination is a designated stop at a rest facility that is not crowded. For example, if the answer is Yes in step S21 and No in step S22, the rest facility that is not crowded is the downbound facility 9, so the destination is a designated stop at the downbound facility 9. The dispatch plan determination unit 13 updates the dispatch plan stored in the dispatch plan storage unit 17 by adding the determined travel schedule to the dispatch plan, and stores the updated dispatch plan in the dispatch plan storage unit 17.

[0073] If the answer in step S21 is No, the dispatch planning unit 13 determines whether the southbound facility 9 is congested or not (step S25). If the southbound facility 9 is congested (step S25 Yes), that is, if the northbound facility 8 is not congested and the southbound facility 9 is congested, the dispatch planning unit 13 proceeds to step S23. If the southbound facility 9 is not congested (step S25 No), the dispatch planning unit 13 terminates the process.

[0074] By performing the process shown in Figure 12 at predetermined intervals, the control system 1 can determine a dispatch plan that operates services from one of the inbound facility 8 and the other outbound facility 9 at predetermined intervals, when one of them is congested and the other is not. Furthermore, the control system 1 can efficiently operate the transport vehicles 7 by not running them when both the inbound facility 8 and the outbound facility 9 are not congested, and when both the inbound facility 8 and the outbound facility 9 are congested. Note that the example shown in Figure 12 does not consider routes that circle within the inbound facility 8 and the outbound facility 9, but services that circle within the congested rest facility may be operated periodically, separate from the routes that run between the inbound facility 8 and the outbound facility 9. Alternatively, services that circle within the rest facility may be operated even when it is not congested, and the operating interval may be determined according to the degree of congestion in the rest facility. For example, the higher the degree of congestion, i.e., the more congested it is, the shorter the operating interval may be.

[0075] Furthermore, in the example described above, the transport vehicle 7 moved between the northbound facility 8 and the southbound facility 9, but the transport vehicle 7 may also operate within a single rest facility. For example, if the rest facility is large and has multiple restaurants, or if a common rest facility is provided for both the northbound and southbound lanes, the transport vehicle 7 may be operated within a single rest facility.

[0076] Figure 13 shows an example of an inbound facility 8 in this embodiment, which is provided with multiple buildings. In the example shown in Figure 13, the transport vehicle 7 travels along the dashed route 302, and there are seven stops corresponding to stop terminals 5-1 to 5-7. In the example shown in Figure 13, the inbound facility 8 is provided with three toilets 83-1 to 83-3 and two restaurant areas 84-1 and 84-2. In this case, the control system 1 uses congestion information to determine the target equipment from among the equipment that is not congested according to the purpose in the usage information, based on the congestion status of each facility within the inbound facility 8, and determines the destination corresponding to the target equipment. Then, the control system 1 can determine the dispatch plan by performing steps S14 and S15, similar to the example shown in Figure 11. Thus, the dispatch plan determination unit 13 may use congestion information to determine which facilities users will use when boarding vehicles parked at rest facilities, and determine a dispatch plan that includes a schedule for driving the transport vehicle 7 to transport users to the drop-off location corresponding to the determined facilities.

[0077] Next, the hardware configuration of the control system 1 of this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, the control system 1 functions as a computer system when a computer program, which describes the processing in the control system 1, is executed on the computer system. Figure 14 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a computer system that realizes the control system 1 of this embodiment. As shown in Figure 14, this computer system comprises a control unit 101, an input unit 102, a storage unit 103, a display unit 104, a communication unit 105, and an output unit 106, which are connected via a system bus 107.

[0078] In Figure 14, the control unit 101 is a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and executes a program that describes the processing in the control system 1 of this embodiment. Note that a part of the control unit 101 may be implemented by dedicated hardware such as an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array). The input unit 102 consists of, for example, a keyboard and mouse, and is used by the user of the computer system to input various information. The storage unit 103 includes various types of memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory), and storage devices such as a hard disk, and stores the program to be executed by the control unit 101, necessary data obtained during processing, etc. The storage unit 103 is also used as a temporary storage area for the program. The display unit 104 consists of a display, LCD (Liquid Crystal Display Panel), etc., and displays various screens to the user of the computer system. The communication unit 105 is a receiver and transmitter that perform communication processing. The output unit 106 is a printer, etc. Note that Figure 14 is an example, and the configuration of the computer system is not limited to the example in Figure 14.

[0079] Here, an example of the operation of the computer system until the program of this embodiment becomes executable will be described. In the computer system with the above configuration, for example, a computer program is installed in the storage unit 103 from a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM set in a CD (Compact Disc)-ROM drive or DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)-ROM drive (not shown). When the program is executed, the program read from the storage unit 103 is stored in the main memory area of ​​the storage unit 103. In this state, the control unit 101 performs processing as the control system 1 of this embodiment according to the program stored in the storage unit 103.

[0080] In the above explanation, a program describing the processing in control system 1 is provided on a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM as the recording medium. However, the explanation is not limited to this, and depending on the configuration of the computer system, the capacity of the program to be provided, a program provided via a transmission medium such as the Internet via the communication unit 105 may also be used.

[0081] The computer program of this embodiment, for example, causes the computer to perform the steps of: acquiring congestion information indicating the congestion status of two rest facilities provided on the uphill and downhill lanes, respectively, corresponding to the same point on a toll road; and using the congestion information, determining a vehicle dispatch plan that includes a scheduled trip for a transport vehicle 7 capable of transporting users riding in vehicles parked at one of the two rest facilities, a parking facility, to the other rest facility, which is on the opposite lane.

[0082] The dispatch plan determination unit 13 shown in Figure 1 is realized by the execution of a computer program stored in the storage unit 103 shown in Figure 14 by the control unit 101 shown in Figure 14. The storage unit 103 shown in Figure 14 is also used to realize the dispatch plan determination unit 13 shown in Figure 1. The facility information storage unit 15 and transport vehicle information storage unit 16 shown in Figure 1 are part of the storage unit 103 shown in Figure 14. The congestion information acquisition unit 11, usage information acquisition unit 12, and vehicle communication unit 14 shown in Figure 1 are realized by the communication unit 105 shown in Figure 14. The control unit 101 is also used to realize the congestion information acquisition unit 11, usage information acquisition unit 12, and vehicle communication unit 14. Furthermore, the control system 1 may be realized by multiple computer systems. For example, the control system 1 may be realized by a cloud computer system.

[0083] The mobile terminal 3, the vehicle-mounted terminal 4, and the bus stop terminal 5 are similarly implemented by a computer system with the configuration shown in Figure 14. The user information generation units 34, 44, and 53 shown in Figure 1 are implemented by the control unit 101. The storage unit 103 shown in Figure 14 is also used to implement the user information generation units 34, 44, and 53. The communication units 31, 41, and 51 shown in Figure 1 are implemented by the communication unit 105 shown in Figure 14. The control unit 101 is also used to implement the communication units 31, 41, and 51. The input receiving units 32, 42, and 52 shown in Figure 1 are implemented by the input unit 102 shown in Figure 14. The information display units 35, 45, and 54 shown in Figure 1 are implemented by the display unit 104 shown in Figure 14. The position acquisition units 33 and 43 are implemented by a GPS receiver (not shown) and the control unit 101, for example.

[0084] The facility management system 6 is similarly implemented by a computer system with the configuration shown in Figure 14. The congestion management unit 62 shown in Figure 1 is implemented by the communication unit 105 and control unit 101 shown in Figure 14. The storage unit 103 shown in Figure 14 is also used to implement the congestion management unit 62. The congestion information transmission unit 61 shown in Figure 1 is implemented by the communication unit 105 shown in Figure 14. The control unit 101 is also used to implement the congestion information transmission unit 61. The facility management system 6 may be implemented by multiple computer systems. For example, the facility management system 6 may be implemented by a cloud computer system.

[0085] As described above, the control system 1 of this embodiment creates a dispatch plan for transport vehicles 7 that transport users who have parked their general vehicles at rest facilities in order to use the rest facilities, based on congestion information of rest facilities on toll roads. Therefore, the control system 1 of this embodiment can determine the dispatch plan for transport vehicles 7 in order to alleviate congestion at rest facilities on toll roads. In addition, it can reduce the waiting time for users at rest facilities due to congestion and improve user convenience.

[0086] Embodiment 2. Figure 15 shows an example of the configuration of the dispatch system according to Embodiment 2. As shown in Figure 15, the dispatch system 2a in this embodiment is the same as the dispatch system 2 shown in Figure 1, except that it includes control system 1a instead of control system 1. Components having the same functions as in Embodiment 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals as in Figure 1, and redundant explanations are omitted. The differences from Embodiment 1 will be mainly described below.

[0087] The control system 1a is the same as the control system 1 of Embodiment 1, except that it includes a dispatch plan determination unit 13a instead of the dispatch plan determination unit 13 of Embodiment 1, and a priority information storage unit 18 is added. However, in this embodiment, the facility information stored in the facility information storage unit 15 includes ancillary information, and the transport vehicle information stored in the transport vehicle information storage unit 16 includes ancillary information for each transport vehicle 7. The ancillary information is information indicating whether or not a vehicle has functions according to the user's attributes, such as being wheelchair accessible or having a diaper changing space. In this embodiment, the control system 1a determines the target facility according to the purpose in the usage information and the user's attributes, and assigns a transport vehicle 7 to the user according to the attributes. Furthermore, the control system 1a may maintain a correspondence between the user's identification information and attribute information, and by including the user's identification information in the usage information, the control system 1a may be able to grasp the user's attribute information. In addition, the control system 1a further determines the dispatch priority based on the user's attribute information and creates a dispatch plan using the determined priority. Attribute information indicating the user's attributes may, for example, be included in the usage information. Figure 15 shows an example configuration when creating a dispatch plan based on priority, but if equipment and transport vehicles 7 are allocated according to attributes without considering priority, the priority information storage unit 18 shown in Figure 15 does not need to be provided.

[0088] Figure 16 shows an example of usage information in this embodiment. As shown in Figure 16, the usage information in this embodiment includes request information, attribute information, and user identification information (user identification information), which is a user ID (Identifier). The request information includes the same information as the usage information shown in Figure 3, and the parking facility, which is a rest facility that the user wishes to use. In this embodiment, since the user makes a reservation before arriving at the rest facility, it may not be possible to identify the desired rest facility from the user's current location. Therefore, as shown in Figure 16, the parking facility may be included in the request information. The user ID may be determined when the user registers to make a reservation for the transport vehicle 7, or it may be determined when the user registers to use the comprehensive service related to toll roads, including the reservation of the transport vehicle 7. In the example shown in Figure 16, the usage information includes both the user ID and attribute information, but the usage information may not include either the user ID or the attribute information.

[0089] In the example shown in Figure 16, the attribute information includes whether a wheelchair is used, whether there are elderly passengers, whether there are pets, and whether there are infants. If a wheelchair is used, the number of wheelchairs may also be included in the attribute information. Note that the attribute information shown in Figure 16 is just an example; at least one of the items shown in Figure 16 may be used, and items other than those shown in Figure 16 may also be used as attribute information.

[0090] Figure 17 shows an example of transport vehicle information in this embodiment. As shown in Figure 17, the transport vehicle information in this embodiment has additional information added to the transport vehicle information of Embodiment 1. In the example shown in Figure 17, the additional information indicates whether wheelchairs are allowed, whether pets are allowed, and whether a child seat is available.

[0091] Figure 18 shows an example of facility information in this embodiment. As shown in Figure 18, the facility information in this embodiment has additional information added to the facility information of Embodiment 1. In the example shown in Figure 18, the additional information indicates that toilets #1 and #3 of the uphill facility 8 and toilets #1 and #3 of the downhill facility 9 are wheelchair accessible. The additional information is not limited to this and may also include information indicating the presence of other ancillary facilities, such as a diaper changing space.

[0092] Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The overall operation of the dispatch system 2a in this embodiment is the same as the operation shown in the sequence diagram of Figure 10, except that the content of the dispatch plan creation process in step S6 is slightly different.

[0093] Figure 19 is a flowchart showing an example of the process for creating a vehicle dispatch plan in this embodiment. As shown in Figure 19, the vehicle dispatch plan determination unit 13a determines candidate equipment to be used using request information, attribute information, and equipment ancillary information (step S31). Request information and attribute information are included in the usage information, as described above. Equipment ancillary information is ancillary information for each piece of equipment in the facility information. Specifically, the vehicle dispatch plan determination unit 13a selects equipment that matches the user's attribute information from among the equipment included in the facility information by referring to the ancillary information. For example, if the attribute information indicates that a wheelchair will be used, the vehicle dispatch plan determination unit 13a extracts equipment that corresponds to a wheelchair from among the equipment that matches the purpose in the request information, and sets the extracted equipment as a candidate for equipment to be used. In this way, the vehicle dispatch plan determination unit 13a determines candidate equipment to be used using the purpose, ancillary information indicating whether each piece of equipment has ancillary equipment corresponding to the attribute, and attribute information.

[0094] Steps S12, S13, S16, and S17 are the same as in Embodiment 1. Once the destination is determined in step S13, the dispatch plan determination unit 13a uses the determined destination, request information, attribute information, transport vehicle information, dispatch plan, and the current position of each transport vehicle 7 to determine the transport vehicle 7 that will perform the transport according to the user information (step S32). Specifically, the dispatch plan determination unit 13a refers to the supplementary information of the transport vehicle information and extracts the transport vehicle 7 that matches the attribute information. Then, from among the extracted transport vehicle 7, the dispatch plan determination unit 13a uses the determined destination, request information, transport vehicle information, dispatch plan, and the current position of each transport vehicle 7 to determine the transport vehicle 7 according to the user information, similar to step S14 in Embodiment 1. Step S15 after step S32 is the same as in Embodiment 1. Through the process shown in Figure 19, the control system 1a can assign a destination and transport vehicle 7 to the user according to the user's attributes.

[0095] Furthermore, the control system 1a may create a dispatch plan according to the priority of users based on attribute information. When a dispatch plan is created according to priority, priority information defining a priority policy is stored in the priority information storage unit 18 in advance. The policy may be a policy that determines priority based on attribute information included in the user information, such as wheelchair users or elderly users; a policy that prioritizes users with specific contracts; a policy that prioritizes users who frequently use rest facilities or toll roads; or a policy that combines these. A specific contract is, for example, a contract that allows for priority dispatch of transport vehicles 7 in exchange for payment of a fee.

[0096] When priorities are determined based on a specific contract (hereinafter referred to as "specific contract"), the priority information storage unit 18 stores correspondence information showing the relationship between the user ID and information indicating the existence or non-existence of a specific contract. Furthermore, when priorities are determined based on the number of times a rest facility or toll road has been used, the priority information storage unit 18 stores the number of uses for each user ID. Both the information indicating the existence or non-existence of a specific contract and the number of uses are examples of attribute information.

[0097] Furthermore, the control system 1a may subdivide the same store or facility and include congestion information for each subdivided unit. For example, congestion information may include congestion information for each toilet facility, by gender, for multi-purpose toilets, for group seating in restaurants, etc., and the control system 1a may determine the destination using the congestion information according to the attribute information.

[0098] Figure 20 shows an example of correspondence information stored in the priority information storage unit 18 of this embodiment. In the example shown in Figure 20, the correspondence information includes the user ID, the presence or absence of a specific contract, and the number of uses. When the number of uses of a rest facility is used as the number of uses, for example, each rest facility may be provided with a terminal for detecting user use, and when the user activates the application software on the mobile terminal 3 and touches the mobile terminal 3 to the terminal, the mobile terminal 3 may detect the use of the rest facility and obtain the user ID from the mobile terminal 3. Alternatively, when the user activates the application software for reserving the transport vehicle 7, the application software may detect the location of the mobile terminal 3 to detect the use of the rest facility, and information indicating that the rest facility has been used may be transmitted from the mobile terminal 3 to the control system 1a. The control system 1a obtains the user ID of the user who used the rest facility from the above terminal or mobile terminal 3, and each time the use of a user's rest facility is detected, it increases the number of uses in the attribute information by 1. Furthermore, when determining priority based on the number of uses of toll roads, the control system 1a may obtain the number of uses by obtaining the usage history from a toll collection system such as ETC (Electronic Toll Collection System). Figure 20 includes both the presence or absence of a specific contract and the number of uses as attribute information. However, if neither of these is used in calculating priority, the items not used in calculating priority do not need to be included in the attribute information.

[0099] Figure 21 shows an example of priority information in this embodiment. In the example shown in Figure 21, priority is shown in three levels. In the example shown in Figure 21, priority is set to "1" if the passengers include wheelchair users or elderly people, priority is set to "2" if infants are included, and priority is set to "3" in all other cases. Here, a smaller priority number indicates a higher priority. Note that priority is not limited to three levels and can be set in any number of levels, and Figure 21 is an example, and the correspondence between priority and attributes is not limited to the example shown in Figure 21.

[0100] Figure 22 shows another example of priority information in this embodiment. In the example shown in Figure 22, priority is shown in two levels. In the example shown in Figure 22, priority is set to "1" when the passenger is a passenger with a specific contract, and priority is set to "2" for all others.

[0101] Figure 23 is a flowchart showing an example of the dispatch plan creation process in this embodiment when priority is used. Figure 19 shows the process when one usage information is received, but when priority is used, the allocation process for transport vehicles 7 is performed collectively for one or more usage information received within a certain period of time. As shown in Figure 23, the dispatch plan determination unit 13a determines candidate equipment to be used for each usage information using request information, attribute information, and equipment ancillary information (step S34). Request information is included in the usage information as described above. Attribute information includes information included in the usage information and information stored in the priority information storage unit 18. The attribute information used in step S34 is attribute information for determining the target equipment, and for example, attribute information similar to the example shown in Figure 19 is used. Also, for example, if there is equipment that can only be used by users who meet certain conditions, such as having a specific contract in a restaurant district, this equipment may be selected as a candidate equipment for users who meet the specific conditions. That is, the dispatch plan determination unit 13a may determine candidate equipment to be used using the attribute information and equipment ancillary information obtained from the correspondence information and user ID in the usage information described above.

[0102] Steps S12, S13, S16, and S17 are the same as in Embodiment 1. When the destination is determined in step S13, the dispatch plan determination unit 13a uses the determined destination, request information, attribute information, transport vehicle information, dispatch plan, the current position of each transport vehicle 7, and priority information to determine the transport vehicle 7 that will perform the transport according to the usage information (step S35). Specifically, the dispatch plan determination unit 13a refers to the supplementary information of the transport vehicle information and extracts the transport vehicle 7 that matches the attribute information. Then, using the priority information, the dispatch plan determination unit 13a uses the determined destination, request information, transport vehicle information, dispatch plan, and the current position of each transport vehicle 7 to determine the transport vehicle 7 according to the usage information, starting with the usage information corresponding to high-priority users, from among the extracted transport vehicle 7, similar to step S14 in Embodiment 1. This makes it possible to allocate transport vehicle 7 with priority to usage information corresponding to high-priority users. Thus, the vehicle dispatch planning unit 13a may determine the priority in assigning the transport vehicles 7 based on the attribute information. Step S15 after step S35 is the same as in Embodiment 1.

[0103] Furthermore, the dispatch plan determination unit 13a may create a dispatch plan that sets the destination to a facility on the opposite side, regardless of whether the rest facility on the same side as the parking location is crowded, if the distance to the parking facility building, which is a rest facility on the same side as the parking location, is far, the user's attribute information indicates that the user is elderly or has a disability, and there is no route to transport the user to the rest facility building on the same side. In other words, the dispatch plan determination unit 13a may create a dispatch plan that includes a planned route for the transport vehicle 7 to travel from the parking facility, which is a rest facility on the same side as the parking location, to a facility on the opposite side of the road, based on attribute information indicating the user's attributes. Furthermore, the dispatch plan determination unit 13a may, for example, create a dispatch plan that includes a scheduled trip for the transport vehicle 7 to travel from the parking facility, which is a rest facility on the same side as the parking location, to the facility on the opposite lane, based on attribute information indicating the user's attributes, when the first distance, which is the distance from the parking location to the equipment within the parking facility, is longer than the second distance, which is the distance from the parking location to the bus stop within the parking facility, and the difference between the first distance and the second distance is greater than or equal to a threshold, regardless of the congestion status of the parking facility. In a normal rest facility, if a user is forced to park in a location far from the rest facility due to congestion in the parking lot, the walking distance from the parking location to the rest facility becomes long, which can impair user convenience. However, in this embodiment, by creating a dispatch plan that includes a scheduled trip for the transport vehicle 7 to travel from the parking facility, which is a rest facility on the same side as the parking location, to the facility on the opposite lane, based on attribute information indicating the user's attributes, user convenience can be improved.

[0104] The control system 1a of this embodiment is also implemented by a computer system, similar to the control system 1 of Embodiment 1. The dispatch plan determination unit 13a shown in Figure 15 is implemented by executing a computer program stored in the storage unit 103 shown in Figure 14 by the control unit 101 shown in Figure 14. The storage unit 103 shown in Figure 14 is also used to implement the dispatch plan determination unit 13a shown in Figure 15. The priority information storage unit 18 shown in Figure 15 is part of the storage unit 103 shown in Figure 14. Furthermore, the control system 1a may be implemented by multiple computer systems. For example, the control system 1a may be implemented by a cloud computer system.

[0105] As described above, the control system 1a of this embodiment creates a dispatch plan for transport vehicles 7 that transport users who have parked their general vehicles at rest facilities in order to use the rest facilities, based on user attribute information in addition to congestion information of rest facilities on toll roads. Therefore, the control system 1a of this embodiment has the same effects as the first embodiment and can dispatch vehicles according to the attributes of the users.

[0106] Embodiment 3. Figure 24 shows an example of the configuration of the dispatch system according to Embodiment 3. As shown in Figure 24, the dispatch system 2b in this embodiment is the same as the dispatch system 2 shown in Figure 1, except that it includes a control system 1b instead of a control system 1. Components having the same functions as in Embodiment 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals as in Figure 1, and redundant explanations are omitted. The differences from Embodiment 1 will be mainly described below.

[0107] The control system 1b of this embodiment acquires road information from the road information system 400. The road information is information that affects driving on toll roads, such as toll road congestion information and weather information, and includes, for example, at least one of toll road congestion information, construction information, regulation information, probe information, and weather information. Probe information, also called probe traffic information, is road traffic information generated based on information obtained from vehicles in motion. The control system 1b of this embodiment also accepts reservations for transport vehicles 7 even before the user arrives at the rest facility. When a user reserves a transport vehicle 7 before arriving at the rest facility, the estimated arrival time at the rest facility is required in order to determine the desired boarding time for the transport vehicle 7. Here, the usage information includes information indicating the current location of the general vehicle instead of the desired boarding time described in Embodiment 1, and the control system 1b determines the estimated arrival time based on the current location and uses the estimated arrival time as the desired boarding time. That is, when the control system 1b accepts a reservation before the user arrives at the rest facility, it uses the road information in the usage information to predict the arrival time of the user's general vehicle and creates a vehicle dispatch plan using the estimated arrival time. Here, we will explain an example in which the control system 1b determines the estimated arrival time. However, the control system 1b may also use the estimated arrival time obtained from the car navigation system in the user's general vehicle, which is then acquired from the vehicle-mounted terminal 4. Alternatively, the user may input the estimated arrival time as usage information based on the estimated arrival time determined by the car navigation system.

[0108] Furthermore, in this embodiment, if road information changes after a reservation is confirmed, causing the estimated arrival time of the user to change by a certain amount of time or more from the time of reservation, the control system 1b will recreate the dispatch plan. The control system 1b may also create the dispatch plan taking into account congestion on the route of the transport vehicle 7. The transport vehicle 7 mainly travels within rest facilities or on dedicated routes between rest facilities on the up and down lanes, but if the rest facilities are congested, the number of general vehicles and users will increase, which will increase the travel time of the transport vehicle 7. Also, in bad weather, the travel time of the transport vehicle 7 will increase. For this reason, the control system 1b may change the expected travel speed of the transport vehicle 7 when creating the dispatch plan, depending on the congestion status of the rest facilities, weather information, etc. Furthermore, if the transport vehicle 7 travels via general roads between rest facilities on the up and down lanes, the expected travel speed of the transport vehicle 7 may be changed using congestion information on general roads.

[0109] The control system 1b of this embodiment is the same as the control system 1 of Embodiment 1, except that it includes a dispatch plan determination unit 13b instead of the dispatch plan determination unit 13 of Embodiment 1, and a road information acquisition unit 19, an arrival time prediction unit 20, a congestion information storage unit 21, and a congestion prediction unit 22 are added.

[0110] The road information acquisition unit 19 acquires road information by receiving road information from the road information system 400 via the network and outputs the acquired road information to the arrival time prediction unit 20. In this embodiment, the usage information acquisition unit 12 outputs usage information to the vehicle dispatch plan determination unit 13b and the arrival time prediction unit 20. In this embodiment, users can reserve a transport vehicle 7 before arriving at the rest facility, and if a user reserves a transport vehicle 7 before arriving at the rest facility, the estimated arrival time at the rest facility is required to determine the desired boarding time for the transport vehicle 7. Here, the usage information includes information indicating the current location of the general vehicle instead of the desired boarding time as described in Embodiment 1, and the control system 1b determines the estimated arrival time based on the current location and uses the estimated arrival time as the desired boarding time.

[0111] The arrival time prediction unit 20 uses the current location included in the usage information received from the usage information acquisition unit 12 and the road information received from the road information acquisition unit 19 to calculate the estimated arrival time of the general vehicle corresponding to the usage information to the rest facility. Any method may be used to calculate the estimated arrival time based on the road information. The arrival time prediction unit 20 outputs the calculated estimated arrival time to the congestion prediction unit 22 and the dispatch plan determination unit 13b. The arrival time prediction unit 20 also receives notification of equipment candidates from the dispatch plan determination unit 13b and outputs the equipment candidates to the congestion prediction unit 22. The equipment candidates are equipment corresponding to the purpose described in Embodiment 1 and are candidates for equipment to be used. The equipment candidates may also be notified directly from the dispatch plan determination unit 13b to the congestion prediction unit 22.

[0112] In this embodiment, the congestion information acquisition unit 11 outputs the acquired congestion information to the dispatch plan determination unit 13b and stores it in the congestion information storage unit 21. The congestion forecasting unit 22 uses the congestion information stored in the congestion information storage unit 21 to forecast the congestion status of candidate rest facility equipment at the estimated arrival time received from the arrival time forecasting unit 20. The congestion forecasting unit 22 outputs the forecast value of the congestion status to the dispatch plan determination unit 13b. For example, the congestion status in the congestion information is represented numerically, and the average value of the congestion status for each time period of the day from past congestion information is calculated separately for weekdays and holidays. The congestion information acquisition unit 11 may use the average value of the time period corresponding to the estimated arrival time as the forecast value of the congestion status, or it may use the latest congestion status of the day multiplied by the ratio of the average value of the time period corresponding to the estimated arrival time to the average value of the time period corresponding to the time when the congestion status was acquired as the forecast value of the congestion status. Furthermore, the congestion forecasting unit 22 may calculate the average value of the congestion status for each time period of the day from past congestion information not only for weekdays and holidays but also for weather conditions. Alternatively, past congestion data may be used as ground truth data, and a machine learning model may be generated using this ground truth data along with input information such as whether it is a weekday or holiday, weather, and time of day corresponding to the congestion data. The congestion status may then be calculated by inputting the information such as whether it is a weekday or holiday, weather, and time of day for the predicted date and time into the machine learning model. Any method may be used to predict congestion status, and is not limited to the examples described above.

[0113] The dispatch plan determination unit 13b creates a dispatch plan in the same manner as in Embodiment 1, but uses the predicted congestion status received from the congestion forecast unit 22 for congestion status, and uses the predicted arrival time calculated by the arrival time forecast unit 20 as the scheduled boarding time to create the dispatch plan.

[0114] Furthermore, if reservations for transport vehicles 7 are accepted before the user arrives at the rest facility, the user has not parked their personal vehicle at the rest facility, and therefore the parking space for their personal vehicle has not been determined. For this reason, the user determines their desired boarding location based, for example, on the approximate location where they plan to park. Alternatively, the control system 1b may display the parking lot availability to the user, and the user may check the availability and determine the approximate location of the parking space where they will park. For example, the congestion information acquisition unit 11 of the control system 1b may acquire parking lot availability information at the rest facility from the facility management system 6 and output it to the dispatch plan determination unit 13b, and the dispatch plan determination unit 13b may transmit the parking lot availability information at the rest facility to the user terminal via the usage information acquisition unit 12.

[0115] Figure 25 shows an example of a display screen for parking space availability information in a rest facility according to this embodiment. In the example display screen shown in Figure 25, the parking lot is divided into areas A to F, the location of each area is shown on a map, and the availability of parking spaces in each area is also shown. The vehicle dispatch planning unit 13b displays information for displaying a screen like the one shown in Figure 25 as availability information to the user terminal, and the user terminal displays the display screen exemplified in Figure 25. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 25, by adding information indicating bus stops corresponding to available areas to the availability information, users can select the area where they plan to park and understand the corresponding bus stops.

[0116] Figure 26 is a flowchart showing an example of the process for creating a vehicle dispatch plan in this embodiment. Step S11 is the same as in Embodiment 1. After step S11, however, the usage information is assumed to contain the current location instead of the desired boarding time. Next, the vehicle dispatch plan determination unit 13b notifies the congestion prediction unit 22 of the candidate equipment (candidate equipment to be used).

[0117] The arrival time prediction unit 20 calculates the estimated arrival time of the user using road information and usage information (step S41). The arrival time prediction unit 20 outputs the estimated arrival time to the congestion prediction unit 22 and the dispatch plan determination unit 13b. Next, the congestion prediction unit 22 predicts the congestion status of candidate facilities at the estimated arrival time (step S42). The congestion prediction unit 22 outputs the predicted value of the congestion status of candidate facilities to the dispatch plan determination unit 13b. Steps S12, S13, S16, and S17 are the same as in Embodiment 1, but the predicted value of the congestion status is used as the congestion status in steps S12, S13, S16, and S17. After step S13, the dispatch plan determination unit 13b uses the determined destination, usage information, transport vehicle information, dispatch plan, the current position of each transport vehicle 7, and the estimated arrival time (estimated arrival time of general vehicles) to determine the transport vehicle 7 that will perform transport according to the usage information (step S43). Step S43 is the same as step S14 of Embodiment 1, except that the estimated arrival time is used instead of the desired boarding time, i.e., the estimated arrival time is used as the desired boarding time. Step S15 is the same as in Embodiment 1.

[0118] In this embodiment, the arrival time prediction unit 20 calculates the estimated arrival time to the parking facility using road information and the current location when usage information is acquired before the user arrives at the parking facility. The congestion prediction unit 22 predicts the congestion status of the facilities at the estimated arrival time, and the dispatch plan determination unit 13b uses the estimated arrival time and the congestion status predicted by the congestion prediction unit 22 to determine the travel schedule of the transport vehicle 7 to be assigned to the usage information. Alternatively, the dispatch plan determination unit 13b may predict the travel time required for the transport vehicle 7 to travel to the departure point in the trip corresponding to the usage information based on the current location of the transport vehicle 7 and the congestion status at the rest facility, and use the predicted travel time to determine the travel schedule of the transport vehicle 7.

[0119] Any method can be used to calculate the estimated arrival time of a user's general vehicle. For example, it may be calculated using the current time and the estimated travel time, and the estimated travel time may be calculated based on the type of road traveled to the destination, road congestion, distance, etc. For example, the correspondence between road type, condition (road conditions), and average speed may be defined in a table like the one below, and the arrival time prediction unit 20 calculates the estimated travel time from the user's general vehicle's current location to the rest facility, and the road type and condition from that current location to the rest facility. Road type Condition Average speed [km / h] Highway (normally 80) Highway congestion 40 Highway traffic jam 20 Main roads: Normal 40 Main road congestion 30 Main road congestion 10

[0120] For example, suppose the distance from the current location of a regular vehicle to the rest facility is 55 km, and the breakdown of the route from the current location to the rest facility is 15 km on a main road and 40 km on an expressway, with the main road being congested and the expressway being in normal condition. In this case, for example, the estimated travel time can be calculated using the following formula (1). Note that the table may be fixed or variable, and the way road types and conditions are categorized is not limited to the above example. Also, the prediction method in the arrival time prediction unit 20 is not limited to this example. 15[km] / 30[km / h]+40[km] / 80[km / h]=1.0[h] ...(1)

[0121] Furthermore, in this embodiment, if road information changes after a travel schedule corresponding to the usage information has been determined, i.e., after the reservation has been confirmed, the estimated arrival time is recalculated using the process shown in Figure 26. If the difference between the recalculated estimated arrival time and the estimated arrival time at the time the reservation was confirmed is greater than a certain amount of time, a vehicle dispatch plan is created.

[0122] Figure 27 is a flowchart illustrating the re-creation of the vehicle dispatch plan in this embodiment. The arrival time prediction unit 20 stores the estimated arrival time calculated in step S41, as well as the road information and usage information used to calculate the estimated arrival time. For usage information that has changed between the road information received from the road information acquisition unit 19 and the road information it holds, it performs the processing shown in Figure 27.

[0123] As shown in Figure 27, the arrival time prediction unit 20 determines whether the estimated arrival time of the user's vehicle (general vehicle) has changed by a certain amount of time or more from the estimated arrival time at the time the dispatch plan was created (step S44). In detail, for user information where there has been a change between the road information received from the road information acquisition unit 19 and the road information held by the unit, the arrival time prediction unit 20 calculates the estimated arrival time using the current location in the user information and the road information received from the road information acquisition unit 19. The arrival time prediction unit 20 determines whether the calculated estimated arrival time has changed by a certain amount of time or more from the held estimated arrival time, i.e., the estimated arrival time at the time the dispatch plan was created.

[0124] If the estimated arrival time of a user's vehicle changes by a certain amount of time from the estimated arrival time used when creating the dispatch plan (step S44 Yes), the dispatch plan determination unit 13b recreates the dispatch plan (step S45). Specifically, if the estimated arrival time of a user's vehicle changes by a certain amount of time from the estimated arrival time used when creating the dispatch plan, the arrival time prediction unit 20 outputs the calculated estimated arrival time and corresponding usage information to the dispatch plan determination unit 13b and the congestion prediction unit 22, and instructs the dispatch plan determination unit 13b and the congestion prediction unit 22 to recalculate. As a result, the processing from step S41 onwards shown in Figure 26 is performed again, and the dispatch plan is recreated. If the transport vehicle 7 corresponding to the user whose estimated arrival time has changed by a certain amount of time is also assigned to another user, the dispatch plan determination unit 13b assigns a different transport vehicle 7 to the user whose estimated arrival time has changed by a certain amount of time.

[0125] The dispatch plan determination unit 13b notifies each transport vehicle 7 of its planned travel time based on the recreated dispatch plan (step S46). More specifically, it notifies each transport vehicle 7 of its planned travel time via the usage information acquisition unit 12. If the estimated arrival time has not changed for a certain period of time or more from the time the dispatch plan was created (step S44 No), the dispatch plan determination unit 13b terminates the process.

[0126] In this manner, the arrival time prediction unit 20 calculates the estimated arrival time using road information after the travel schedule based on the usage information has been determined, and determines whether the difference between the calculated estimated arrival time and the estimated arrival time at the time the travel schedule was determined is greater than or equal to a certain value. If the arrival time prediction unit 20 determines that the above difference is greater than or equal to a certain value, the dispatch plan determination unit 13b re-determines the travel schedule corresponding to the usage information.

[0127] In the example described above, the estimated arrival time of a regular vehicle was calculated, but the dispatch plan determination unit 13b may create a dispatch plan considering congestion along the route of the transport vehicle 7. For example, the dispatch plan determination unit 13b may calculate the time when the transport vehicle 7 will arrive at the departure point, taking into account the congestion level within the rest facility. Furthermore, if the time when the transport vehicle 7 will arrive at the departure point changes by a certain amount of time from the time of reservation, the dispatch plan may be recreated.

[0128] Alternatively, at least a portion of the rest facility's parking lot may be reserved, and the control system 1b may handle the acceptance and management of parking lot reservations. In this case, the desired boarding location can be determined based on the parking lot reservation results. Or, at least a portion of the rest facility's parking lot may be reserved, and the control system 1b may obtain parking lot reservation results from a parking lot reservation management system (not shown) and determine the desired boarding location based on the obtained reservation results.

[0129] The control system 1b of this embodiment is also implemented by a computer system, similar to the control system 1 of Embodiment 1. The dispatch plan determination unit 13b, arrival time prediction unit 20, and congestion prediction unit 22 shown in Figure 24 are implemented by executing a computer program stored in the storage unit 103 shown in Figure 14 by the control unit 101 shown in Figure 14. The storage unit 103 shown in Figure 14 is also used to implement the dispatch plan determination unit 13b, arrival time prediction unit 20, and congestion prediction unit 22 shown in Figure 24. The congestion information storage unit 21 shown in Figure 24 is part of the storage unit 103 shown in Figure 14. The road information acquisition unit 19 shown in Figure 24 is implemented by the communication unit 105 shown in Figure 14. Furthermore, the control system 1b may be implemented by multiple computer systems. For example, the control system 1b may be implemented by a cloud computer system.

[0130] As described above, the control system 1b of this embodiment accepts reservations for transport vehicles 7 even before the user arrives at the rest facility. When a user reserves a transport vehicle 7 before arriving at the rest facility, the system calculates the estimated arrival time, sets the estimated arrival time as the desired boarding time, and creates a dispatch plan considering the congestion situation at the estimated arrival time. Therefore, the control system 1b of this embodiment achieves the same effects as the first embodiment, and because users can reserve a transport vehicle 7 before arriving at the rest facility, they can use the transport vehicle 7 promptly upon arrival. Furthermore, if the estimated arrival time changes by a certain period of time, the dispatch plan can be recreated, allowing for appropriate dispatching when the conditions on the toll road change. For example, if the estimated arrival time is delayed from the time of reservation, and the dispatch plan is not changed, the transport vehicle 7 would have to wait until the user arrives, resulting in waiting time. However, by updating the estimated arrival time and recreating the dispatch plan, the transport vehicle 7 can be used effectively.

[0131] Furthermore, by combining Embodiment 2 and this embodiment, even when attribute information is considered as in Embodiment 2, the reservation of the transport vehicle 7 may be accepted before the user arrives at the rest facility, and the estimated arrival time may be calculated to create a vehicle dispatch plan.

[0132] Embodiment 4. Figure 28 shows an example of the configuration of the dispatch system according to Embodiment 4. As shown in Figure 28, the dispatch system 2c in this embodiment is the same as the dispatch system 2 shown in Figure 1, except that it includes a control system 1c instead of a control system 1. Components having the same functions as in Embodiment 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals as in Figure 1, and redundant explanations are omitted. The differences from Embodiment 1 will be mainly described below.

[0133] In this embodiment, the control system 1c creates a dispatch plan not only for the first journey (travel to the destination) but also for the journey from the destination (second journey) when a user reserves a transport vehicle 7. Furthermore, the control system 1c in this embodiment can also consider not only rest facility users who travel on toll roads and use rest facilities, but also the crew of the transport vehicle 7 and facility employees, such as employees of shops in the rest facilities (in this case, offices, etc.), as users of the transport vehicle 7. The crew of the transport vehicle 7 and employees of the rest facilities will hereafter be referred to as facility employees. If the user of the transport vehicle 7 is a facility employee, the control system 1c obtains the work schedule and crew schedule from the external information provision system 401 which manages work schedules and crew schedules, and if the user is a crew member or employee, it creates a dispatch plan for the second journey based on the work schedule and crew schedule.

[0134] The control system 1c of this embodiment is the same as the control system 1 of Embodiment 1, except that it includes a dispatch plan determination unit 13c instead of the dispatch plan determination unit 13 of Embodiment 1, and an external information acquisition unit 23, an external information storage unit 24, and a dispatch rule storage unit 25 are added.

[0135] The external information acquisition unit 23 receives work schedules and duty schedules from the external information provision system 401, acquires work schedules and duty schedules, and stores the acquired work schedules and duty schedules as external information in the external information storage unit 24. The dispatch rule storage unit 25 stores dispatch rules, which are the rules for dispatching vehicles for the second trip for each type of user. The type of user is, for example, a type indicating whether they are a rest facility user or a facility employee. Rest facility users may be further divided into users who arrive at the rest facility by bus, such as a tour bus or route bus, drivers of transport vehicles such as trucks, and general users who are other users. When the dispatch plan determination unit 13c receives usage information, it creates a dispatch plan for the first trip in the same manner as in Embodiment 1, determines the destination of the second trip which is a trip from the destination of the first trip, and creates a dispatch plan for the second trip.

[0136] Figure 29 shows an example of the dispatch rules in this embodiment. In the example shown in Figure 29, the dispatch rules are defined separately for users of the rest facility, divided into users who arrive at the rest facility by bus, such as tour buses and route buses (labeled "tour buses, route buses" in Figure 29), drivers of transport vehicles used for logistics, and general users. When creating a dispatch plan that distinguishes users who arrive at the rest facility by bus, the travel plan, including the scheduled departure time (the time the bus is scheduled to depart from the rest facility), is obtained in advance from the bus management system or facility management system 6 (not shown). Furthermore, when creating a dispatch plan that distinguishes general users from drivers of transport vehicles, the control system 1c obtains, for example, the work schedule (duty schedule) of the transport vehicle drivers from the logistics management system (not shown). Note that the usage information corresponding to the reservation of the first travel is not limited to the example of being transmitted from the mobile terminal 3, the vehicle-mounted terminal 4, the bus stop terminal 5, etc., but may also be transmitted from, for example, the bus management system, the logistics management system, or other external systems.

[0137] In the example shown in Figure 29, the departure point for the second trip is always the destination of the first trip. For general users, the departure time for the second trip is "the estimated arrival time or arrival time of the first trip + estimated facility usage time," and the destination for the second trip is the boarding location of the first trip. Furthermore, if the user specifies the time of completion of facility use, the departure time for the second trip in the general user's dispatch rules is a certain time after the time of completion of facility use. The time of completion of facility use is, for example, the time of notification of charging completion if the user's general vehicle is an electric vehicle and the vehicle is being charged, or the time of closing the restaurant if the user uses a restaurant. The control system 1c is notified of the time of charging completion from, for example, the facility management system 6 which manages the charging equipment in the rest facility. Regarding the time of closing the restaurant, for example, it is the time of payment, or, in the case of pre-payment, a certain time after that time the restaurant notifies the control system 1c from the restaurant. Note that the method of obtaining the time of completion of facility use is not limited to these examples. Furthermore, for users arriving at the rest facility by bus, the departure time for the second journey is a certain amount of time before the scheduled departure time from the facility according to the bus's travel plan, and the destination for the second journey is the boarding location for the first journey or the scheduled departure location of the bus. Furthermore, for transport vehicle drivers, the departure time for the second journey is a certain amount of time before the scheduled departure time of the transport vehicle they are scheduled to drive according to their work (duty) plan, and the destination for the second journey is the boarding location for the first journey or the scheduled departure location of the transport vehicle they are scheduled to drive. Furthermore, for facility employees, the departure time for the second journey is a certain amount of time before the scheduled start time of work according to their work plan, and the destination for the second journey is the scheduled workplace. The rules shown in Figure 29 are examples, and for facility employees, the rest facility manager or other relevant person should decide what circumstances to consider when determining the dispatch plan for the second journey, and then establish dispatch rules in accordance with that decision.

[0138] Figure 30 is a flowchart showing an example of the process for creating a vehicle dispatch plan in this embodiment. Steps S11, S12, S13, S16, and S17 are the same as in Embodiment 1. However, in this embodiment, for users riding the bus, a representative manager creates the usage information, and the usage information includes information indicating that the user is a bus rider. Similarly, when a transport vehicle driver or facility employee makes a reservation, the usage information includes information indicating that the user is a transport vehicle driver or facility employee.

[0139] After step S13, the dispatch plan determination unit 13c determines the transport vehicles 7 for the first move, similar to step S14 (step S51). That is, the dispatch plan determination unit 13c uses the determined destination, usage information, transport vehicle information, dispatch plan, and the current position of each transport vehicle 7 to determine the transport vehicles 7 that will perform the transport for the first move according to the usage information. The dispatch plan determination unit 13c determines the travel schedule of the transport vehicles 7 to be used for the first move, similar to step S15 in Embodiment 1 (step S52).

[0140] Next, the dispatch plan determination unit 13c determines the transport vehicle 7 that will transport the second movement using the information regarding the first movement and the dispatch rules (step S53). Note that the creation of the dispatch plan for the second movement may be performed immediately after the creation of the dispatch plan for the first movement, or it may not be performed immediately but closer to the time of the second movement. In detail, in step S53, the dispatch plan determination unit 13c determines the destination and scheduled departure time of the second movement using the destination and scheduled arrival time of the first movement and the dispatch rules stored in the dispatch rule storage unit 25, and then uses the determined result to determine the transport vehicle 7 to be assigned to the second movement using the transport vehicle information and the dispatch plan. For example, if the usage information is usage information corresponding to specific users who are transport vehicle drivers and facility employees, the dispatch plan determination unit 13c determines the destination and scheduled arrival time of the second movement using the work schedule of the specific users. Next, the travel schedule for the transport vehicle 7 to be used for the second move is determined (step S54). Then, the dispatch plan determination unit 13c updates the dispatch plan using the travel schedule for the first move and the travel schedule for the second move (step S55). The travel schedule for the first move and the travel schedule for the second move are transmitted to the corresponding transport vehicle 7.

[0141] The control system 1c of this embodiment is also implemented by a computer system, similar to the control system 1 of Embodiment 1. The dispatch plan determination unit 13c shown in Figure 28 is implemented by executing a computer program stored in the storage unit 103 shown in Figure 14 by the control unit 101 shown in Figure 14. The storage unit 103 shown in Figure 14 is also used to implement the dispatch plan determination unit 13c shown in Figure 28. The external information storage unit 24 and the dispatch rule storage unit 25 shown in Figure 28 are part of the storage unit 103 shown in Figure 14. The external information acquisition unit 23 shown in Figure 28 is implemented by the communication unit 105 shown in Figure 14. Furthermore, the control system 1c may be implemented by multiple computer systems. For example, the control system 1c may be implemented by a cloud computer system.

[0142] As described above, the control system 1c of this embodiment creates a dispatch plan not only for the first journey to the destination, but also for the second journey, which is the journey from the destination of the first journey. Therefore, the control system 1c of this embodiment achieves the same effects as the first embodiment, while also eliminating the need for the user to make a reservation for the second journey, thereby improving user convenience and enabling the efficient creation of dispatch plans.

[0143] Furthermore, by combining Embodiment 2 and this embodiment, a second transportation dispatch plan may be created even when attribute information is considered as in Embodiment 2. By combining Embodiment 3 and this embodiment, a second transportation dispatch plan may be created even when the user makes a reservation before arrival as in Embodiment 3. Embodiments 2 and 3 may also be combined with this embodiment.

[0144] Embodiment 5. Figure 31 shows an example of the configuration of the dispatch system according to Embodiment 5. As shown in Figure 31, the dispatch system 2d in this embodiment is the same as the dispatch system 2 shown in Figure 1, except that it includes a control system 1d instead of a control system 1. Components having the same functions as in Embodiment 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals as in Figure 1, and redundant explanations are omitted. The differences from Embodiment 1 will be mainly described below.

[0145] The control system 1d in this embodiment determines the travel schedule of the transport vehicle 7, similar to the first embodiment, and also determines the waiting location for the transport vehicle 7 during times when it is not scheduled to travel.

[0146] As shown in Figure 31, the control system 1d is the same as the control system 1 of Embodiment 1, except that it includes a dispatch plan determination unit 13d instead of a dispatch plan determination unit 13, and a road information acquisition unit 19 similar to that of Embodiment 2 is added. The road information acquisition unit 19 acquires road information from a road information system 400 similar to that of Embodiment 2 and outputs the acquired road information to the dispatch plan determination unit 13d.

[0147] The dispatch planning unit 13d, similar to Embodiment 1, determines the transport vehicle 7 corresponding to the usage information and determines the travel schedule for the transport vehicle 7. Furthermore, based on road information, if the dispatch planning unit 13d anticipates high usage of the transport vehicle 7 at at least one of the uphill or downhill rest facilities, it determines a waiting location for transport vehicle 7 that is not scheduled to travel at a frequently used bus stop or near such a bus stop and instructs the transport vehicle 7 to do so. Alternatively, when the rest facility is crowded, the dispatch planning unit 13d may determine a waiting location for transport vehicle 7 that is not scheduled to travel at a frequently used bus stop or near such a bus stop and instruct the transport vehicle 7 to do so. Or, instead of designating one waiting location, the dispatch planning unit 13d may designate a circular route that makes stops at frequently used bus stops. Frequently used bus stops may be predetermined, or they may be, for example, bus stops that have been designated as departure and destination locations many times in past usage information. The dispatch plan determination unit 13d may store previously designated departure points and determined destinations, and determine frequently used bus stops based on past performance. In other words, the dispatch plan determination unit 13d may use road information and previously acquired usage information to determine waiting locations for transport vehicles 7 that will not be used within a certain period of time.

[0148] Figure 32 is a flowchart showing an example of the waiting area determination process in this embodiment. The dispatch plan determination unit 13d performs the process shown in Figure 32 when it is expected that the transport vehicles 7 will be in high demand, for example, using road information. When it is expected that the transport vehicles 7 will be in high demand, such as when toll roads are congested, or during rain, snowfall, or strong winds. For example, the conditions for determining that the transport vehicles 7 will be in high demand are predetermined, and the dispatch plan determination unit 13d determines that the transport vehicles 7 will be in high demand when it determines that these conditions are met using road information. Alternatively, it may determine that the transport vehicles 7 will be in high demand when rest facilities are crowded, using congestion information or the congestion status of parking lots.

[0149] As shown in Figure 32, it is determined whether or not there are any transport vehicles 7 that will not be used for a certain period of time (step S61). In detail, the dispatch plan determination unit 13d refers to the dispatch plan stored in the dispatch plan storage unit 17 and determines whether or not there are any transport vehicles 7 that will not be used for a certain period of time from the present.

[0150] If there are transport vehicles 7 that will not be used for a certain period of time (step S61 Yes), the system determines a waiting location for the transport vehicles 7 that will not be used for a certain period of time (step S62), and terminates the waiting location determination process. Specifically, if the dispatch plan determination unit 13d determines, for example, that the uphill lane is congested by referring to road information, it determines that the waiting location for at least some of the transport vehicles 7 that will not be used for a certain period of time will be a frequently used bus stop at the uphill facility 8 or a waiting location near such a bus stop. Similarly, if the dispatch plan determination unit 13d determines that the downhill lane is congested, it determines that the waiting location for at least some of the transport vehicles 7 that will not be used for a certain period of time will be a frequently used bus stop at the downhill facility 9 or a waiting location near such a bus stop. Furthermore, in step S62, the transport vehicles 7 to be targeted for determining the waiting location may be all transport vehicles 7 that are not in use for a certain period of time. Alternatively, an upper limit may be set for the number of transport vehicles 7 to be targeted for determining the waiting location, and if the total number of transport vehicles 7 that are not in use for a certain period of time exceeds this upper limit, waiting locations will be determined for the number of transport vehicles 7 up to the upper limit. If there are multiple transport vehicles 7 to be targeted for determining the waiting location, the dispatch plan determination unit 13d may have them wait at multiple waiting locations. For example, if there are multiple frequently used bus stops, the transport vehicles 7 may be dispersed among these bus stops and made to wait. Also, as mentioned above, the waiting locations may be circular routes that include frequently used bus stops.

[0151] After the waiting location determination process, the dispatch plan determination unit 13d updates the dispatch plan by reflecting the determined waiting location and transmits the waiting location corresponding to the target transport vehicle 7 via the vehicle communication unit 14.

[0152] In the example described above, the process shown in Figure 32 was performed when it was expected that transport vehicle 7 would be used frequently, based on road information. However, the process shown in Figure 32 could also be performed periodically without relying on road information, i.e., without relying on congestion levels, weather information, etc.

[0153] Alternatively, the correlation between road information and desired pick-up locations from past usage data can be determined using statistical processing or machine learning, and the determined correlation can be used in conjunction with the current road information to determine the waiting area. This allows for the selection of waiting areas that are highly likely to be designated as desired pick-up locations based on road information.

[0154] The control system 1d of this embodiment is also implemented by a computer system, similar to the control system 1 of Embodiment 1. The dispatch plan determination unit 13d shown in Figure 31 is implemented by executing a computer program stored in the storage unit 103 shown in Figure 14 by the control unit 101 shown in Figure 14. The storage unit 103 shown in Figure 14 is also used to implement the dispatch plan determination unit 13d shown in Figure 31. The road information acquisition unit 19 shown in Figure 31 is implemented by the communication unit 105 shown in Figure 14. Furthermore, the control system 1d may be implemented by multiple computer systems. For example, the control system 1d may be implemented by a cloud computer system.

[0155] As described above, the control system 1d of this embodiment creates a dispatch plan in the same manner as in Embodiment 1, and also refers to road information to determine a waiting location for transport vehicles 7 that will not be used for a certain period of time, in a location where transport vehicles 7 are expected to be frequently used. Therefore, the control system 1d of this embodiment has the same effects as in Embodiment 1, and can increase the probability that the time it takes for the transport vehicle 7 to travel to the desired boarding location will be shorter when a user arrives at a rest facility and reserves a transport vehicle 7, thereby reducing the average waiting time for users.

[0156] Furthermore, this embodiment may be combined with one or more of Embodiments 2, 3, and 4.

[0157] The configurations shown in the above embodiments are merely examples, and it is possible to combine them with other known technologies, combine different embodiments, and omit or modify parts of the configuration without departing from the gist of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0158] 1,1a,1b,1c,1d Control system, 2,2a,2b,2c,2d Dispatch system, 3 Mobile terminal, 4 Vehicle-mounted terminal, 5,5-1~5-8 Stop terminal, 6 Facility management system, 7 Transport vehicle, 8 Upbound facility, 9 Downbound facility, 11 Congestion information acquisition unit, 12 Usage information acquisition unit, 13,13a,13b,13c,13d Dispatch plan determination unit, 14 Vehicle communication unit, 15 Facility information storage unit, 16 Transport vehicle information storage unit, 17 Dispatch plan storage unit, 18 Priority information storage unit, 19 Road information acquisition unit, 20 Arrival time prediction unit, 21 Congestion information storage unit, 22 Congestion prediction unit, 23 External information acquisition unit, 24 External information storage unit, 25 Dispatch rule storage unit, 31,41,51,71 Communication unit, 32,42,52 Input reception unit, 33, 43, 73 Location acquisition unit, 34, 44, 53 Usage information generation unit, 35, 45, 54 Information display unit, 61 Congestion information transmission unit, 62 Congestion management unit, 72 Plan storage unit, 74 Vehicle control unit, 75 Vehicle components, 81, 91 Parking lot, 83-1~83-3, 93-1~93-3 Toilets, 84, 84-1, 84-2, 94 Restaurant area, 85, 86, 95, 96, 861, 862 Parking space, 87-1, 87-2 Entrance / exit, 88-1, 88-2 Ramen shop, 300, 301, 302 Driving route, 400 Road information system, 401 External information provision system.

Claims

1. A congestion information acquisition unit that acquires congestion information indicating the congestion status of the facilities, A dispatch plan determination unit determines a dispatch plan including the scheduled travel time of transport vehicles that will transport the user to the destination corresponding to the equipment used by the user, using the aforementioned congestion information. Equipped with, The aforementioned vehicle dispatch planning unit, Based on parking location correspondence information that shows the correspondence between the parking space where the user parks their general vehicle and the stopping position of the transport vehicle, the boarding position where the user boards the transport vehicle is calculated. A control system characterized by the following features.

2. The vehicle dispatch plan determination unit is: Based on the location information of the parking space and the location information of the user, the system identifies the parking space where the user parked their general vehicle. The control system according to feature 1.

3. The vehicle dispatch plan determination unit is: The control system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, in accordance with the congestion information, it determines a disembarking position for the user to alight from the transport vehicle, corresponding to the facility that is not congested.

4. The congestion information includes information indicating the congestion status for each facility, A user information acquisition unit that acquires user information, including the purpose for which the user will use the equipment, from a user terminal that can be operated by the user. Equipped with, The control system according to any one of 1 to 3, characterized in that the dispatch plan determination unit determines candidate equipment to be used by the user using the purpose included in the usage information acquired by the usage information acquisition unit, selects a purpose equipment which corresponds to the usage information from the candidates using the congestion information, determines the destination of the transport vehicle corresponding to the usage information based on the selected purpose equipment, and determines the travel schedule of the transport vehicle to be assigned to the usage information using the determined destination.

5. The aforementioned facilities include restrooms and a restaurant area. The control system according to claim 4, characterized in that the aforementioned purpose is either the use of a toilet or a meal.

6. The aforementioned usage information includes attribute information indicating the attributes of the aforementioned user, The control system according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the dispatch plan determination unit determines the candidate using the objective, ancillary information indicating whether or not each piece of equipment has ancillary equipment corresponding to the attribute, and the attribute information.

7. The aforementioned usage information includes user identification information, which is the user identification information. The control system according to any one of 4 to 6, characterized in that the dispatch plan determination unit determines the candidate using the objective, correspondence information indicating the correspondence between the user identification information and attribute information indicating the user's attributes, and ancillary information indicating whether or not each piece of equipment has ancillary equipment corresponding to the attributes.

8. The control system according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the vehicle dispatch planning unit determines the priority in the allocation of the transport vehicles based on the attribute information.

9. The control system according to any one of claims 4 to 8, characterized in that the vehicle dispatch planning unit determines the movement to the destination as the first movement, determines the transport vehicle to be assigned to the second movement which is the movement from the destination of the first movement, and determines the scheduled travel time of the transport vehicle in the second movement.

10. A management system for managing congestion information that indicates the congestion status of facilities, A control system that acquires the congestion information from the management system and uses the congestion information to determine a dispatch plan including the scheduled travel time of transport vehicles that will transport the user to the destination corresponding to the equipment used by the user, Equipped with, The aforementioned control system, Based on parking location correspondence information that shows the correspondence between the parking space where the user parks their general vehicle and the stopping position of the transport vehicle, the boarding position where the user boards the transport vehicle is calculated. A dispatch system characterized by the following features.

11. A method for creating a vehicle dispatch plan in an air traffic control system, A step to obtain congestion information that shows the congestion status of the facilities, A decision step in which, using the aforementioned congestion information, a dispatch plan is determined, including the scheduled route of transport vehicles that will transport the user to the destination corresponding to the equipment used by the user. Includes, In the aforementioned decision step, Based on parking location correspondence information that shows the correspondence between the parking space where the user parks their general vehicle and the stopping position of the transport vehicle, the boarding position where the user boards the transport vehicle is calculated. A method for creating a vehicle dispatch plan, characterized by the features described herein.

12. On the computer, A step to obtain congestion information that shows the congestion status of the facilities, A decision step in which, using the aforementioned congestion information, a dispatch plan is determined, including the scheduled route of transport vehicles that will transport the user to the destination corresponding to the equipment used by the user. A computer program that causes the execution of In the aforementioned decision step, Based on parking location correspondence information that shows the correspondence between the parking space where the user parks their general vehicle and the stopping position of the transport vehicle, the boarding position where the user boards the transport vehicle is calculated. A computer program characterized by the following features.

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