Charter bus order and receiving system, charter bus processing method, and charter bus processing program

Abstract

To build a system useful for both travel companies and bus enterprises.SOLUTION: A chartered bus order taking and placing system is provided, comprising a server 1 executing information processing between a plurality of travel company devices 2 and a plurality of bus enterprise devices 3. The chartered bus order taking and placing system comprises: storage means 111 that stores bus enterprise condition information indicating conditions for a bus enterprise side that can be input from the bus enterprise device 3; extraction means 112 that, on the basis of user condition information indicating conditions for a user side of a chartered bus that can be input from the travel company device 2 and the bus enterprise condition information, extracts a bus enterprise that can provide a chartered bus satisfying both the conditions for the user side and the conditions for the bus enterprise side; calculation means 113 that calculates fees for the chartered bus in the bus enterprise extracted by the extraction means 112 on the basis of the user condition information and the bus enterprise condition information; and output means 114 that outputs estimate information based on the fee calculated by the calculation means 113 to the travel company device 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a chartered bus order receiving system, a chartered bus processing method, and a chartered bus processing program that perform various processes such as quotation generation and order receiving for chartered bus services.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a chartered bus service (general chartered passenger vehicle transportation business) that charters a bus for a predetermined period for school trips, company trips, etc. has been known. When using a chartered bus service, many end-users apply to a travel company (including travel agencies, travel agents, travel brokers, etc.), and the travel company applies for a chartered bus to the bus operator on behalf of the end-user. Specifically, the travel company requests a quotation from the bus operator based on the information (travel period, departure place, arrival place, etc.) provided by the end-user at the time of application. The travel company can also request quotations (multiple quotations) from multiple bus operators. By doing so, the travel company can make a reservation for a chartered bus after checking for an inexpensive bus operator.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a chartered bus reservation system. In this chartered bus reservation system, a management server that receives reservation requests from users is provided on the Internet. The user transmits desired conditions including a budget to the management server using a terminal, and when bus information that satisfies all the desired conditions is provided from the management server, if there is desired bus information, the reservation request information is transmitted to the management server. The management server searches for bus information that satisfies the user's desired conditions from the registered data, transmits the bus information to the user's terminal if there is any, and when a reservation request is received from the terminal, notifies this reservation request to the terminal of the corresponding bus operator via the Internet.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-373280 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0005] However, this charter bus reservation system takes into account the user's preferences, but it does not take into account the requirements of the bus operators at all. Furthermore, while the "user" in Patent Document 1 refers to the end user, in reality, travel agencies often act as agents when dealing with bus operators. Furthermore, with numerous travel agencies in existence, bus operators may want to differentiate their pricing based on their relationship with the travel agency, offering services to agency A at a lower or higher price than to agency B. In addition, regarding general chartered passenger transportation businesses, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has stipulated upper and lower limits on fares and charges (unit prices), and bus operators are required to submit quotations that meet these regulations. This necessitated an improvement to the conventional manual method.

[0006] The present invention was proposed to solve the problems of the conventional technology described above, and aims to provide a charter bus order and receiving system, a charter bus processing method, and a charter bus processing program that enable travel companies to smoothly obtain quotes from various bus operators and make charter bus reservations, and enable bus operators to automatically generate quotes that meet regulations while taking into account the conditions of the bus operators. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In view of the above issues, a charter bus order and receiving system according to one aspect of the present invention is a charter bus order and receiving system equipped with a server that performs information processing between multiple travel agency devices and multiple bus operator devices, comprising: a storage means for storing bus operator condition information indicating conditions on the bus operator side that can be input by the bus operator device; and a user condition information indicating conditions on the user side of a charter bus that can be input by the travel agency device and the bus operator condition information, which satisfies both the user side conditions and the bus operator side conditions. charter bus The system includes an extraction means for selecting bus operators capable of providing the service from among multiple bus operators; a calculation means for calculating the price of a chartered bus from the bus operators selected by the extraction means, based on the user condition information and the bus operator condition information; and an output means for outputting an estimate information based on the price calculated by the calculation means to the travel agency device.

[0008] Furthermore, another aspect of the present invention relates to a charter bus processing method which performs information processing between multiple travel agency devices and multiple bus operator devices. charter bus In the processing method, the first step is to store bus operator condition information indicating the conditions on the bus operator side that can be input by the bus operator device, and the second step is to satisfy both the user conditions and the bus operator conditions based on the user condition information indicating the conditions on the user side of a chartered bus that can be input by the travel agency device and the bus operator condition information. charter bus The system includes a second step of extracting bus operators capable of providing the service from among multiple bus operators, a third step of calculating the price of the chartered bus at the bus operators extracted in the second step based on the user conditions information and the bus operator conditions information, and a fourth step of outputting the estimated price based on the price calculated in the third step to the travel agency device.

[0009] Furthermore, a chartered bus processing program according to another aspect of the present invention provides a computer that performs information processing between multiple travel agency devices and multiple bus operator devices, storage means for storing bus operator condition information indicating conditions on the bus operator side that can be input by the bus operator devices, user condition information indicating conditions on the user side of chartered buses that can be input by the travel agency devices, and based on the bus operator condition information, a computer that satisfies both the user side conditions and the bus operator side conditions. charter bus The system is configured to function as an extraction means for selecting bus operators capable of providing the service from among multiple bus operators, a calculation means for calculating the price of a chartered bus from the bus operators selected by the extraction means based on the user condition information and the bus operator condition information, and an output means for outputting an estimate based on the price calculated by the calculation means to the travel agency device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a charter bus service that is useful for both travel agencies and bus operators. Furthermore, according to the present invention, estimates that meet the specified criteria can be generated easily and accurately. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram of a charter bus order and receiving system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a hardware configuration diagram for the server. [Figure 3] This is a hardware configuration diagram of the travel agency's equipment. [Figure 4] This is a hardware configuration diagram of the bus operator's equipment. [Figure 5] This is a diagram illustrating the functional configuration of the server. [Figure 6] This is a diagram of the database structure. [Figure 7] This is a diagram showing an example of an AGT master. [Figure 8] This is a diagram showing an example of a bus operator master data. [Figure 9]It is a chart showing an example of a vehicle compartment details master. [Figure 10] It is a chart showing an example of a branch office master. [Figure 11] It is a chart showing an example of an AGT group master. [Figure 12] It is a chart showing an example of an AGT group freight master. [Figure 13] It is a chart showing an example of a guide fee master. [Figure 14] It is a chart showing an example of a Hokkaido Transport Bureau master. [Figure 15] It is a chart showing an example of an outside business area master. [Figure 16] It is a chart showing an example of a freight and fee master. [Figure 17] It is a chart showing an example of an AGT group freight calendar. [Figure 18] It is a chart showing an example of an estimate list. [Figure 19] It is a chart showing an example of vehicle usage status information. [Figure 20] It is a chart showing an example of OB setting information. [Figure 21] It is an explanatory diagram of the OB function. [Figure 22] It is a time chart showing the method of handling chartered buses. [Figure 23] It is a flowchart showing the method of generating estimate information. [Figure 24] It is a diagram showing an example of an estimate request input screen. [Figure 25] It is a diagram showing an example of an estimate schedule. [Figure 26] It is a flowchart showing the procedure of arrangement processing. [Figure 27] It is a flowchart showing the procedure of modification and deletion.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] A preferred embodiment of the chartered bus order receiving and placing system of the present invention will be described.

[0013] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a charter bus order and receiving system according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the charter bus order and receiving system of this embodiment comprises a server 1, a travel agency device 2, a bus operator device 3, and a map search site 4. Server 1 is connected to travel agency equipment 2, which is managed by travel agencies, and bus operator equipment 3, which is managed by bus operators, via the Internet 9. By processing information received from travel agency equipment 2 and bus operator equipment 3, Server 1 performs matching for charter bus orders and deliveries that satisfy both the conditions of end users provided by each travel agency and the conditions of each bus operator. Server 1 and travel agency equipment 2 can connect to the map search site 4 via the internet 9. There are multiple travel agencies, each equipped with at least one travel agency device 2. There are multiple bus operators, and each has at least one bus operator device 3 installed. In other words, Server 1 is connected to multiple travel agency devices 2a, 2b, ... and multiple bus operator devices 3a, 3b, ... in a communication-enabled manner.

[0014] Figure 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of Server 1. Server 1 comprises a control unit 101, a memory 102, a storage unit 103, and a communication device 104. The control unit 101 is a processor that executes programs and controls each part of the server 1, performing processing to realize the functions of the server 1. A CPU (Central Processing Unit) is used for the control unit 101. Memory 102 is a computer-readable recording medium that stores programs executed by the control unit 101. Memory 102 can utilize, for example, RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory). The ROM stores the program. The storage unit 103 is a computer-readable recording medium (storage) that stores various types of data. The storage unit 103 may contain, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD. A (Solid State Drive) is used. The communication device 104 is connected to the internet 9 and communicates data with the travel agency device 2 and the bus operator device 3 via the internet 9. The communication device 104, for example, receives quotation request information from the travel agency device 2 and transmits quotation information to the travel agency device 2 and the bus operator device 3. Furthermore, the communication device 104 communicates data with the map search site 4 via the internet 9 (API linkage). The communication device 104 transmits, for example, the departure point, intermediate points, and destination to the map search site 4, and receives the distance and time from the departure point to the destination from the map search site 4.

[0015] Figure 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of the travel agency device 2. The travel agency device 2 comprises a control unit 201, a memory 202, a storage unit 203, an operating device 204, a display device 205, and a communication device 206. The control unit 201 is a processor that executes programs and controls each part of the travel agency device 2, performing processing to realize the functions of the travel agency device 2. A CPU (Central Processing Unit) is used in the control unit 201. Memory 202 is a computer-readable recording medium that stores programs executed by the control unit 201. Memory 202 can utilize, for example, RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory). ROM stores the program. For example, a core travel agency program (a publicly known travel agency package including business processing related to the quotation and reservation of chartered buses) is stored, and a mechanism is in place for API communication between this program and the program on Server 1. The storage unit 203 is a computer-readable recording medium (storage) that stores various types of data. For example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive) can be used for the storage unit 203. The operating device 204 is used to operate the travel agency device 2. The operating device 204 includes, for example, a keyboard and mouse on a personal computer, or a touch panel on a smartphone or tablet device. The display device 205 displays various screens. For example, a liquid crystal display can be used for the display device 205. The display device 205 may also be configured as a touch panel by integrating it with a touch sensor. The communication device 206 is connected to the Internet 9 and communicates data with the server 1 via the Internet 9. The communication device 206, for example, sends quotation request information to server 1 based on API integration and receives quotation information from server 1. Furthermore, the communication device 206 communicates data with the map search site 4 via the internet 9 (API linkage). The communication device 104 receives map information, the name of a place specified on the map, and location information from the map search site 4, for example, based on API integration. The travel agency device 2 has a web browser pre-installed.

[0016] Figure 4 is a hardware configuration diagram of the bus operator's equipment 3. The bus operator device 3 comprises a control unit 301, a memory 302, a storage unit 303, an operating device 304, a display device 305, and a communication device 306. The control unit 301 is a processor that executes programs and controls each part of the bus operator equipment 3, performing processing to realize the functions of the bus operator equipment 3. For example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) is used for the control unit 301. Memory 302 is a computer-readable recording medium that stores programs executed by the control unit 301. Memory 302 can include, for example, RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory). The ROM stores the program. For example, a fleet management program (a publicly known fleet management package capable of managing the inventory of charter buses, etc.) is stored, and this program and the program on Server 1 are configured to communicate via API. The storage unit 303 is a computer-readable recording medium (storage) that stores various types of data. For example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive) can be used for the storage unit 303. The operating device 304 is used to operate the bus operator's device 3. The operating device 304 includes, for example, a keyboard and mouse on a personal computer, or a touch panel on a smartphone or tablet device. The display device 305 displays various screens. For example, a liquid crystal display may be used for the display device 305. The display device 305 may also be configured as a touch panel by integrating it with a touch sensor. The communication device 306 communicates with the server 1 via the internet 9 (API linkage). The communication device 306 transmits information such as the AGT group master 155, AGT group fare master 156, guide fee master 157, AGT group fare calendar 161, and OB setting information 163 to the server 1, for example, based on API linkage, and receives quotation information, etc. from the server 1. Furthermore, the communication device 306 communicates data with the map search site 4 via the internet 9 (API linkage). The communication device 306 receives, for example, map information, the name and location information of a place specified on the map (for example, location information setting information included in the sales office master 154) from the map search site 4 based on API integration. The bus operator's device 3 has a web browser pre-installed.

[0017] Figure 5 is a functional configuration diagram of Server 1. As shown in the figure, Server 1 is the core device of the charter bus order and receipt system. When it receives quotation request information regarding charter bus services from each travel agency device 2, it automatically generates quotation information from available bus operators. Next, Server 1 handles order processing, arrangements, changes and deletions of reservation and arrangement details, etc. It is also possible to perform the following process. As shown in Figure 5, the server 1 of the charter bus order and receipt system includes a storage means 111, an extraction means 112, a calculation means 113, an output means 114, a display control means 115, and a replacement vehicle management means 116.

[0018] The storage means 111 stores the DB (database) 150. As shown in Figure 6, DB150 consists of AGT master 151, bus operator master 152, vehicle class details master 153, depot master 154, AGT group master 155, AGT group fare master 156, guide fare master 157, Hokkaido Transport Bureau master 158, outside service area master 159, and fare / fee master 160, AGT group fare calendar 161, vehicle usage information 162, and OB setting information 163.

[0019] AGT Master 151 is master data that stores basic information for each travel agency (AGT). For example, as shown in Figure 7, travel agencies, branch offices, contact persons, telephone numbers, fax numbers, etc., are linked to and stored (managed) under a travel agency ID. The AGT Master 151 allows employees of a travel agency (including managers; the same applies hereinafter) to input and store the above information online by operating the travel agency device 2.

[0020] Bus operator master 152 is master information that stores basic information for each bus operator. For example, as shown in Figure 8, the bus operator, office, person in charge, telephone number, fax number, etc. are linked to and stored in the bus operator ID. Note that the bus operator IDs are not shown in the following documents: Office Master 154 (Figure 10), AGT Group Master 155 (Figure 11), AGT Group Fare Master 156 (Figure 12), Guide Fare Master 157 (Figure 13), AGT Group Fare Calendar 161 (Figure 17), and OB Setting Information 163 (Figure 20), but in reality, they are assigned bus operator IDs corresponding to the bus operators. The bus operator master 152 allows employees of the bus operator to input and store the above information online by operating the bus operator device 3.

[0021] Vehicle Class Details Master 153 contains information indicating the detailed classification of a vehicle. For example, as shown in Figure 9, large vehicles include those with 12 rows of seats, those with toilets, and those with fewer than 12 rows of seats. Vehicle class details master 153 is common information for all bus operators and is stored in advance.

[0022] The branch office master 154 is master data that stores information about the branch offices of each bus operator. For example, as shown in Figure 10, the system stores and links information such as the bus operator, the relevant transportation bureau, the service area, the excluded service area within the prefecture, the additional service area in neighboring prefectures, location information (latitude, longitude), and the toll-free distance limit. The "jurisdictional transport bureau" is the transport bureau that has jurisdiction over the business office. The "service area" is the prefecture to which the business office belongs. However, areas outside the service area, such as Hokkaido and Okinawa, are managed separately regardless of the service area. Hokkaido is managed by each transportation branch office (Figure 14), and other areas outside the service area are managed separately, for example, in Okinawa Prefecture, by dividing them into Okinawa Main Island and the outlying islands (Figure 15). In general chartered passenger transport businesses, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism stipulates that either the departure point or the arrival point must be within the bus operator's service area (hereinafter also referred to as the "service area regulation"). By referring to the Office Master 154, the Hokkaido Transport Bureau Master 158, and the Outside Service Area Master 159, it is possible to identify (extract) office offices and bus operators that satisfy this regulation (i.e., bus operators and their subordinate offices within the service area including the departure point and arrival point).

[0023] Furthermore, "excluded business areas of the prefecture" refers to areas that fall under the category of prefectures but are excluded from the scope of business operations within those prefectures. "Additional service areas in neighboring prefectures" refers to additional service areas that belong to neighboring prefectures of the target prefecture but are exceptionally designated as part of the target prefecture's service area. "Excluded service areas within the prefecture" and "additional service areas in neighboring prefectures" refer to service areas that are outside the service area but are exceptionally recognized as being within the service area due to geographical reasons. "Toll road distance restriction" means that if the distance traveled from the departure or arrival point to the branch office is less than or equal to the distance indicated in the column, the use of toll roads (expressways, etc.) will be restricted. For example, in Figure 10, the toll road distance limit for branch office a is 10km. Therefore, if the distance from the departure or arrival point to branch office a is 10km or less, the use of toll roads is restricted, and if it is 10km or more, the use of toll roads is permitted. The branch office master 154 allows employees of the bus operator to input and store the above information online by operating the bus operator device 3.

[0024] AGT Group Master 155 contains information on the AGT groups of each travel company, as set up by bus operators. For example, Figure 11(a) shows the configuration information entered by the AA Bus operator device 3, where travel companies aa, bb, cc, and dd belong to Group A, and travel companies ee and ff belong to Group B. Therefore, for example, if company aa requests a quote from AA Bus, the price will be calculated based on the unit price set for Group A (Figures 12, 17, etc.). Figure 11(b) shows the configuration information entered by the BB Bus operator device 3, where travel company cc belongs to group A, travel company aa belongs to group B, and travel company bb belongs to group C. Therefore, for example, if company aa requests a quote from BB Bus, the price will be calculated based on the unit price set for Group B (Figures 12, 17, etc.). The AGT group master 155 allows bus operators to set (store) the above information online by operating the bus operator device 3.

[0025] The AGT Group Fare Master 156 consists of fares and charges (unit prices, etc.) set by bus operators for each AGT group, based on prescribed fares and charges. In other words, AGT group fare master 156 is, charter bus This includes information regarding the terms and conditions of the service (terms and conditions information). The "AA Bus" section in Figure 12 shows the fares and charges for each rank (A to C) of each AGT group (Groups A to D) as set by the operation of the AA Bus bus operator device 3. As shown in the diagram, for example, in Group A, rank A (peak season, etc.), the fare for large vehicles is set as follows: 210 yen per kilometer (price per kilometer), 7,230 yen per hour (price per hour), 40 yen per kilometer for relief drivers, 2,770 yen per hour, 2,000 yen for late-night / early-morning service, and 90,247 yen for special vehicle surcharges. Group A, Rank B (normal conditions, etc.) has lower fares and charges than Rank A. Group A, rank C (off-peak season, etc.) has lower fares and charges than rank B.

[0026] For Group B, rank A (peak season, etc.), the fare for large vehicles is set at 195 yen per kilometer and 6,675 yen per hour. For relief drivers, the fare is 38 yen per kilometer and 2,558 yen per hour. The fare for late-night and early-morning operations is 1,518 yen, and the surcharge for special vehicles is 68,081 yen. Group B's Rank B (under normal circumstances) has lower fares and charges than Rank A, and Group B's Rank B has lower fares and charges than Rank A. Group B's Rank C (off-season, etc.) has lower fares and charges than Rank B, and also has lower fares and charges than Group A's Rank C.

[0027] For Group C, Rank A (peak season, etc.), the fare for large vehicles is set at 180 yen per kilometer and 6,120 yen per hour. For relief drivers, the fare is 35 yen per kilometer and 2,345 yen per hour. The fare for late-night and early-morning operations is 1,035 yen, and the surcharge for special vehicles is 45,915 yen. Group C's Rank B (normal times, etc.) has lower fares and charges than Rank A, and Group C's Rank B has lower fares and charges than Rank B. Group C's Rank C (off-season, etc.) has lower fares and charges than Rank B, and Group C's Rank C has lower fares and charges than Rank B.

[0028] The "BB Bus" section in Figure 12 shows the fares and charges for each rank of the AGT group, as set by the operation of BB Bus's bus operator device 3. As shown in the diagram, for example, in Group A, rank A (peak season, etc.), the fare for large vehicles is set as follows: 200 yen per kilometer (price per kilometer), 7,220 yen per hour (price per hour), 39 yen per kilometer for relief drivers, 2,760 yen per hour, 1,990 yen for late-night / early-morning service, and 90,000 yen for special vehicle surcharges. For Group B, Rank B (normal period), the fare for large vehicles is set as follows: 170 yen per kilometer, 6110 yen per hour; 34 yen per kilometer for relief drivers, 2340 yen per hour; 1790 yen for late-night / early-morning service; and 79000 yen for special vehicle surcharges.

[0029] In this way, the AGT group fare master 156 (Figure 12) allows bus operators to input and store the above information online by operating the bus operator device 3. The fares and charges (unit prices) set in the AGT Group Fare Master 156 are unit prices that meet the provisions of the fares and charges (Figure 16) stipulated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Therefore, not limited to the above example, any fare or charge can be set as long as it is within the range of the prescribed fares and charges (referred to as prescribed fares and charges).

[0030] Guide fee master 157 is the bus guide fee set by the bus operator, based on ranks according to the bus depot and peak / off-peak seasons, as well as actual travel time. For example, Figure 13 shows that the guide fee for rank A (peak season, etc.) at AA Bus c depot is set at 10,000 yen if the actual travel time is 0 to less than 2 hours, 15,000 yen if the actual travel time is 2 hours to less than 5 hours, and 20,000 yen if the actual travel time is 5 hours to less than 24 hours. Furthermore, the guide fee for rank B (normal conditions, etc.) at BB Bus f depot is set at 18,000 yen if the actual travel time is between 5 hours and less than 24 hours. The guide fare master 157 allows bus operators to input and store the above information online by operating the bus operator device 3.

[0031] Hokkaido Transport Bureau Master 158 is master data that stores the correspondence between branch offices belonging to the Hokkaido Transport Bureau and the municipalities. For example, as shown in Figure 14, Sapporo City and Otaru City belong to the Sapporo Transport Branch Office, while Hakodate City and Hokuto City belong to the Hakodate Transport Branch Office. This means that if the departure point is Sapporo City and the arrival point is Otaru City, the depot and return point can be a sales office belonging to the Sapporo Transport Branch Office. Furthermore, if the departure point is Sapporo City and the arrival point is Hakodate City, this means that the departure and return destinations can be business offices belonging to either the Sapporo Transport Branch Office or the Hakodate Transport Branch Office.

[0032] The "Out-of-Service Area Master Data 159" categorizes each municipality and county in Okinawa Prefecture into those on Okinawa Island and those on outlying islands. For example, as shown in Figure 15, Naha City and Urasoe City belong to Okinawa Main Island, while Ishigaki Island belongs to an outlying island. Therefore, for example, if the departure and arrival points are in Ishigaki City, and the sales office is located on Okinawa Main Island, the service is not permitted as it is outside the service area. The Hokkaido Transport Bureau master data 158 and the master data for areas outside the service area 159 are pre-stored on server 1.

[0033] The fare / charge master 160 contains information that represents the prescribed fares and charges themselves, and is pre-stored in server 1. For example, as shown in Figure 16, the fares (unit prices) for large vehicles in the service area of ​​the Chugoku Transport Bureau are set as follows: the distance-based fare has an upper limit of 210 yen / km and a lower limit of 150 yen / km, and the time-based fare has an upper limit of 7,230 yen / hour and a lower limit of 5,010 yen / hour. Furthermore, regarding the fares (unit price, etc.) for large vehicles within the operating area of ​​the Chugoku Transport Bureau, the distance-based fare for the provision of a relief driver has a maximum of 40 yen / km and a minimum of 30 yen / km, the hourly fare has a maximum of 2770 yen / hour and a minimum of 1920 yen / hour, the late-night / early-morning fare is set at within 20% of the hourly fare and the relief driver provision fee (hourly fare), and the special vehicle surcharge is set at within 50% of the fare.

[0034] The AGT Group Fare Calendar 161 is information in which bus operators have assigned fare ranks for each AGT group to specific dates. Figure 17(a) shows the information set by the AA bus, with Group A assigned rank A for June 20th and 21st. Figure 17(b) shows the information set by BB Bus, where Group B for June 20th and 21st is assigned rank B. The "Loaner vehicle requires response" checkbox indicates that an explanation (response) is required if a loaner vehicle is to be used or is likely to be used. Bus operators check the dates on which they may use substitute vehicles or chartered vehicles. In this embodiment, since both substitute vehicles and chartered vehicles utilize other company vehicles or vehicles belonging to other bus operators, "substitute vehicle" and "chartered vehicle" are considered synonymous. For example, if you are accepting reservations due to overbooking, if it is typically busy and overbooking is expected this year as well, if it is for short-term use, or if it is being operated in conjunction with other projects and a substitute or chartered vehicle is anticipated, check the appropriate dates or groups. In this case, specifically, Server 1 stores flag information (replacement vehicle required flag) associated with the checked date and group. This allows server 1 to inform the travel agency of the possibility of using a substitute vehicle by sending a message to the travel agency's device 2, which is the source of the quote request, along with the quote information. The AGT group fare calendar 161 can be set by employees of each bus operator by operating the bus operator device 3.

[0035] Thus, the storage means 111 stores bus operator condition information that indicates the conditions on the bus operator side that can be input (set) by each bus operator device 3. "Bus operator conditions information" includes information on charter bus fares that vary from travel agency to travel agency based on the settings of the bus operator, such as information on AGT group master 155, AGT group fare master 156, guide fee master 157, and AGT group fare calendar 161. Of these, AGT Group Fare Master 156 falls under the category of prescribed information.

[0036] The extraction means 112, based on user condition information indicating the conditions on the user side of using a chartered bus that can be input (set) by the travel agency device 2, and bus operator condition information stored by the storage means 111, selects a bus operator that satisfies both the user's conditions and the bus operator's conditions. charter bus Select bus operators capable of providing this service from among multiple bus operators. "User condition information" refers to information about the conditions desired by the end user. "User condition information" can include, for example, the travel agency from which the quote was requested, the travel period, the number of people, the type of vehicle (vehicle class details) and number of vehicles, whether a guide is required or not, whether overnight stays are required or not, the departure point, transit points, arrival points, and information regarding the times of these. The "user conditions information" is the information entered when requesting a quote by operating the travel agency device 2, and is included in the quote request information sent from the travel agency device 2 to the server 1 (see Figures 24 and 25).

[0037] For example, the extraction means 112 identifies the "departure point" and "arrival point" from the user condition information included in the quotation request information transmitted from the travel agency device 2, and extracts bus operators that have a business office within the service area of ​​either the "departure point" or the "arrival point" from the business office master 154 (Figure 10). For example, if the departure point is Okayama Prefecture and the destination is Okayama Prefecture, bus operators with offices in Okayama Prefecture (AA Bus and BB Bus) will be extracted. If the departure point is Okayama Prefecture and the destination is Osaka Prefecture, bus operators with offices in either Okayama Prefecture or Osaka Prefecture (AA Bus) will be extracted (see Figure 10). This makes it possible to extract sales offices and bus operators that meet the operating area regulations.

[0038] The calculation means 113 calculates the price of chartered buses from bus operators extracted by the extraction means 112 based on the "user conditions information" and the "bus operator conditions information". As a concrete example of "user condition information," quotation request information (travel period, vehicle type, departure point, arrival point, etc.) can be used, and as a concrete example of "bus operator condition information," the AGT group fare master 156 and the AGT group fare calendar 161 can be used.

[0039] First, determine the branch office from which the vehicle will be dispatched (or returned to). For example, let's consider a case where the travel agency requesting the quote is company aa, the travel period is June 20th to June 21st, 2022 (the year will be omitted below), the number of people is 20, the vehicle type is a large bus, the number of buses is 1, a guide is required, and overnight stays are not required (see Figure 24). The itinerary for day 1 is: departure point: Kurashiki Station, stop 1: Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter, stop 2: Washuzan Observatory, stop 3: Kojima Jeans Street, arrival point: Okayama Hotel. The itinerary for day 2 is: departure point: Okayama Hotel, stop 1: Bizen Pottery Workshop, stop 2: Okayama Korakuen Garden, arrival point: Kurashiki Station (see Figure 25). In this case, Server 1 refers to the branch office master 154 to extract AA buses and BB buses, and then selects the branch office closest to the departure point from among the extracted branch offices belonging to AA buses and BB buses as the departure and return destinations. The "closest" location can be determined based on the distance between the two locations, which can be calculated using the map search site 4 based on the location information of each sales office and the location information of the departure and arrival points. Alternatively, you may select the nearest branch office to your destination as both the departure and return depot. Alternatively, you may select the nearest branch office to your departure point as your departure point and the nearest branch office to your arrival point as your return point. In this embodiment, the closest depot to the departure point is depot c for AA Bus and depot f for BB Bus. As a result, depot c was determined as the departure and return destination for AA buses, and depot f was determined as the departure and return destination for BB buses.

[0040] The cost of a chartered bus includes both a "fare" and a "fee." First, let's explain how the "fare" is calculated. "Fares" include distance-based fares (calculated by multiplying the distance traveled in kilometers by the unit price per kilometer) and time-based fares (calculated by multiplying the travel time in hours by the unit price per hour). "Distance traveled" includes "transfer distance" and "actual vehicle distance," while "driving time" includes "transfer time," "actual vehicle time," and "inspection time." "Deadheading" refers to moving a chartered bus from its departure depot back to its departure point, or moving a chartered bus that has arrived at its destination back to its depot. "Actual operation" refers to the process of transporting a chartered bus from its departure point to its destination with passengers on board.

[0041] This section explains how to calculate the delivery distance and delivery time. The calculation of the delivery distance and delivery time will be performed in conjunction with a publicly known map search site 4. Specifically, Server 1 activates the "route search function" of this site based on API integration with map search site 4. The "Route Search Function" allows you to input your departure and arrival locations and mode of transportation, and then calculate the distance and travel time when traveling from the departure location to the arrival location using that mode of transportation. Server 1, in response to the route search function, enters the following for Day 1: Departure location: Address of AA Bus's "c office", Arrival location: "Kurashiki Station", Mode of transport: "Bus". As a result, the route search function can be used to obtain the travel distance and travel time when traveling from the C office to Kurashiki Station at a speed of 40 km / h (the average speed of a bus). Server 1 obtains the travel distance and travel time from the map search site 4, respectively, as "transfer distance" and "transfer time". Specifically, Server 1 obtains the following information regarding AA Bus: the distance traveled from Depot C to Kurashiki Station on day 1 is 1.4 km, and the travel time is 0.05 hours. Server 1 also similarly obtains the transfer distance of 1.4 km and the transfer time of 0.05 hours for the second day's transfer from Kurashiki Station to C Depot. As a result, Server 1 obtains the following information regarding the AA bus: Distance traveled: 2.8km (=1.4km + 1.4km), Distance traveled: 0.1 hours (=0.05 hours + 0.05 hours). Server 1 also similarly obtains the following information regarding BB Bus: the transfer distance from "f Depot" to "Kurashiki Station" on day 1 is 77 km, and the transfer time is 1.5 hours, as well as the transfer distance from "Kurashiki Station" to "f Depot" on day 2 is 77 km, and the transfer time is 1.5 hours. As a result, Server 1 obtains the following information regarding the BB bus: Distance traveled: 154km (=77km + 77km), Distance traveled: 3 hours (=1.5 hours + 1.5 hours).

[0042] This section explains how to calculate actual driving distance and actual driving time. The calculation of actual driving distance and actual driving time is also performed in conjunction with map search site 4 (route search function). The "Route Search Function" allows users to input their departure point, intermediate points, destination, and mode of transportation, and then calculate the travel distance and time when traveling from the departure point to the destination, via the intermediate points, using that mode of transportation. Server 1 inputs the following information into its route search function: departure point for day 1 "Kurashiki Station", intermediate stop 1 "Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter", intermediate stop 2 "Washuzan Observatory", intermediate stop 3 "Kojima Jeans Street", destination "Okayama Hotel", and mode of transport "bus". As a result, Server 1 obtains the "travel distance" and "travel time" from the map search site 4, when traveling from Kurashiki Station to Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter to Washuzan Observatory to Kojima Jeans Street to Okayama Hotel at a speed of 40 km / h (average bus speed), as "actual distance" and "actual time". Specifically, Server 1 retrieves the actual distance traveled from Kurashiki Station to Okayama Hotel on the first day: 40 km, and the actual travel time: 6.5 hours. Server 1 also similarly obtains the actual distance traveled from Okayama Hotel to Kurashiki Station on the second day: 30 km, and the actual travel time: 5 hours. As a result, Server 1 obtains the actual driving distance: 70km (=40km + 30km) and the actual driving time: 11.5 hours (=6.5 hours + 5 hours). Note that since the actual distance traveled and the actual travel time are common to all bus operators, it is not necessary to calculate them separately for AA Bus and BB Bus.

[0043] Let me explain the inspection time. The prescribed fares and charges include a provision stating that "the time from departure to arrival at the depot is multiplied by the time-based fare, which is calculated by adding one hour each for the departure inspection and the return inspection, totaling two hours." Therefore, in this embodiment, "driving time" is defined as: transport time + actual vehicle time + inspection time (2 hours). Specifically, Server 1 calculates the running time for the AA bus as 13.6 hours (= 0.1 hours for deadheading + 11.5 hours for actual operation + 2 hours for inspection), and the running time for the BB bus as 16.5 hours (= 3 hours for deadheading + 11.5 hours for actual operation + 2 hours for inspection).

[0044] As a result, Server 1 calculates the following for the AA bus: "Distance traveled: 72.8km" (=deadheading distance 2.8km + actual driving distance 70km) and "Distance traveled: 13.6 hours". For the BB bus, it calculates the following: "Distance traveled: 224km" (=deadheading distance 154km + actual driving distance 70km) and "Distance traveled: 16.5 hours". Distances less than 10km are rounded up to 10km, and running times less than 30 minutes are rounded down, while times of 30 minutes or more are rounded up to 1 hour. Therefore, for the AA bus, the distance traveled was 80 km and the travel time was 14 hours, while for the BB bus, the distance traveled was 224 km and the travel time was 17 hours.

[0045] This section explains how distance-based and time-based fares are determined. The determination of distance-based and time-based fares is made by referring to the AGT Group Master 155 (Figure 11), the AGT Group Fare Calendar 161 (Figure 17), and the AGT Group Fare Master 156 (Figure 12).

[0046] Regarding the AA bus, referring to the AGT group master 155 (Figure 11(a)), company aa's AGT group is set to "Group A". Referring to the AGT Group Fare Calendar 161 (Figure 17(a)), Group A is assigned rank A for both June 20th and June 21st, which are the travel dates. Note that if the travel period spans multiple days, the highest rank applied will be used. Therefore, Server 1 determines the "kilometer-based fare (large vehicle): 210 yen" and the "time-based fare (large vehicle): 7230 yen" from the data corresponding to "Rank A" of "Group A" of "AA Bus" in the AGT group fare master 156 (Figure 12). In other words, for AA buses, the distance-based fare will be set at 210 yen, and the time-based fare at 7230 yen.

[0047] Regarding the BB bus, referring to the AGT group master 155 (Figure 11(b)), company aa's AGT group is set to "Group B". Referring to the configured AGT group fare calendar 161 (Figure 17(b)), Group B is assigned rank B for both June 20th and June 21st, which are the travel dates. Therefore, Server 1 determines the "kilometer-based fare (large vehicle): 170 yen" and the "time-based fare (large vehicle): 6110 yen" from the data corresponding to "Rank B" of "Group B" of "BB Bus" in the AGT group fare master 156 (Figure 12). In other words, for BB buses, the fare will be set at 170 yen per kilometer and 6110 yen per hour.

[0048] Server 1 calculates the distance fare by multiplying the determined distance-based fare by the distance traveled, and calculates the time fare by multiplying the specified time-based fare by the travel time. Therefore, the distance-based and time-based fares for AA Bus and BB Bus are calculated as follows: "AA Bus distance fare" = 210 yen x 80 km = 16,800 yen "AA Bus hourly fare" = 7,230 yen x 14 hours = 101,220 yen Therefore, the AA bus fare is calculated to be 118,020 yen (= 16,800 yen + 101,220 yen). "BB Bus distance fare" = 170 yen x 224 km = 38,080 yen "BB Bus hourly fare" = 6,110 yen x 17 hours = 103,870 yen Therefore, the BB bus fare is calculated to be 141,950 yen (= 38,080 yen + 103,870 yen).

[0049] Next, we will explain how the fees are calculated and determined. The charges include "late-night / early-morning service charges," "relief driver assignment charges," "special vehicle surcharges," "guide fees," and "paid return trip fees."

[0050] Regarding "late-night and early-morning service charges," the standard fares and charges also include a provision stating that "for services between 22:00 and 5:00, a surcharge of up to 20% will be applied to the service during that time." Therefore, if the operating time identified from the user conditions information overlaps with the 22:00-5:00 time slot, the late-night / early-morning operating fee can be included in the price of the chartered bus. In this case, as shown in Figure 17, the rank of the AGT group on the operating day assigned to the AGT group fare calendar 161 can be identified, and the "late-night / early-morning operating fare" corresponding to that rank can be extracted from the AGT group fare master 156 (Figure 12). For example, if a travel agency belonging to Group A requests a quote from AA Bus for a service operating from 22:00 to 5:00 on June 26, Server 1 can determine that the rank of the service day for Group A (6 / 26) is rank A (see Figure 17(a)), and therefore determines the "late-night / early-morning service fee" to be "2000 yen" (see Figure 12).

[0051] Regarding "relief driver fees," the prescribed fares and charges also include a provision stating that "when a relief driver is assigned for safe driving purposes during long-distance, long-hour, or nighttime operations, the fees announced by each transportation bureau shall apply." The "fares announced by each transport bureau" are the amounts within the range of the minimum and maximum amounts for "kilometer-based fares" and "time-based fares" in the fare / charge master 160 (Figure 16). Therefore, if the distance traveled exceeds a specified distance (600 km), if the travel time exceeds a specified time (16 hours), or if the travel time specified by the itinerary falls between early morning and late night (10 PM to 5 AM), a "relief driver fee" can be included in the price of the chartered bus. In this case, Server 1 identifies the rank of the AGT group on the operating day assigned to the AGT group fare calendar 161 (Figure 17), and extracts the "relief driver assignment fee" corresponding to the identified rank from the AGT group fare master 156 (Figure 12). For example, if a travel agency belonging to Group A requests a quote from AA Bus for a long-distance trip on June 26, Server 1 can determine that the rank for Group A's trip (6 / 26) is rank A (see Figure 17), and therefore determines "kilometer-based fare = 40 yen" and "time-based fare = 2770 yen". Therefore, Server 1 calculates the "relief driver assignment fee" as the sum of the result of multiplying the distance traveled (82.8 km) by the distance-based fee of 40 yen (3,312 yen) and the result of multiplying the travel time (15.1 hours) by the time-based fee of 2,770 yen (41,827 yen), totaling 45,139 yen.

[0052] The "Special Vehicle Surcharge" is stipulated in the standard fares and charges, which allows for a surcharge of up to 50% of the fare to be applied when providing special vehicles such as salon cars and buses with lifts. Therefore, if the vehicle type included in the user conditions information is a special vehicle, a special vehicle surcharge can be included in the price of the chartered bus. For example, if a travel agency belonging to Group A requests a quote from AA Bus for the operation of a special vehicle on June 26, Server 1 can determine that the rank for Group A's operating day (6 / 26) is rank A (see Figure 17 (a)), and therefore determines the "special vehicle surcharge" to be 90,247 yen.

[0053] The "guide fee" is the fee that applies if a bus guide is requested. Specifically, if the user conditions information includes "Guide: Required" (see Figure 24), the guide fee can be included in the price of the chartered bus. In this case, Server 1 determines the guide fee by referring to the guide fee master 157 (Figure 13). Guide fees are determined by each bus company's office based on factors such as peak / off-peak seasons and the amount of time spent on the bus. For convenience, the ranking system based on peak and off-peak seasons will be explained as being the same as that in the AGT Group Fare Calendar 161 (Figure 17). However, it is also possible to provide a separate calendar that assigns ranks to dates for reference. In this example, the "User Conditions Information" indicates that a guide is required, the source of the quote request is a travel agency belonging to Group A (company aa), and the dates of operation are June 20th and 21st. Referring to the AGT Group fare calendar 161 (Figure 17(a)), the rank of company aa (Group A) for AA buses on June 20-21 is identified as rank A. Therefore, Server 1 refers to the guide fee master 157 (Figure 13) and determines that the guide fee for the first day is 20,000 yen because the actual driving time is 6.5 hours (5 hours or more but less than 24 hours), and for the second day it determines that the guide fee is 20,000 yen because the actual driving time is 5 hours (5 hours or more but less than 24 hours). Therefore, Server 1 calculates that the guide fee for AA Bus is 40,000 yen (= 20,000 yen + 20,000 yen). On the other hand, with respect to BB buses, referring to the AGT Group fare calendar 161 (Figure 17(b)), the rank of company aa (Group B) on June 20-21 is identified as rank B. Therefore, Server 1 refers to the guide fee master 157 (Figure 13) and determines that the guide fee for the first day is 18,000 yen because the actual driving time is 6.5 hours (5 hours or more but less than 24 hours), and determines that the guide fee for the second day is 18,000 yen because the actual driving time is 5 hours (5 hours or more but less than 24 hours). Therefore, Server 1 calculates that the guide fee for BB Bus is 36,000 yen (= 18,000 yen + 18,000 yen).

[0054] A "paid delivery fee" can be included in the price when the delivery distance (distance from the departure office to the origin, or distance from the destination to the return office) exceeds a predetermined distance (paid delivery distance limit) and toll roads (such as expressways) are used. The "specified distance (restriction on distance for paid return trips)" is determined for each business office in the business office master 154 (Figure 10). Therefore, if the destination depot is AA Bus depot c, the toll-free transport distance limit is "10km," and if the transport distance exceeds 10km, a toll-free transport fee can be charged. In this example, the distance traveled from AA Bus Depot C to the departure and arrival points is 1.4 km (less than 10 km), so no charges for the return trip can be claimed. In this case, the decision of whether or not to use toll roads is up to the end user. Therefore, if the delivery distance exceeds a predetermined distance (toll delivery distance limit), server 1 may, for example, include an estimated "toll delivery fee" in the estimate information if toll roads are used when notifying the customer.

[0055] This allows for the calculation of fares and charges, and thus enables the generation of quotation information based on these calculation results. As a result, it is possible to generate price estimates for charter buses for two companies, AA Bus and BB Bus. The example above described a case where there are two bus operators (i.e., the companies requested to provide quotes are AA Bus and BB Bus), but it is also possible to have three or more bus operators (three or more companies requested to provide quotes).

[0056] The output means 114 outputs the estimated price information calculated by the calculation means 113 to the travel agency device 2. Specifically, it generates a list of quotation information and sends this quotation list to the travel agency device 2 of the travel agency that requested the quotation. This allows the travel agency's device 2, which originated from the travel agency requesting the quote, to display, print, or send the quote list (comparative quote information) to the user's terminal. Server 1 also sends the quotation list to the bus operator's device 3. This allows the bus operator to check the estimate results. Figure 18 shows an example of a quotation list. The upper section contains the quotation information for AA Bus, and the lower section contains the quotation information for BB Bus.

[0057] As mentioned above, while quotation information can be generated automatically, manual processing can also be involved. For example, the system could calculate the price and send the estimate information to the bus operator's device 3 so that the bus operator can check it in advance. If the confirmation reveals that no corrections are needed, the system will perform the necessary operation to send the quotation information to the travel agency device 2. If corrections are necessary, the system will make the corrections and then send the corrected quotation information to the travel agency device 2.

[0058] (Regarding the overbooking function) In charter bus services, it is preferable to accept quotes and reservations that exceed the actual number of buses in stock. In this regard, while the operation management package previously maintained a limit on the number of out-of-service vehicles, it was not able to accurately manage the number of out-of-service vehicles. Therefore, the charter bus ordering and receiving system of this embodiment is equipped with an overbooking function (OB function) that allows setting the number of vehicles to be overbooked (OB) using substitute vehicles or chartered vehicles, on a per-operating area basis, for each date and for each vehicle class detail. Furthermore, "substitute vehicle" refers to operating a vehicle managed by another branch of the same bus company, while "contracted vehicle" refers to operating a vehicle managed by another bus company.

[0059] Figure 19 shows an example of vehicle usage information 162 related to the availability of charter buses at a bus operator. The information shown in the figure was obtained by Server 1 through API integration with the operation management package of AA Bus's bus operator equipment 3. The acquired vehicle usage information 162 is stored in the storage means 111 each time it is acquired. Therefore, server 1 always stores the latest vehicle usage information 162. Figure 19 shows an example of vehicle usage information 162 for each of the four depots (depots a, b, c, and d) belonging to the AA Bus service area in Okayama Prefecture as of August 1st. As shown in the figure, the vehicle usage information 162 consists of the bus operator, date, depot, vehicle class details, total number of vehicles, reserved number of vehicles, reserved number of vehicles (including outbound buses), and reserved number of vehicles (including chartered vehicles). The "total number of units" is managed by the sales office. charter bus This is the total number of items in stock. "Number of reserved units" refers to the number of units for which reservations (arrangements) have been made. charter bus This is the number of units. "Overbooked Vehicle Count" refers to the total number of vehicles that have been reserved, including overbooked vehicles. The "Number of chartered vehicles booked" includes the total number of vehicles booked, including overbookings by chartered vehicles.

[0060] Figure 20 is a diagram showing an example of OB setting information, and Figure 21 is an explanatory diagram of the OB function. Figure 20 shows the number of large buses (12 rows) designated for use at each depot belonging to Okayama Prefecture, AA Bus's service area, as of August 1st. As shown in Figure 21(a), if sales offices a, b, and c each have two vehicles reserved, and only sales office d has no reservations (2 vehicles available), then sales office d will be designated as the dispatch destination and a quotation will be automatically generated. Here, the number of OB (Open Base) units is set per sales area. Therefore, as shown in Figure 20, if the number of OB (Out-of-Service) units set for the service area: Okayama Prefecture is 10, then each sales office belonging to Okayama Prefecture can freely use OB within the range of 10 units. For example, as shown in Figure 21(b), if the number of OB (On-Board) settings is 10, and the number of reserved units is 3 at office a, 7 at office b, 4 at office c, and 2 at office d, then there are zero available units at each office. However, the number of OB reserved units is 1 at office a, 5 at office b, and 2 at office c, totaling 8 units. Therefore, 2 OB units remain available in this service area. In this case, based on the number of available spaces, taking into account the number of OB (Out of Service) settings, the number of available spaces at each sales office will be set to "2". As a result, each depot will appear to have two available vehicles, allowing the vehicle to depart from the depot closest to its departure point. Note that the number of vehicles designated as OB in Figures 21(b) and (c) assumes OBs in vehicles managed within that bus depot (i.e., replacement vehicles).

[0061] Figure 21(c) shows the case where, after Figure 21(b), two more reservations are added with depot c as the departure point. In this case, the actual number of available machines is zero, and even when considering the number of machines set to OB (Out-of-Bounds), the number of available machines remains zero.

[0062] The over-the-road (OB) function when using a replacement vehicle or a chartered vehicle will be explained with reference to Figure 21(d). Figure 21(d) shows an example where 15 vehicles are configured for on-board operation, which is 5 more vehicles than in Figure 21(c). These 5 vehicles are assumed to be chartered vehicles. Therefore, as shown in the diagram, even if two reservations are made for vehicles departing from depot b, chartered vehicles can be assigned, and the remaining three vehicles can be assigned by outsourcing. In this case, based on the number of available spaces, taking into account the number of OB (Out of Service) settings, the number of available spaces at each sales office will be set to "3". As a result, each depot will appear to have three available buses, allowing the bus to depart from the depot closest to its departure point.

[0063] The reason for allocating the number of available units to each sales office, taking into account the number of units designated as out-of-service (OB), is as follows: As a prerequisite, Server 1 is configured to send and display (on the web) availability information for each travel agency's office to Travel Agency Device 2 in response to requests from the device. In other words, Server 1 manages each of the bus operators' offices that manage chartered buses. charter bus It is equipped with a display control means 115 that displays the number of available seats on the travel agency device 2. However, for simplicity's sake, the presence of an out-of-bounds (OB) function and the number of vehicles that can be OB'd are not disclosed. Therefore, travel agency employees may mistakenly conclude that a reservation is impossible simply by looking at the number of available seats. It is possible to display the number of out-of-service vehicles per service area, but in that case, it is difficult to tell which service office is the destination. Therefore, in the charter bus ordering and receiving system of this embodiment, the number of available buses, taking into account the number of buses set as out of service, is allocated to each sales office to prevent such problems from occurring. Specifically, Server 1 is equipped with a replacement vehicle management means 116 that manages replacement vehicles for each business area consisting of one or more business offices, and the display control means 115 allocates the number of available replacement vehicles to each business office even if there are no available vehicles at a specific business office among the business offices that make up the business area, if there are available replacement vehicles in the business area. charter bus The number of available seats is displayed on travel agency device 2.

[0064] (Charter bus handling procedures) The method for handling chartered buses will be explained with reference to Figure 22. Figure 22 is a sequence diagram showing the processing procedure for the chartered bus processing method of this embodiment. It should be assumed that each travel agency device 2 has a travel agency package installed, and each bus operator device 3 has a traffic management package installed. Furthermore, DB150 (Figure 6), AGT group fare calendar 161, OB setting information 163, etc., are assumed to be stored in server 1 in advance. The charter bus processing program on Server 1 and the travel agency packages on each travel agency device 2 are linked via API, allowing Server 1 to share some of the functions of each travel agency package (such as charter bus booking and display of quotation information). Furthermore, the charter bus processing program on Server 1 and the operation management packages on each bus operator's device 3 are linked via API, allowing Server 1 to share some of the functions of each operation management package (such as obtaining the total number of vehicles and the number of available vehicles at each depot).

[0065] As shown in Figure 22, assume that a request for a quote for a chartered bus (input of quote request information) has been received in the travel agency device 2 (S11). Figures 24 and 25 show examples of input screens (web screens) for quotation requests. The input screen for quotation requests can be displayed by accessing a predetermined URL from the travel agency device 2 to server 1. As shown in these diagrams, when requesting a quote, you will need to enter information such as the travel agency requesting the quote (Company AA), the travel period (June 20th to June 21st), the number of people (20), the type of vehicle (large bus), the number of buses (1), whether a guide is needed (yes), whether overnight stays are needed (no), and the itinerary (Day 1: Departure point: Kurashiki Station, Stop 1: Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter, Stop 2: Washuzan Observatory, Stop 3: Kojima Jeans Street, Arrival point: Okayama Hotel; Day 2: Departure point: Okayama Hotel, Stop 1: Bizen Pottery Workshop, Stop 2: Okayama Korakuen Garden, Arrival point: Kurashiki Station). Figures 24 and 25 show the screen after entering the quotation request information. The travel agency name, phone number, branch office, and contact person are automatically retrieved from AGT Master 151 (Figure 7) when the travel agency ID is entered during login. The "travel agency system reservation record number" is a unique number assigned to each case. The tour name, "ABC Corporation Employee Trip," is text information. Travel period: You can specify "June 20th" to "June 21st" from the calendar. The number of people, "20 people," is text information. Vehicle type: "Large" is the information selected via the combo box. Vehicle types include large (12 rows, with toilet, etc.), medium, small, and special (salon car, bus with lift). Number of units: "1 unit" is text information. The correctness of the number of vehicles is determined in relation to the vehicle type and the number of people. For example, if a large vehicle has a capacity of 24 people, then 24 people x 1 vehicle = 24 people, and since the number of people is "20" or more, it is judged as "correct". If it is incorrect, an error message or a message prompting re-entry can be displayed. Quotation Type: "Quotation / Reservation Required" is the information selected via the radio button. There are two quotation types: Quotation / Reservation Required and Quotation / No Reservation Required. Travel type: "General" is the information selected via the combo box. Travel types include general, school-related (20% discount), welfare-related (30% discount), and special offer. Guide: "Required" indicates information selected via radio buttons. Guides can be either required or unnecessary. Overnight stay: "Not required" is the information selected by the radio button. Overnight stays can be either required or not required. Selecting "Next" on the first page of the quotation request input screen (Figure 24) will take you to the second page (Figure 25), which displays the quotation process schedule.

[0066] On the Estimate Schedule screen (Figure 25), enter the itinerary for June 20th (Day 1) and the detailed itinerary for June 21st (Day 2). Specifically, for the "Departure Point," "Transit Point," and "Arrival Point" on both Day 1 and Day 2, you will need to enter the departure time and location name. Entering the departure time and location name can be easily done by linking with map search site 4. For example, the itinerary for day 1 is "Kurashiki Station" (starting point) ~ "Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter" (stopover 1) ~ "Washuzan Observatory" (stopover 2) ~ "Kojima Jeans Street" (stopover 3) ~ "Okayama Hotel" (destination point). You can input the names of each location by specifying them as points on the map. When a location name is entered, the travel agency device 2 receives the location information (latitude, longitude) of the location name from the map search site 4 and stores it in association with the corresponding departure point, transit point, and destination. The departure time is entered manually. In this case, based on API integration with map search site 4, it is possible to determine whether the departure time is appropriate or not (determine whether the destination will not arrive by the time entered), and if it is determined to be inappropriate, a message to that effect and prompting re-entry can be displayed. Furthermore, API integration allows for automatic input of departure times at each intermediate and destination locations simply by entering the departure time from the origin. Specifically, the travel time between the origin and intermediate locations, between intermediate locations, and between intermediate locations and the destination is calculated using map search site 4, and the time including rest stops is entered as the departure time at each intermediate and destination locations. Furthermore, you can set it up so that the departure time of the transit point is automatically entered simply by entering the departure time of the originating city and the departure time of the arrival city.

[0067] On the second day, enter the departure time and name of each location: "Okayama Hotel" (departure point) ~ "Bizen Pottery Workshop" (stopover point 1) ~ "Okayama Korakuen Garden" (stopover point 2) ~ "Kurashiki Station" (arrival point). In addition to the items listed above, a memo field can also be included. Furthermore, for manual quotation requests, you can attach a schedule (PDF or other image file) in addition to the quotation schedule described above. After the travel agency device 2 receives the quotation request information, it sends the quotation request information to the server 1. In other words, all the information shown in Figures 24 and 25 is sent to Server 1.

[0068] When Server 1 receives quotation request information from Travel Agency Device 2, it generates quotation information (S12).

[0069] In generating the estimate information, as shown in Figure 23, the first step is to identify the bus operator (S21). Specifically, Server 1 refers to the quotation request information and identifies bus operators with offices at the departure and arrival locations based on the office master 154 (Figure 10). In this example, we will identify the bus operator whose service area is Okayama Prefecture. If multiple bus operators are identified, the system will generate quotation information for those multiple bus operators. In this example, the AA bus and the BB bus are identified. If no relevant bus operator exists, information to that effect will be sent to the travel agency device 2.

[0070] Next, identify the sales offices to which the vehicle departs and returns (S22). Specifically, based on the location information of the departure point and the location information of each branch office, the nearest branch office closest to the departure point is identified as the departure destination, and based on the location information of the arrival point and the location information of each branch office, the nearest branch office closest to the arrival point is identified as the return destination.

[0071] However, the identification of the depot to which the vehicle departs and returns to will be based on the availability information of each depot. This is because there may not be any available vehicles at the nearest branch office. Therefore, if there are available vehicles at the nearest branch office, that branch office will identify the branch office to which the vehicle will depart or return. However, if there are no available vehicles at the nearest branch office, then another branch office with available vehicles in that service area will be identified. Furthermore, if there are no available vehicles at any of the sales offices within the service area, it is possible to use substitute vehicles or chartered vehicles managed by the service area (OB function). In this case, the nearest sales office can be designated as the departure or return sales office (see Figure 21, etc.). Regarding AA Bus, since the departure and arrival points are Kurashiki Station, the nearest depot is identified as depot c based on the location information of each AA Bus depot and the location information of Kurashiki Station. Since BB Bus only operates from depot f, depot f is identified.

[0072] Next, the distance traveled and the travel time are calculated (S23). The mileage is the sum of the transport distance and the actual vehicle distance, and the driving time is the sum of the transport time, actual vehicle time, and inspection time. In this example, as mentioned above, the distance traveled by the AA bus is calculated to be 80 km and the travel time 14 hours. The BB bus traveled a distance of 224 km and took 17 hours to complete.

[0073] Next, distance-based fares and time-based fares are determined (S24). In other words, the unit price is determined as either a kilometer-based fare (fare per kilometer) or an hourly fare (fare per hour). These have upper and lower limits set in the prescribed fares and charges (see Figure 16). Therefore, in the chartered bus order and delivery system of this embodiment, the system is designed to comply with these regulations, and also allows the bus operator to set a rank for each travel agency (see Figure 12). Furthermore, the bus operator can set this rank for each date (see Figure 17). This allows bus operators to set unit prices that take into account their relationship with travel agencies (for example, being willing to accept CC Bus even at a lower price based on past transaction history) and unit prices that vary depending on the season, such as weekdays, holidays, and peak times (for example, wanting to offer the maximum price during peak season). This will allow for pricing that takes into account the intentions and wishes of the bus operators. In this example, as mentioned above, the AA bus will have a distance-based fare of 210 yen and a time-based fare of 7230 yen. For BB Bus, we have decided on a distance-based fare of 170 yen and a time-based fare of 6110 yen.

[0074] Next, we calculate the fare (S25). The fare is calculated based on the distance and travel time calculated in S23, and the distance-based fare and time-based fare determined in S24. Specifically, the fare is calculated by multiplying the distance traveled by the distance-based fare, calculating the time-based fare by multiplying the travel time by the time-based fare, and then adding these results together. In this example, for AA Bus, the distance fare is calculated to be 16,800 yen and the time fare to be 101,220 yen, resulting in a total fare of 118,020 yen. For BB Bus, the distance fare is calculated to be 38,080 yen and the time fare to be 103,870 yen, resulting in a total fare of 141,950 yen.

[0075] Next, calculate the charges (S26). Specifically, there are charges for late-night and early-morning service, charges for assigning relief drivers, surcharges for special vehicles, guide fees, and paid return service fees, from which the necessary charges are calculated. In this example, a guide fee will apply. For AA buses, the guide fee is calculated to be 40,000 yen, and for BB buses, the guide fee is calculated to be 36,000 yen. The application conditions and calculation methods for each fee are as described above, so we will omit further explanation.

[0076] Then, estimate information is generated (S27). Specifically, the estimated information is generated based on the fare calculated in S25 and the charges calculated in S26. For example, as shown in Figure 18, it is possible to automatically generate a list of quotes that can be compared between multiple bus operators (in this example, AA Bus and BB Bus).

[0077] Returning to Figure 22, Server 1 then transmits the quotation information to the travel agency device 2 (S14). This allows travel agencies to verify the quotation information. Server 1 can also transmit quotation information to the bus operator's device 3. This allows bus operators to also check the quotation information.

[0078] Next, Server 1 saves the estimate information (S15). Specifically, a unique quotation number (in this example, 20220501001) is associated with the data stored in the memory unit 103. Remember. This allows for smooth identification of the project and its details when later reviewing the estimate, making a reservation (arrangement), or making changes or deletions.

[0079] Next, we determine whether a reservation is required or not (S16). Specifically, we check whether the "Quotation Type" in the quotation request information is "Quotation / Reservation Required" or "Quotation / No Reservation Required". If no appointment is required (S16-No), i.e., if no estimate / appointment is needed, the process ends. If a reservation is required (S16-Yes), i.e., if a quote / reservation is required, the arrangement process will be executed.

[0080] Figure 26 is a flowchart showing the procedure for the ordering process. As shown in the figure, first, Server 1 executes the ordering instruction (S31). For example, if quotes are generated from multiple bus operators, information to confirm which bus operator's charter bus to book is sent to the travel agency device 2. Based on the response, one bus operator is selected, and arrangement information for the selected bus operator is sent to the bus operator device 3. As a result, travel agencies charter bus Orders were placed regarding this, while bus operators Private rental bus The order related to this will be completed.

[0081] Next, the vehicles are allocated (S32). Specifically, the bus operators will be responsible for securing the vehicles. For example, if an order is issued to AA Bus, one large bus will be secured at depot c for the operating days, June 20th-21st. Once the vehicle allocation is complete, the bus operator's device 3 sends an allocation completion notification to the server 1 in response to an employee's input.

[0082] Next, Server 1 generates, stores, and notifies the arrangement information (S33). Specifically, information regarding completed cases and their details is generated and saved along with the arrangement number. Server 1 transmits (notifies) the booking information to the travel agency device 2 and the bus operator device 3.

[0083] This document explains the procedures for modifying or deleting already arranged cases. Figure 27 is a flowchart showing the procedure for change and arrangement processing. As shown in the diagram, first, access server 1 (S41). Specifically, the travel agency device 2 enters a predetermined URL into its web browser. This will display a web page for modification / deletion that has a field for entering the order number.

[0084] Next, the case is identified and notified based on the order number (S42). Specifically, enter the order number of the case you want to change or delete in the order number input field on the web page. Next, determine whether to modify or delete (S43). Specifically, the system determines whether "Change" or "Delete" was selected based on the employee's operation of the travel agency device 2.

[0085] For changes (S43-Change), modify the content (S44). Specifically, you can change the travel period, vehicle type, number of vehicles, etc. Next, the vehicles are allocated (S45). Then, the system generates, saves, and notifies the arrangement information (S47). The vehicle allocation process in S45 is the same as in S32, and the generation, storage, and notification of the arrangement information in S47 is the same as in S33, so a detailed explanation is omitted.

[0086] For deletion (S43-deletion), delete the case (S48). For example, delete the data of a saved project.

[0087] Thus, in the chartered bus processing method of the present invention, as a step of performing information processing between multiple travel agency devices 2 and multiple bus operator devices 3, the first step is to store bus operator condition information indicating the conditions on the bus operator side that can be input by the bus operator device 3, and based on the user condition information indicating the conditions on the user side of the chartered bus that can be input by the travel agency device 2 and the bus operator condition information, the process is to satisfy both the user conditions and the bus operator conditions. charter bus The system includes a second step of extracting bus operators capable of providing the service from among multiple bus operators, a third step of calculating the price of the chartered bus from the bus operators extracted in the second step based on user condition information and bus operator condition information, and a fourth step of outputting the estimated price based on the price calculated in the third step to the travel agency device 2.

[0088] (Regarding other configurations) • Status management Server 1 is designed to store and update status information for each of the various states that occur after a request for a quote is received. For example, if the quote request screen is displayed but the quote request is not yet completed, the status will be stored as "Quote Request (Not Completed)". When the quote request is completed (quote request information has been received), the status will be updated to "Quote Request (Completed)". When the quote information has been sent, the status will be updated to "Quote Response (Completed)". When the travel agency has placed a formal order with the bus operator, the status will be updated to "Order Placed". When the bus operator has processed the order, the status will be updated to "Order Received". When a change request is received, the status will be updated to "Change Requested," and then updated to "Change Received" upon receipt. Additionally, when a cancellation (deletion) request is received, the status is updated to "Cancellation Requested," and then updated to "Cancellation Received" upon subsequent receipt. Each time this status information is updated, it is transmitted to the travel agency device 2 and the bus operator device 3 for display. Therefore, the status of each project can be shared between the travel agency and the bus operator. This can reduce, for example, booking errors (such as forgetting to book, forgetting to make arrangements, or forgetting to delete bookings).

[0089] • Reminder function Server 1 can set (remember) a reminder date a few days before the scheduled departure date (for example, the day before) once the reservation is complete. At this time, you can also register the email addresses of travel agency employees (contact persons) or end users as recipients for reminder notifications. This allows Server 1 to send reminder information (for example, "A chartered bus service is booked for tomorrow, [Month] [Day]. Please arrive at Kurashiki Station by [Time].") to the registered email address on the reminder date.

[0090] • Validity period of the estimate Server 1 can automatically set and notify users of the expiration date of the quotation information. For example, the expiration date can be set to one year. In that case, if the quotation information is sent on May 1, 2022, server 1 will store May 1, 2023 as the expiration date in storage means 111. Server 1 can include "Quote Expiration Date: May 1, 2023" in the quote information. In this case, Server 1 can delete the case information if the estimate expiration date of May 1, 2023, is reached or has been exceeded.

[0091] • Designation of bus operators It's also possible to allow travel agencies to choose who they request quotes from. In this case, for example, the quotation request information could simply include a field to specify the recipient of the quotation request. If the recipient is entered in that field in the received quotation request information, Server 1 would then calculate the fares and charges for the bus operator that is the recipient of the quotation request, generate the quotation information, and send it to the travel agency. Furthermore, Server 1 can also extract bus operators with available vehicles based on the quotation request information and send that list to Travel Agency Device 2. In this case, the travel agency device 2 should display a list of received bus operators, allowing employees to select any bus operator from that list. When the travel agency device 2 receives information on the selected bus operator, it should calculate the fares and charges for that bus operator, generate quotation information, and send it to the travel agency.

[0092] • Display of standard freight rates and charges in quotation information By including the standard fares and charges in the quotation information, the travel agency device 2 can display that the price falls within the specified minimum to maximum range. For example, in this case, since the target is a large vehicle operated by the Chugoku Transport Bureau, the minimum fare for distance-based charges is 150 yen and the maximum is 210 yen, and the minimum fare for time-based charges is 5010 yen and the maximum is 7230 yen will be displayed in the estimate list. This allows end-users such as travel agencies to double-check that fares are within the upper and lower limits, and it also allows them to demonstrate compliance with laws and regulations and guarantee fair fares, thereby providing end-users with a sense of security.

[0093] • Remote support The travel agency device 2 only needs to be under the control of the bus operator, so it does not need to be installed at the travel agency. The same applies to bus operator equipment 3; it does not need to be installed by the bus operator. This allows, for example, employees of a travel agency to remotely access Server 1 from remote locations outside the company, such as their homes or satellite offices, using terminal devices such as PCs or mobile devices, and submit requests for quotes, etc.

[0094] As described above, the charter bus order and receiving system of this embodiment includes a server 1 that performs information processing between multiple travel agency devices 2 and multiple bus operator devices 3, and includes a storage means 111 that stores bus operator condition information (office master 154, AGT group master 155, AGT group fare master 156, AGT group fare calendar 161, etc.) that indicates the conditions on the bus operator side that can be input by the bus operator device 3, and user condition information (quote request information, etc.) that indicates the conditions on the user side of charter buses that can be input by the travel agency device 2, and the bus operator condition information that satisfies both the user side conditions and the bus operator side conditions. charter bus The system includes an extraction means 112 for selecting bus operators capable of providing the service from among multiple bus operators, a calculation means 113 for calculating the price of the chartered bus from the bus operators selected by the extraction means 112 based on user condition information and bus operator condition information, and an output means 114 for outputting estimated information based on the price calculated by the calculation means 113 to the travel agency device 2. This makes it possible to automatically generate quotes that satisfy the requirements of both travel agencies (including end users) and bus operators. Therefore, we can provide a charter bus ordering and receiving system that is useful for both parties. In particular, conventionally, employees had to go through the trouble of checking whether the calculated price met the requirements (whether it fell within the specified upper and lower limits), and furthermore, because employees had the discretion to set different prices for each travel agency, there were inconsistencies in pricing and problems with consistency and reproducibility. However, with the chartered bus order and delivery system of the present invention, Server 1 automatically generates an estimate that meets the requirements, thus resolving these conventional problems.

[0095] Furthermore, in the chartered bus order and delivery system of this embodiment, the bus operator condition information includes regulation information (AGT group fare master 156, etc.), which is information regarding regulations for chartered bus services, and the extraction means 112, based on the user condition information and regulation information, finds a bus that satisfies both the user's conditions and the regulations. charter bus Extract bus operators that can provide the service. Furthermore, in the chartered bus order and receipt system of this embodiment, the bus operator condition information includes predetermined unit prices for each travel company and each date that can be entered by the bus operator device 3 (AGT group fare master 156, AGT group fare calendar 161, etc.), and the calculation means 113 calculates the price of the chartered bus from the bus operator extracted by the extraction means 112 based on the date of operation included in the user condition information (travel period, estimated itinerary, etc. in the estimate request information) and the predetermined unit price included in the bus operator condition information. This makes it possible to automatically generate quotes that meet the requirements of travel agencies (including end users) and bus operators, while also satisfying the regulations. Therefore, estimates can be generated easily and accurately.

[0096] Furthermore, the charter bus order and receiving system of this embodiment is configured for each branch office of the bus operator that manages the charter buses. charter busThe system includes a display control means 115 that displays the number of available vehicles on the travel agency device 2, and a replacement vehicle management means 116 that manages replacement vehicles for each business area consisting of one or more business offices, wherein even if there are no available vehicles at a specific business office among the business offices that make up the business area, if there are available replacement vehicles in the business area, the display control means 115 allocates the number of available replacement vehicles to each business office. charter bus The number of available seats is displayed on the travel agency's device. This allows us to show or process vehicles as available even if there are no vacant vehicles at each branch office, as long as there are substitute vehicles or chartered vehicles available for the operating section.

[0097] Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention. The configuration of the charter bus order placement and receiving system is not limited to the embodiment described above; some or all of the components of one device may be provided by other devices. For example, although we have described a configuration in which quotation request information is transmitted from the travel agency device 2 to the server 1 by operating the travel agency device 2, the quotation request information may also be stored in the storage means 111 by, for example, inserting a storage medium containing the quotation request information into the server 1, or by manually entering the quotation request information into the server 1. Furthermore, automated quoting is not required. For example, when a quote request is made, server 1 notifies the bus operator device 3 of the bus operator extracted by the extraction means 112. In this case, the bus operator's employees can manually create the quote and send the quote information back to the travel agency or travel agency device 2 via server 1.

[0098] Additionally, user terminals such as personal computers and smartphones owned by end users (not shown in the diagram) may be provided. In this case, the user terminal and the travel agency device 2 can communicate, and the travel agency device 2 accepts the chartered bus service online in response to the user terminal's operation. The travel agency device 2 then sends the information entered at the time of acceptance to the server 1, and the server 1 can then perform various processes such as quoting and booking the chartered bus service. Alternatively, instead of going through the travel agency device 2, the user terminal and server 1 may communicate directly in response to the user terminal's operation, and server 1 may perform processing such as quoting and booking chartered bus services.

[0099] It would also be possible to establish a system where bus operators can mutually assist each other with assets and facilities such as parking lots and charter buses. For example, calendar information that can identify available parking spaces and buses is stored on Server 1, and made available for viewing (sharing) on ​​terminal equipment (such as bus operator devices) of each bus operator. This allows, for example, bus operators whose parking lots at each depot are full to apply online to other bus operators to rent out their parking spaces, or to use the parking lot at each depot. charter bus Bus operators whose buses are not available can apply online to other bus operators to borrow (contract) a bus.

[0100] In the embodiments described above, a package program is installed on the travel agency device 2 and the bus operator device 3, and the server 1 and the travel agency device 2 and the bus operator device 3 are configured to communicate via API. However, the present invention can be implemented even without these configurations. In this case, for example, the bus operator device 3 can pre-transmit vehicle availability information (number of available vehicles, replacement vehicles, chartered vehicles, etc., per date and vehicle type) for each bus operator, each service area, and each depot, and the server 1 can store this information and refer to it when a request for a quote is received.

[0101] The estimate list shown in Figure 18 is just one example; various types of information can be incorporated into the list. For example, the list can include the end user's name, travel period, and itinerary (departure point, transit points, and destination). This makes it easier to verify, for example, when the same end-user requests quotes from multiple travel agencies, even if multiple travel agencies have requested quotes for the same project. For example, by displaying quote lists side-by-side or overlaid on top of each other, it becomes easy to visually determine whether they are related to the same project or not. In this respect, the conventional manual method required the same estimation work to be done each time for the same project, taking into account regulations and the travel agency. On the other hand, performing estimation work from different perspectives could lead to a lack of consistency and reproducibility, making it extremely wasteful and cumbersome for bus company employees. In addition, there was a risk of lost opportunities due to duplicate bookings of charter buses and the resulting excess inventory. According to the present invention, duplicate bookings and lost opportunities can be prevented by displaying quotation lists and statuses.

[0102] The travel agency device 2 can also adopt a "client-server model". Specifically, the travel agency will install a travel agency server and terminal devices (clients) that employees can operate, enabling communication via a LAN or similar network. For example, when an employee of a travel agency uses a chartered bus order and request system to submit a quote, they can access the travel agency server by operating a terminal device. Based on this access, the travel agency server will then access server 1, and data communication will occur between the travel agency device 2 and server 1. Inter-departmental communication can also be conducted via communication between terminal devices. For example, when an order is placed with a bus operator from a terminal device at a travel agency's sales site (outside the company), a notification to that effect is sent to a terminal device in the travel agency's bus procurement and arrangement department (inside the company). Once the department completes its prescribed processing (approval process, etc.), the order information is sent to server 1. Server 1, based on the order information received from the travel agency device 2, sends a message to the bus operator. Note processing can be performed. Similarly, the bus operator's device 3 can adopt a "client-server model". [Explanation of Symbols]

[0103] 1: Server, 101: Control Unit, 102: Memory, 103: Storage Unit, 104: Communication Device, 111: Storage Means, 112: Extraction Means, 113: Calculation Means, 114: Output Means, 115: Display Control Means, 116: Substitute Vehicle Management Means, 150: Database (DB), 151: AGT Master, 152: Bus Operator Master, 153: Vehicle Class Details Master, 154: Sales Office Master, 155: AGT Group Master, 156: AGT Group Fare Master, 157: Guide Fare Master, 158: Hokkaido Transportation 159: Station Master, 160: Outside Service Area Master, 161: Fare / Charge Master, 162: AGT Group Fare Calendar, 163: Vehicle Usage Information, 2: OB Setting Information, 2: Travel Agency Equipment, 201: Control Unit, 202: Memory, 203: Storage Unit, 204: Operation Device, 205: Display Device, 206: Communication Device, 3: Bus Operator Equipment, 301: Control Unit, 302: Memory, 303: Storage Unit, 304: Operation Device, 305: Display Device, 306: Communication Device, 4: Map Search Site, 9: Internet

Claims

1. In a charter bus order and receiving system equipped with a server that performs information processing between multiple travel agency devices and multiple bus operator devices, A storage means for storing bus operator condition information that indicates conditions on the bus operator side that can be input by the bus operator device, Based on user condition information indicating the user's conditions for chartered buses and bus operator condition information that can be input by the travel agency device, an extraction means extracts from among multiple bus operators a bus operator capable of providing chartered buses that satisfy both the user's conditions and the bus operator's conditions. A calculation means for calculating the price of charter buses at bus operators extracted by the extraction means, based on the user condition information and the bus operator condition information, The system includes an output means for outputting estimated information based on the price calculated by the calculation means to the travel agency device, The aforementioned bus operator conditions information is, For each bus operator, the system includes unit price information for charter buses, categorized by travel agency group (where multiple travel agencies are classified into multiple groups) and by charter bus usage period (in multiple ranks). The calculation means is Based on the travel agency that requested the quote and the usage period of the chartered bus, the bus operator that received the quote will identify the unit price information associated with the travel agency group to which the travel agency belongs and the rank corresponding to the usage period, and will use the identified unit price information to calculate the price of the chartered bus. A charter bus ordering and receiving system characterized by the following features.

2. The aforementioned bus operator conditions information includes regulations information, which is information regarding the regulations for charter bus services. The extraction means is Based on the user conditions information and the regulations information, bus operators capable of providing chartered buses that satisfy both the user's conditions and the regulations are extracted. The charter bus order and receiving system described in feature 1.

3. The bus operator conditions information includes the prescribed unit prices for each travel agency and each date, which can be entered by the bus operator device. The calculation means is The price of a chartered bus from a bus operator extracted by the extraction means is calculated based on the date of operation included in the user conditions information and the prescribed unit price included in the bus operator conditions information. The charter bus order and receiving system described in feature 1.

4. A display control means that causes the number of available charter buses at each branch office of the bus operator managing the charter buses to be displayed on the travel agency device, The system includes a vehicle management system for managing replacement vehicles for each business area consisting of one or more business offices, The display control means is Even if there are no available buses at a specific branch office among the branch offices that make up the aforementioned service area, if there are available replacement buses in the service area, the number of available replacement buses will be allocated to each branch office and displayed on the travel agency's device as the number of available charter buses. A charter bus order and receiving system according to any one of the features 1 to 3.

5. In a charter bus processing method that performs information processing between multiple travel agency devices and multiple bus operator devices, The first step involves storing bus operator condition information that indicates conditions on the bus operator side that can be input by the bus operator device, A second step involves extracting from among multiple bus operators bus operators that are capable of providing chartered buses that satisfy both the user's conditions and the bus operator's conditions, based on user condition information indicating the user's conditions for chartered buses and bus operator condition information that can be input by the aforementioned travel agency device. A third step involves calculating the price of charter buses at the bus operators extracted in the second step based on the user conditions information and the bus operator conditions information, The fourth step involves outputting an estimate information based on the price calculated in the third step to the travel agency device, The aforementioned bus operator conditions information is, For each bus operator, the system includes unit price information for charter buses, categorized by travel agency group (where multiple travel agencies are classified into multiple groups) and by charter bus usage period (in multiple ranks). The previous third step is, Based on the travel agency that requested the quote and the usage period of the chartered bus, the bus operator that received the quote will identify the unit price information associated with the travel agency group to which the travel agency belongs and the rank corresponding to the usage period, and will use the identified unit price information to calculate the price of the chartered bus. A method for handling chartered buses, characterized by the following features.

6. A computer that performs information processing between multiple travel agency devices and multiple bus operator devices, A storage means for storing bus operator condition information that indicates conditions on the bus operator side that can be input by the bus operator device, Based on user condition information indicating the user's conditions for chartered buses and bus operator condition information that can be input by the travel agency device, an extraction means extracts from among multiple bus operators a bus operator capable of providing chartered buses that satisfy both the user's conditions and the bus operator's conditions. A calculation means that calculates the price of a chartered bus at a bus operator extracted by the extraction means, based on the user condition information and the bus operator condition information. It functions as an output means that outputs estimated information based on the price calculated by the calculation means to the travel agency device. The aforementioned bus operator conditions information is, For each bus operator, the system includes unit price information for charter buses, categorized by travel agency group (where multiple travel agencies are classified into multiple groups) and by charter bus usage period (in multiple ranks). The calculation means is Based on the travel agency that requested the quote and the usage period of the chartered bus, the bus operator that received the quote will identify the unit price information associated with the travel agency group to which the travel agency belongs and the rank corresponding to the usage period, and will use the identified unit price information to calculate the price of the chartered bus. A charter bus processing program characterized by the following features.

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