Car-sharing reservation system for one-way trips
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current car-sharing systems, both B2C and C2C, face limitations in convenience, particularly in B2C where users often need to visit a station away from their home to use a vehicle and in C2C where one-way use is not feasible, leading to suboptimal user experience.
Innovation Solution
A car-sharing system that includes a first storage for vehicle schedules, a second storage for parking station schedules, and a reservation processor to facilitate use reservations for vehicles near the user's departure location and designated return locations, with a key delivery unit providing access to registered users, allowing for one-way use and automatic reservations for replacement vehicles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If C2C car-sharing allows users to borrow vehicles from providers near departure location, then user convenience is improved, but one-way use is not feasible requiring return to original location
Solution Approach 1:
The car-sharing management server acts as an intermediary that coordinates between the user's one-way trip requirements and the vehicle owner's return requirements. The server automatically arranges for the vehicle to be returned to the owner by finding another user who needs a vehicle at the destination location during the owner's required time period, thus mediating the conflict between one-way user convenience and vehicle return necessity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by automatically searching for and reserving replacement vehicles for owners before the original vehicle is returned. The management server proactively finds available vehicles at the destination location and secures reservations in advance, ensuring the owner's vehicle return needs are met without requiring the user to return the vehicle to the original location.
2Reliability
If B2C car-sharing places stations at locations where demand is expected, then service reliability is improved, but users need to visit stations away from home
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from static station-based vehicle locations to dynamic vehicle positioning. Vehicles are no longer confined to fixed stations but can be located and used at various positions near the user's departure location. The management server dynamically allocates vehicles based on real-time user requests and provider availability, allowing users to access vehicles closer to their homes while maintaining service reliability through the coordinated scheduling system.
3Reliability
If C2C car-sharing requires return to original location, then vehicle availability for owners is maintained, but user flexibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a functional copy of the vehicle return process by arranging for a different vehicle (replacement vehicle) to be made available to the owner at their original location. Instead of physically returning the original vehicle, the owner receives equivalent service through a replacement vehicle reservation, allowing the original vehicle to be used for one-way trips while maintaining the owner's vehicle availability through the copied service function.
Data Source
AI summary
A car-sharing system for vehicles including private and/or corporate-owned vehicles receives, from a user's terminal, a use reservation for one of the vehicles available at a parking station in the vicinity of the departure location during the user's desired period, and one of parking stations located in the vicinity of the destination location where the vehicle can be returned at the user's desired time, to register the use reservation in vehicle/parking station schedule information; and makes a use reservation, with respect to a period registered in the vehicle schedule information for the owner to use the vehicle, for another vehicle different from the vehicle from among the vehicles available during the period, and for a predetermined parking station from among the parking stations at which said another vehicle can be returned within the period, to register the use reservation in the vehicle/parking station schedule information.