Ephemeral Ride Mode Dispatch Algorithm
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional shared ride options in transportation management systems often result in unpredictable ride lengths and uncertainty in pickup times due to detours for other riders, leading to frustration for requestors.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of an alternative shared ride mode, referred to as the 'ephemeral ride mode,' which applies stricter constraints on detours, estimated times of arrival, and estimated times to destination to provide a more predictable ride experience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If traditional shared ride options are used, then cost savings are achieved, but pickup time uncertainty and ride length variability increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the shared ride matching algorithm to provide pickup time guarantees. When a requestor selects the shared ride option with guarantee, the system dynamically modifies the matching criteria to ensure that the assigned provider can pick up the requestor within the specified time window, even if this means fewer shared ride opportunities. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by making the system adaptable to different user priorities (cost vs. time certainty).
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of pickup time guarantee from a soft constraint to a hard constraint when the requestor selects the guarantee option. This parameter change ensures that the estimated pickup time becomes a firm commitment, resolving the uncertainty issue while maintaining the shared ride cost benefits. The system recalculates provider assignments based on this changed parameter.
2Loss of energy
If traditional shared ride options are used, then cost savings are achieved, but ride length predictability worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts route planning and provider assignment to guarantee ride length when the requestor selects the shared ride option with guarantee. The system modifies the matching algorithm to ensure that the total ride length (including detours for other passengers) does not exceed the specified maximum, resolving the predictability issue while maintaining cost efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary calculation of potential ride lengths for all possible shared ride matches before assigning a provider. By pre-evaluating and filtering out matches that would exceed the maximum ride length threshold, the system ensures predictability is maintained from the outset, resolving the contradiction between cost savings and ride length certainty.
3Reliability
If stricter constraints are applied to shared rides, then pickup time certainty improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts the pickup time guarantee requirement as a separate, distinct option that requestors can selectively enable. Rather than making the entire dispatch system complex, the system isolates the guarantee functionality into a specific feature that activates only when needed. This extraction resolves the complexity issue by making the system modular and optional rather than universally complex.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the shared ride offering into two distinct types: traditional shared rides without guarantees and shared rides with pickup time guarantees. This segmentation allows the system to maintain simple, flexible matching for standard rides while applying stricter constraints only when the guarantee option is selected, thereby resolving the complexity contradiction through functional separation.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosed computer-implemented method may include receiving an indication that a transportation application has been initialized on a computing device and analyzing current dispatch conditions affecting the dispatch of transportation provider devices to the computing device. The method may also include determining, based on the analysis, that the current dispatch conditions allow for an ephemeral ride mode to be offered on the transportation application. The method may further include instructing, based on the determination, the computing device to at least temporarily present the ephemeral ride mode within the transportation application as a selectable option. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.