Inter-Modal Travel Assessment Integrating Traffic Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for assessing inter-modal passenger travel options face challenges in accuracy and coverage due to limitations in road traffic information, particularly in providing real-time and predictive data for commuters using multiple transportation modes.
Innovation Solution
An Inter-Modal Travel Option Assessment (IMTOA) system that determines and assesses alternative travel options by integrating road traffic information with other transportation data, using automated algorithms to evaluate various modes such as private vehicles, buses, trains, and walking, based on current and predicted conditions like traffic, schedules, parking availability, and costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If road traffic information is used to assess travel options, then travel planning accuracy is improved, but information coverage and reliability deteriorate due to limitations in traffic data sources
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple information sources including road traffic sensors, mass transit schedules, parking availability data, and weather conditions into a unified assessment system. This integration allows the system to overcome the limitations of any single data source by cross-validating information and providing comprehensive travel options across multiple transportation modes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is designed to handle multiple types of transportation modes (private vehicles, buses, trains, walking) and multiple data sources through a universal assessment framework. This multi-functional approach enables the system to provide reliable travel planning across diverse conditions and transportation options, rather than being limited to a single mode or data source.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple transportation modes are assessed, then travel option versatility is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The assessment system is divided into modular components: road traffic information processing, mass transit schedule integration, parking availability assessment, and multi-mode travel option generation. Each module handles a specific aspect of the assessment independently, then integrates results to provide comprehensive travel options. This segmentation reduces system complexity while maintaining versatility.
3Loss of time
If real-time traffic information is provided, then travel time optimization is improved, but information accuracy deteriorates due to manual reporting limitations
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates real-time feedback from automated road traffic sensors that continuously monitor traffic conditions and feed this data back to the assessment algorithm. This allows the system to dynamically adjust travel time predictions and recommendations based on current traffic conditions, improving both optimization and accuracy compared to static or manually reported data.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques are described for using information regarding road traffic and other types of transportation-related information to determine and/or assess alternative inter-modal passenger travel options in a geographic area that supports multiple modes of transportation. For example, a particular user may have multiple alternatives for travel from a starting location to a destination location in the geographic area, including to use alternative modes of transportation (e.g., private vehicle, bus, train, walking, etc.) for some or all of the travel, and these alternatives may have different travel-related characteristics in different situations (e.g., depending on current road traffic; mass transit schedules and current actual deviations; travel-related fees for gas, parking, mass transit, etc; parking availability; etc.). Multiple alternative travel options are thus assessed for a given situation based on multiple types of information, enabling one or more preferred travel options for the given situation to be identified and used.