Trip Price Comparison System for Cost-Effective Routing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users planning trips often spend significant time researching various transportation options and may not be aware of all potential options and their associated costs, making it difficult to find the most cost-effective route between geographic areas.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that receive a trip request from a client computer, determine a primary trip price, and identify alternative transportation modes with lower prices, providing directions and notifications for these alternatives if they are more cost-effective.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If users manually research multiple transportation options, then they can find cost-effective routes, but it takes a lot of time and users may be unaware of all potential options
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically performs the trip research and comparison that would otherwise require manual user effort. The computer-implemented system retrieves trip information for multiple transportation modes, compares prices, and presents alternatives without requiring users to manually search or research each option, thereby saving time while maintaining ease of operation
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides feedback to users by automatically comparing primary and alternative trip prices and presenting cost-effective options. This feedback mechanism informs users of cheaper alternatives they might not have discovered through manual research, making the trip planning process both faster and more comprehensive
2Loss of information
If users manually compare transportation options, then they can determine the most cost-effective trip, but they may be unaware of all potential transportation options and their associated costs
Solution Approach 1:
The system serves multiple functions simultaneously: it retrieves trip information for various transportation modes, compares prices, identifies cost-effective options, and presents them to users. This multi-functional approach provides comprehensive information about all potential transportation options without increasing the complexity of the user interface or research process
Solution Approach 2:
The computer-implemented system acts as an intermediary between users and the complex trip research process. It automatically handles the complexity of retrieving and comparing multiple transportation options, presenting simplified results to users without requiring them to manually navigate complex research processes
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are systems, computer-implemented methods, and computer-readable media for providing alternative trips for a computer-implemented trip search. User may submit a trip request associated with a primary transportation mode between an origin and a destination, such as by submitting a request for directions via an interactive map. The trip price for the primary trip may be determined. Additionally, alternative trip prices for alternative transportation modes may be determined and compared to the primary trip price. If an alternative trip price is lower than the primary trip price, an alternative trip notification may be provided to user with information about the alternative trip, such as a link to further details about the alternative trip.