Systems and methods for vehicle resource management

• US 10,217,069 B2
• Filed: 02/24/2016
• Issued: 02/26/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Addison Lee Limited (Addison Lee Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Addison Lee Limited (Addison Lee Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Scicluna, Larry, Glaschenko, Andrey
• Primary Examiner(s): Mansfield, Thomas L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gurski, Amanda
• Application Number:
  US15/051,956
• Publication Number:
  US 20160247109A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,098 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06315 Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/10 Services
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/202 Dispatching vehicles on the basis of a location, e.g. taxi dispatching
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/50 Systems or methods supporting the power network operation or management, involving a certain degree of interaction with the load-side end user applications

Abstract

Systems, methods, apparatus, and computer-readable media provide for allocating vehicle resources to future vehicle requirements. In some embodiments, allocating a vehicle resource to a vehicle requirement may be based on an iterative analysis of candidate vehicle resources using one or more of: a suitability of a candidate vehicle resource to fullfill the vehicle requirement, a journey time from a vehicle location to a start location, and/or a start time for the vehicle requirement.

Claims

1. A system for allocating networked vehicle resources to vehicle requirements, the system comprising:

a vehicle resource allocation module configured to receive vehicle requests from a plurality of requester devices;

a vehicle resource location monitoring module in communication with and configured to monitor respective current locations for a plurality of vehicle resources, each vehicle resource being associated with a respective vehicle location, wherein each vehicle resource is associated with a respective vehicle resource device comprising a positioning component that is configured to determine a respective current location of the vehicle resource;

at least one processor in communication with the vehicle resource allocation module and with the vehicle resource location monitoring module; and

a computer-readable medium in communication with the at least one processor, the computer-readable medium storing instructions that when executed by the at least one processor direct the at least one processor to;

a) store, by the vehicle resource allocation module, plural vehicle requirements in the form of plural vehicle requests, each vehicle request including at least a respective start time and a respective start location, wherein for each vehicle requirement of the plural vehicle requirements the respective start time and the respective start location have been received from an associated one of the plurality of requester devices;

b) for a first vehicle request of the plural vehicle requests,

dynamically select, by the vehicle resource allocation module, a time-ahead value (X) representing a predetermined time ahead of the start time of the first vehicle request at which to begin an allocation process for the first vehicle request; and

after dynamically selecting the time-ahead value (X), automatically determine, by the vehicle resource allocation module, that a difference between a current time and the start time of the first vehicle request is not greater than the time-ahead value (X);

c) in response to the determining at step b);

automatically detect, by the vehicle resource location monitoring module, a respective current location for each vehicle resource of the plurality of vehicle resources;

automatically determine, by the vehicle resource allocation module, a respective direct distance from the respective current location of each vehicle resource of the plurality of vehicle resources, to the start location included in the first vehicle request; and

after determining the respective direct distance to the start location for each vehicle resource, automatically select, by the vehicle resource allocation module, a predetermined number (Y) of vehicle resources based on the respective direct distances to the start location and based on respective vehicle resource statuses associated with the vehicle resources, and without calculating respective routes and travel distances to the start location for each vehicle resource, thereby forming a pool of (Y) plural candidate vehicle resources, each of said candidate vehicle resources being for possible fulfillment of the first vehicle request;

d) for each said candidate vehicle resource in the pool of (Y) plural candidate vehicle resources, automatically calculate, by the vehicle resource allocation module, a respective score that is related to the suitability of the candidate vehicle resource to fulfil the first vehicle request, wherein the suitability is without regard to the respective journey time of each candidate vehicle resource to the start location;

e) for each of only a number (Z) of the candidate vehicle resources in the pool of (Y) plural candidate vehicle resources selected by the vehicle resource allocation module based on their respective scores and a threshold score, automatically calculate, by the vehicle resource allocation module, a respective journey time from the candidate vehicle resource'"'"'s associated vehicle location to the start location included in the first vehicle request, wherein (Z) is less than (Y);

f) at a given time, automatically determine, by the vehicle resource allocation module, whether there is a need to allocate a vehicle resource to the first vehicle request, using both;

1) the respective scores calculated for the (Z) candidate vehicle resources selected from the pool of (Y) plural candidate vehicle resources, and

2) the calculated one or more respective journey times for the (Z) candidate vehicle resources,

wherein automatically determining whether there is a need to allocate a vehicle resource to the first vehicle request comprises;

determining that a respective score calculated for a candidate vehicle resource in step d) is better than respective scores calculated for all other candidate vehicle resources in the pool of (Y) plural candidate vehicle resources;

determining, for the candidate vehicle resource having the best respective score, an allocation buffer value by performing one of the following;

 

multiplying the respective calculated journey time from that candidate vehicle resource'"'"'s associated vehicle location to the start location by a predetermined factor,

 

determining a fixed time value, or

 

calculating a sum of a number of values, each value corresponding to a respective zone through which the candidate vehicle resource would need to travel to reach the start location;

determining, for the candidate vehicle resource having the best respective score, a sum of the allocation buffer value for that candidate vehicle resource and the respective calculated journey time from that candidate vehicle resource'"'"'s associated vehicle location to the start location included in the first vehicle request; and

determining whether the sum of the allocation buffer value and the respective calculated journey time meets a predetermined relationship with respect to a time remaining from the current time to the start time of the first vehicle request;

g) automatically repeat performance of steps d), e) and f) at at least two different times for the first vehicle request until it is determined at step f) that there is a need to allocate a vehicle resource to the first vehicle request;

h) on determining at step f) that there is a need to allocate a vehicle resource to the first vehicle request, automatically select a vehicle resource of the (Z) candidate vehicle resources to allocate to the first vehicle request based on the respective scores calculated on last performance of step d); and

i) in response to selecting the vehicle resource at h), automatically transmit a signal to a vehicle resource device associated with the selected vehicle resource, the signal indicating that the selected vehicle resource is to proceed to the start location included with the first vehicle request, to fulfill the first vehicle request.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein automatically detecting, by the vehicle resource location monitoring module, the respective current location for each vehicle resource of the plurality of vehicle resources, comprises:

receiving, by the vehicle resource location monitoring module, for each vehicle resource of the plurality of vehicle resources, an indication of the respective current location of the vehicle resource.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein receiving the indication of the respective current location of the vehicle resource comprises:

receiving the indication of the respective current location from the vehicle resource.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein receiving the indication of the respective current location associated with the vehicle resource comprises:

receiving the indication of the respective current location from a location service in communication with the vehicle resource.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the first vehicle request comprises a request for a first responder vehicle.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the first vehicle request comprises a customer booking for a private hire vehicle, and wherein the start location is a pickup location for the customer booking.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the first vehicle request comprises a request to send a vehicle to a search location.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the first vehicle request comprises a request for an autonomous vehicle.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor direct the at least one processor to perform automatically selecting a vehicle resource of the (Z) candidate vehicle resources to allocate to the first vehicle request at step h) by:

automatically selecting the vehicle resource having the best respective score calculated on the last performance of step d) to allocate to the first vehicle request.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the respective vehicle location associated with the candidate vehicle resource comprises the current location of the candidate vehicle resource.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the respective vehicle location associated with the candidate vehicle resource comprises a drop-off location of a customer booking that the candidate vehicle resource is currently fulfilling.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor to automatically calculate, by the vehicle resource allocation module, a respective journey time for each of only a number (Z) of the candidate vehicle resources, direct the at least one processor to:

choose, based on a respective vehicle resource status of a candidate vehicle resource, between;

1) calculating a respective journey time for the candidate vehicle resource from the candidate vehicle resource'"'"'s vehicle location by calculating a journey time from the respective current location of the candidate vehicle resource to the start location included in the first vehicle request, and

2) calculating a respective journey time for the candidate vehicle resource from the candidate vehicle resource'"'"'s associated vehicle location by calculating a journey time from a drop-off location of a customer booking that the candidate vehicle resource is currently fulfilling to the start location included in the first vehicle request.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor direct the at least one processor to automatically select, by the vehicle resource allocation module, the predetermined number (Y) of vehicle resources based on the respective direct distances to the start location and based on respective vehicle resource statuses associated with the vehicle resources, by:

rejecting one or more vehicles of a fleet that have a respective vehicle resource status indicating that the vehicle of the fleet is potentially not able to fulfil the first vehicle request.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor direct the at least one processor to automatically select, by the vehicle resource allocation module, the predetermined number (Y) of vehicle resources based on the respective direct distances to the start location and based on respective vehicle resource statuses associated with the vehicle resources, by:

selecting the predetermined number (Y) of vehicle resources that are geographically closest to the start location included in the first vehicle request based on the respective direct distances determined for the vehicle resources.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the predetermined number (Y) is between 10 and 100.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor direct the at least one processor to perform step g) by:

performing steps c), d), e) and f) at least two times for the first vehicle request until it is determined at step f) that there is a need to allocate a vehicle resource to the first vehicle request.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor direct the at least one processor to automatically calculate, by the vehicle resource allocation module, a respective score that is related to the suitability of the candidate vehicle resource to fulfil the vehicle request by:

calculating sub scores for each of plural factors and performing a mathematical operation on the sub scores.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor direct the at least one processor to automatically calculate, by the vehicle resource allocation module, a respective journey time from the vehicle location associated with the candidate vehicle resource, to the start location included in the first vehicle request by:

using historical or current data about traffic delays on one or more routes between the respective current location of the candidate vehicle resource and the start location included in the first vehicle request.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the pool of (Y) plural candidate vehicle resources comprises fewer than a total number of vehicle resources that are available to fulfil the first vehicle request.

23. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor direct the at least one processor to dynamically select, by the vehicle resource allocation module, a time-ahead value (X) based on at least one of the following:

a priority associated with the first vehicle request, and

a density of vehicle resources of the plurality of vehicle resources within a geographical zone in which the start location is present, wherein the density is based on the respective current locations of the plurality of vehicle resources monitored by the vehicle resource location monitoring module.

20. A method for a vehicle resource allocation controller device to allocate networked vehicle resources to vehicle requirements, the method comprising:

a) storing, by a vehicle resource allocation controller device, plural vehicle requirements in the form of plural vehicle requests, each vehicle request including at least a respective start time and a respective start location,

wherein the vehicle resource allocation controller device is in communication with a plurality of requester devices and is configured to receive vehicle requests from the plurality of requester devices, and

wherein the vehicle resource allocation controller device is in communication with a vehicle resource location monitoring module that is in communication with and configured to monitor respective current locations for a plurality of vehicle resources, each vehicle resource being associated with a respective vehicle location, wherein each vehicle resource is associated with a respective vehicle resource device comprising a positioning component that is configured to determine a respective current location of the vehicle resource,

wherein for each vehicle requirement of the plural vehicle requirements the respective start time and the respective start location have been received from an associated one of the plurality of requester devices;

b) for a first vehicle request of the plural vehicle requests,

dynamically selecting, by the vehicle resource allocation controller device, a time-ahead value N representing a predetermined time ahead of the start time of the first vehicle request at which to begin an allocation process for the first vehicle request; and

after dynamically selecting the time-ahead value (X), automatically determining, by the vehicle resource allocation controller device, that difference between a current time and the start time of the first vehicle request is not great than the time-ahead value (X);

c) in response to the determining at step b);

automatically detecting, using the vehicle resource location monitoring module, a respective current location for each vehicle resource of the plurality of vehicle resources;

automatically determining, by the vehicle resource allocation controller device, a respective direct distance from the respective current location of each vehicle resource of the plurality of vehicle resources, to the start location included in the first vehicle request; and

after determining the respective direct distance to the start location for each vehicle resource, automatically select, by the vehicle resource allocation module, a predetermined number (Y) of vehicle resources based on the respective direct distances to the start location and based on respective associated vehicle resource statuses, and without calculating respective routes and travel distances to the start location for each vehicle resource, thereby forming, by the vehicle resource allocation controller device, a pool of (Y) plural candidate vehicle resources, each of said candidate vehicle resources being for possible fulfillment of the first vehicle request;

d) for each said candidate vehicle resource in the pool of (Y) plural candidate vehicle resources, automatically calculating, by the vehicle resource allocation controller device, a respective score that is related to the suitability of the candidate vehicle resource to fulfil the first vehicle request, wherein the suitability is without regard to the respective journey time of each candidate vehicle resource to the start location;

e) for each of only a number (Z) of the candidate vehicle resources in the pool of (Y) plural candidate vehicle resources selected by the vehicle resource allocation module based on their respective scores and a threshold score, automatically calculating, by the vehicle resource allocation controller device, a respective journey time from the candidate vehicle resource'"'"'s associated vehicle location to the start location included in the first vehicle request, wherein (Z) is less than (Y);

f) at a given time, automatically determining, by the vehicle resource allocation controller device, whether there is a need to allocate a vehicle resource to the first vehicle request, using both;

1) the respective scores calculated for the (Z) candidate vehicle resources of the pool of (Y) plural candidate vehicle resources, and

2) the calculated one or more respective journey times for the (Z) candidate vehicle resources,

wherein determining whether there is a need to allocate a vehicle resource to the first vehicle request comprises;

determining that a respective score calculated for a candidate vehicle resource in step d) is better than respective scores calculated for all other candidate vehicle resources in the pool of (Y) plural candidate vehicle resources;

determining, for the candidate vehicle resource having the best respective score, an allocation buffer value by performing one of the following;

multiplying the respective calculated journey time from that candidate vehicle resource'"'"'s associated vehicle location to the start location by a predetermined factor;

determining a fixed time value, or

calculating a sum of a number of values, each value corresponding to a respective zone through which the candidate vehicle resource would need to travel to reach the start location;

determining, for the candidate vehicle resource having the best respective score, a sum of the allocation buffer value for that candidate vehicle resource and the respective calculated journey time from that candidate vehicle resource'"'"'s associated vehicle location to the start location included in the first vehicle request; and

determining whether the sum of the allocation buffer value and the respective calculated journey time meets a predetermined relationship with respect to a time remaining from the current time to the start time of the first vehicle request;

g) automatically repeat performance, by the vehicle resource allocation controller device, of steps d), e) and f) at at least two different times for the first vehicle request until it is determined at step f) that there is a need to allocate a vehicle resource to the first vehicle request;

h) on determining at step f) that there is a need to allocate a vehicle resource to the first vehicle request, automatically select, by the vehicle resource allocation controller device, a vehicle resource of the (Z) candidate vehicle resources to allocate to the first vehicle request based on the respective scores calculated on last performance of step d); and

i) in response to selecting the vehicle resource at h), automatically transmit a signal to a vehicle resource device associated with the selected vehicle resource, the signal indicating that the selected vehicle resource is to proceed to the start location included with the first vehicle request, to fulfill the first vehicle request.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein dynamically selecting, by the vehicle resource allocation controller device, a time-ahead value (X) based on at least one of the following:

a priority associated with the first vehicle request, and

a density of vehicle resources of the plurality of vehicle resources within a geographical zone in which the start location is present, wherein the density is based on the respective current locations of the plurality of vehicle resources.

21. An apparatus for allocating networked vehicle resources to vehicle requirements, the apparatus comprising:

a processor in communication with;

a plurality of requester devices, and

a plurality of vehicle resources, each vehicle resource being associated with a respective vehicle location, wherein each vehicle resource is associated with a respective vehicle resource device comprising a positioning component that is configured to determine a respective current location of the vehicle resource;

a computer-readable medium in communication with the processor, the computer-readable medium storing instructions that when executed by the processor direct the processor to;

a) receive and store plural vehicle requirements in the form of plural vehicle requests, each vehicle request including at least a respective start time and a respective start location, wherein for each vehicle requirement of the plural vehicle requirements the respective start time and the respective start location have been received from an associated one of the plurality of requester devices;

b) for a first vehicle request of the plural vehicle requests,

dynamically select a time-ahead value (X) representing a predetermined time ahead of the start time of the first vehicle request at which to begin an allocation process for the first vehicle request; and

after dynamically selecting the time-ahead value (X), automatically determine that a difference between a current time and the start time of the first vehicle request is not greater than the time-ahead value (X);

c) in response to the determining at step b);

automatically detect, by the vehicle resource location monitoring module, a respective current location for each vehicle resource of the plurality of vehicle resources;

automatically determine a respective direct distance from the respective current location of each vehicle resource of the plurality of vehicle resources, to the start location included in the first vehicle request; and

after determining the respective direct distance to the start location for each vehicle resource, automatically select a predetermined number (Y) of vehicle resources based on the respective direct distances to the start location and based on respective vehicle resource statuses associated with the vehicle resources, and without calculating respective routes and travel distances to the start location for each vehicle resource, thereby forming a pool of (Y) plural candidate vehicle resources, each of said candidate vehicle resources being for possible fulfillment of the first vehicle request;

d) for each candidate vehicle resource in the pool of (Y) plural candidate vehicle resources, automatically calculate a respective score that is related to the suitability of the candidate vehicle resource to fulfil the first vehicle request, wherein the suitability is without regard to the respective journey time of each candidate vehicle resource to the start location;

e) for each of only a number (Z) of the candidate vehicle resources in the pool of (Y) plural candidate vehicle resources selected based on their respective scores and a threshold score, automatically calculate a respective journey time from the candidate vehicle resource'"'"'s associated vehicle location to the start location included in the first vehicle request, wherein (Z) is less than (Y);

f) at a given time, automatically determine whether there is a need to allocate a vehicle resource to the first vehicle request, using both;

1) the respective scores calculated for the (Z) candidate vehicle resources of the pool of (Y) plural candidate vehicle resources, and

2) the calculated one or more respective journey times for the (Z) candidate vehicle resources,

wherein determining whether there is a need to allocate a vehicle resource to the first vehicle request comprises;

 

determining that a respective score calculated for a candidate vehicle resource in step d) is better than respective scores calculated for all other candidate vehicle resources in the pool of (Y) plural candidate vehicle resources;

 

determining, for the candidate vehicle resource having the best respective score, an allocation buffer value by performing one of the following;

 

multiplying the respective calculated journey time from that candidate vehicle resource'"'"'s associated vehicle location to the start location by a predetermined factor,

 

determining a fixed time value, or

 

calculating a sum of a number of values, each value corresponding to a respective zone through which the candidate vehicle resource would need to travel to reach the start location;

 

determining, for the candidate vehicle resource having the best respective score, a sum of the allocation buffer value for that candidate vehicle resource and the respective calculated journey time from that candidate vehicle resource'"'"'s associated vehicle location to the start location included in the first vehicle request; and

 

determining whether the sum of the allocation buffer value and the respective calculated journey time meets a predetermined relationship with respect to a time remaining from the current time to the start time of the first vehicle request;

g) automatically repeat performance of steps d), e) and f) at at least two different times for the first vehicle request until it is determined at step f) that there is a need to allocate a vehicle resource to the first vehicle request;

h) on determining at step f) that there is a need to allocate a vehicle resource to the first vehicle request, automatically select a vehicle resource of the (Z) candidate vehicle resources to allocate to the first vehicle request based on the respective scores calculated on last performance of step d); and

i) in response to selecting the vehicle resource at h), automatically transmit a signal to a vehicle resource device associated with the selected vehicle resource, the signal indicating that the selected vehicle resource is to proceed to the start location included with the first vehicle request, to fulfill the first vehicle request.

25. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the instructions when executed by the processor direct the processor to dynamically select a time-ahead value (X) based on at least one of the following:

a priority associated with the first vehicle request, and

a density of vehicle resources of the plurality of vehicle resources within a geographical zone in which the start location is present, wherein the density is based on the respective current locations of the plurality of vehicle resources.

22. An apparatus for allocating networked vehicle resources to vehicle requirements, the apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

a computer-readable medium in communication with the processor, the computer-readable medium storing instructions that when executed by the processor direct the processor to;

dynamically select a time-ahead value (X) representing a predetermined time ahead of a start time associated with a first vehicle request at which to begin an allocation process for the first vehicle request;

after dynamically selecting the time-ahead value (X), automatically determine that a difference between a current time and the start time associated with the first vehicle request is not greater than the time-ahead value (X);

in response to the determining that the difference between the current time and the start time associated with the first vehicle request is not greater than the time-ahead value (X),

automatically detect a respective current location for each vehicle resource of the plurality of vehicle resources;

automatically determine a respective direct distance from the respective current location of each vehicle resource of the plurality of vehicle resources, to a start location associated with the first vehicle request; and

after determining the respective direct distance to the start location for each vehicle resource, automatically select a predetermined number (Y) of vehicle resources based on the respective direct distances to the start location and based on respective vehicle resource statuses associated with the vehicle resources, and without calculating respective routes and travel distances to the start location for each vehicle resource, thereby forming a pool of (Y) plural candidate vehicle resources, each of said candidate vehicle resources being for possible fulfillment of the first vehicle request;

at a first given time, for each said candidate vehicle resource in the pool of (Y) plural candidate vehicle resources, calculate a respective first score that is related to the suitability of the candidate vehicle resource to fulfil the first vehicle request, wherein the suitability is without regard to the respective journey time of each candidate vehicle resource to the start location;

at the first given time, for each of only a number (Z) of the candidate vehicle resources in the pool of (Y) plural candidate vehicle resources selected based on their respective scores and a threshold score, automatically calculate a respective first journey time from a respective first vehicle location associated with the candidate vehicle resource to the start location associated with the first vehicle request;

at a second given time that is different from and after the first given time, for each candidate vehicle resource in the pool of (Y) plural candidate vehicle resources, calculate a respective second score that is related to the suitability of the candidate vehicle resource to fulfil the first vehicle request, wherein the suitability is without regard to the respective journey time of each candidate vehicle resource to the start location;

at the second given time, for each of only a number (Z) of the candidate vehicle resources in the pool of (Y) plural candidate vehicle resources, calculate a respective second journey time from a respective second vehicle location associated with the candidate vehicle resource to the start location associated with the first vehicle request;

upon making the determinations at the second given time, automatically determine that there is a need to allocate a vehicle resource to the first vehicle request, using both;

1) the respective second scores calculated for the (Z) candidate vehicle resources of the pool of (Y) plural candidate vehicle resources, and

2) the calculated one or more respective second journey times for the (Z) candidate vehicle resources,

wherein automatically determining that there is a need to allocate a vehicle resource to the first vehicle request comprises;

determining that the respective second score calculated for a candidate vehicle resource is better than respective second scores calculated for all other candidate vehicle resources of the (Z) candidate vehicle resources;

determining, for the candidate vehicle resource having the best respective score, an allocation buffer value by performing one of the following;

 

multiplying the respective calculated journey time from that candidate vehicle resource'"'"'s associated vehicle location to the start location by a predetermined factor,

 

determining a fixed time value, or

 

calculating a sum of a number of values, each value corresponding to a respective zone through which the candidate vehicle resource would need to travel to reach the start location;

determining, for the candidate vehicle resource having the best respective second score, a sum of the allocation buffer value for that candidate vehicle resource and the respective calculated second journey time from that candidate vehicle resource'"'"'s associated second vehicle location to the start location included in the first vehicle request; and

determining that the sum of the allocation buffer value and the respective calculated second journey time meets a predetermined relationship with respect to a time remaining from the current time to the start time of the first vehicle request;

after determining that there is a need to allocate a vehicle resource to the first vehicle request, automatically allocate to the first vehicle request the candidate vehicle resource of the (Z) candidate vehicle resources having the best respective second score; and

in response to automatically allocating the vehicle resource, automatically transmit a signal to a vehicle resource device associated with the allocated vehicle resource, the signal indicating that the allocated vehicle resource is to proceed to the start location associated with the first vehicle request, to fulfill the first vehicle request.

26. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the instructions when executed by the processor direct the processor to dynamically select a time-ahead value (X) based on at least one of the following:

a priority associated with the first vehicle request, and

a density of vehicle resources of the plurality of vehicle resources within a geographical zone in which the start location is present, wherein the density is based on the respective current locations of the plurality of vehicle resources.