Trip planning and implementation

• US 10,417,584 B2
• Filed: 06/22/2015
• Issued: 09/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Jaffe, Howard David
• Primary Examiner(s): Ade, Garcia
• Application Number:
  US14/746,766
• Publication Number:
  US 20150371157A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,548 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/025 Coordination of plural reservations, e.g. plural trip segments, transportation combined with accommodation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1097 Task assignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/14 Travel agencies
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083

Abstract

A system and method are provided which obtain a travel itinerary for a user, the itinerary identifying a trip, including a scheduled flight to a destination. A scheduled flight is monitored to detect when the scheduled flight arrives at the destination. Upon the scheduled flight arriving at an airport of the destination, one or more notifications are sent to a mobile computing device of the user. Information can be provided with the notifications for an on-demand ground transportation service. The information may include a location at the airport where the user can be picked up in connection with receiving the on-demand transportation service, and a timing indicator to indicate when the user should make a request to receive the on-demand transportation service based on a real-time determination of a number of available service providers in a vicinity of the airport.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a network computer system, cause the network computer system to:

communicate, over one or more networks, with a mobile computing device of a user and a mobile computing device of each service provider of a plurality of service providers;

determine a scheduled flight to a destination from a travel itinerary for the user;

monitor, over the one or more networks, a flight tracker to detect when the scheduled flight arrives at the destination;

upon detecting the scheduled flight arriving at an airport of the destination;

receive, over the one or more networks, location information from a geo-aware resource of the mobile computing device of the user, the location information indicating a current location of the user;

determine a time-to-reach pickup interval, based at least on the current location of the user, the time-to-reach pickup interval indicating an estimated amount of time for the user to travel from the current location of the user to a pickup location at the airport where the user can receive an on-demand ground transportation service;

receive, over the one or more networks, location information from a geo-aware resource of the mobile computing device of each service provider of a plurality of available service providers within a vicinity of the airport, the location information indicating a current location of each service provider;

determine a request time interval of a selected service provider of the plurality of available service providers, based on a current location of the selected service provider, the request time interval indicating an estimated amount of time for the selected service provider to travel from the current location of the selected service provider to the pickup location;

transmit, over the one or more networks, a notification to the mobile computing device of the user, the notification providing information about the pickup location;

determine a computed request time based on the request time interval and the time-to-reach pickup interval, the computed request time indicating a time to trigger a service request such that the user arrives at the pickup location approximately when the selected service provider arrives at the pickup location; and

automatically trigger the service request by transmitting, over the one or more networks, request information to the mobile computing device of the selected service provider at the computed request time, the request information identifying the pickup location and including user information associated with the user.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the notification includes a text notification with a link to an application.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 2, wherein execution of the instructions by the one or more processors further cause the network computer system to:

structure the link to provide updated application information that is specific to the user.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the computed request time is further based on an estimation of a demand for the on-demand ground transportation service.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 4, wherein the estimation of the demand is based on an estimation of a number of open service requests and a number of predicted service requests for the on-demand ground transportation service in a given duration corresponding to the computed request time.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 5, wherein the computed request time is further based at least in part on a predicted time for the user to locate baggage.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 5, wherein the computed request time is further based at least in part on a predicted time for the user to pass through customs.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the information provided in the notification includes a map indicating the pickup location for receiving the on-demand ground transportation service.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein execution of the instructions by the one or more processors further cause the network computer system to:

determine an arrival terminal at which the user is located;

wherein the map identifies the pickup location that is specific to the arrival terminal.

10. A network computer system comprising:

a network communication interface to communicate, over one or more networks, with a mobile computing device of a user and a mobile computing device of each service provider of a plurality of service providers;

one or more processors; and

a memory that stores a set of instructions, that when executed by the one or more processors, cause the network computer system to;

determine a scheduled flight to a destination from a travel itinerary for the user;

monitor, over the one or more networks, a flight tracker to detect when the scheduled flight arrives at the destination;

upon detecting the scheduled flight arriving at an airport of the destination;

receive, over the one or more networks, location information from a geo-aware resource of the mobile computing device of the user, the location information indicating a current location of the user;

determine a time-to-reach pickup interval, based at least on the current location of the user, the time-to-reach pickup interval indicating an estimated amount of time for the user to travel from the current location of the user to a pickup location at the airport where the user can receive an on-demand ground transportation service;

receive, over the one or more networks, location information from a geo-aware resource of the mobile computing device of each service provider of a plurality of available service providers within a vicinity of the airport, the location information indicating a current location of each service provider;

determine a request time interval of a selected service provider of the plurality of available service providers, based on the current location of the selected service provider, the request time interval indicating an estimated amount of time for the selected service provider to travel from the current location of the selected service provider to the pickup location;

transmit, over the one or more networks, a notification to the mobile computing device of the user, the notification providing information about the pickup location;

determine a computed request time based on the request time interval and the time-to-reach pickup interval, the computed request time indicating a time to trigger to a service request such that the user arrives at the pickup location approximately when the selected service provider arrives at the pickup location; and

automatically trigger the service request by transmitting, over the one or more networks, request information to the mobile computing device of the selected service provider at the computed request time, the request information identifying the pickup location and including user information associated with the user.

11. The network computer system of claim 10, wherein the notification includes a text notification with a link to an application.

12. The network computer system of claim 11, wherein execution of the set of instructions by the one or more processors further cause the network computer system to:

structure the link to provide updated application information that is specific to the user.

13. The network computer system of claim 10, wherein the computed request time is further based on an estimation of a demand for the on-demand ground transportation service.

14. The network computer system of claim 13, wherein the estimation for the demand is based on an estimation of a number of open service requests and a number of predicted service requests for the on-demand ground transportation service in a given duration corresponding to the computed request time.

15. The network computer system of claim 14, wherein the computed request time is further based at least in part on a predicted time for the user to locate baggage.

16. The network computer system of claim 14, wherein the computed request time is further based at least in part on a predicted time for the user to pass through customs.

17. The network computer system of claim 10, wherein the information provided in the notification includes a map indicating the pickup location for receiving the on-demand ground transportation service.

18. The network computer system of claim 17, wherein execution of the set of instructions by the one or more processors further cause the network computer system to:

determine an arrival terminal at which the user is located;

wherein the map identifies the pickup location that is specific to the arrival terminal.