System and Methods for Distributed Tracking of Public Transit Vehicles
First Claim
1. A method for providing information to an individual who is riding, or preparing to ride, one of a plurality of public transit vehicles, each vehicle in the plurality of vehicles having a scheduled route, the method comprising:
- receiving timestamped location data from a location-aware device possessed by the individual;
in a computer process, determining a single vehicle in the plurality of vehicles, the single vehicle having a scheduled route that corresponds to the received timestamped location data; and
transmitting, to the location-aware device, information regarding the timeliness of the single vehicle along its scheduled route.
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Abstract
A system and methods are provided for collecting and aggregating the movements of location-aware wireless devices and corroborating them with the routes of public transit vehicles. Individual public transit agencies transmit details of their covered routes, including scheduled times and stop locations, to a central processing system. Individual end users of public transit systems carry their own mass-produced, location-aware wireless devices that transmit their location and other relevant information to the central processing system for analysis. The central processing system assigns the specific devices to transit vehicles, uses their locations to determine the actual locations of the vehicles they are traveling on, and communicates this information to the end user of the device, and other users.
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Citations
39 Claims
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1. A method for providing information to an individual who is riding, or preparing to ride, one of a plurality of public transit vehicles, each vehicle in the plurality of vehicles having a scheduled route, the method comprising:
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receiving timestamped location data from a location-aware device possessed by the individual; in a computer process, determining a single vehicle in the plurality of vehicles, the single vehicle having a scheduled route that corresponds to the received timestamped location data; and transmitting, to the location-aware device, information regarding the timeliness of the single vehicle along its scheduled route. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for providing information regarding a plurality of public transit vehicles, each vehicle in the plurality of vehicles having a scheduled route, the method comprising:
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receiving a collection of timestamped location data from a plurality of location-aware devices, each location-aware device possessed by an individual riding one of the plurality of public transit vehicles; in a computer process, for each vehicle in the plurality of vehicles, determining which location data corresponds to that vehicle, thereby determining a collection of stops remaining on the scheduled route of the vehicle; in a computer process, for each vehicle in the plurality of vehicles, computing an estimated time of arrival for a stop in the collection of stops; and transmitting at least one of the estimated times of arrival to a second device not in the plurality of location-aware devices. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A computer program product, embodied in a tangible, computer-readable medium, the computer program product comprising:
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program code for receiving a collection of timestamped location data from a plurality of location-aware devices, each location-aware device possessed by an individual riding one of the plurality of public transit vehicles; program code for determining, for each vehicle in the plurality of vehicles, which location data corresponds to that vehicle, thereby determining a collection of stops remaining on the scheduled route of the vehicle; program code for computing, for each vehicle in the plurality of vehicles, an estimated time of arrival for a stop in the collection of stops; and program code for transmitting at least one of the estimated times of arrival to a second device not in the plurality of location-aware devices. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. Apparatus for providing information regarding a plurality of public transit vehicles, each vehicle in the plurality of vehicles having a scheduled route, the apparatus comprising:
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a receiver for receiving a collection of timestamped location data from a plurality of location-aware devices, each location-aware device possessed by an individual riding one of the plurality of public transit vehicles; a processor that is capable of (i) determining, for each vehicle in the plurality of vehicles, which location data corresponds to that vehicle, thereby determining a collection of stops remaining on the scheduled route of the vehicle, and (ii) computing, for each vehicle in the plurality of vehicles, an estimated time of arrival for a stop in the collection of stops; and a transmitter for transmitting at least one of the estimated times of arrival to a second device not in the plurality of location-aware devices.
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31. Apparatus for receiving information regarding a public transit vehicle in a plurality of such vehicles, each vehicle in the plurality of vehicles having a scheduled route, the apparatus comprising:
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a first receiver for wirelessly receiving a plurality of data signals; a processor for processing the data signals to determine the location of the apparatus; a transmitter for transmitting data pertaining to the location of the apparatus to a computing device over a wireless communications network; and a second receiver for receiving, from the computing device, information regarding a public transit vehicle that is proximal to the apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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Specification