TRANSPORTATION SERVICE RESERVATION METHOD, TRANSPORTATION SERVICE RESERVATION APPARATUS, AND COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM

• US 20160117610A1
• Filed: 09/17/2015
• Published: 04/28/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Inventors: IKEDA, Takuro, Ben-Akiva, Moshe E., Atasoy, Bilge
• Granted Patent: US 10,628,758 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/60 Business processes related to postal services shipping G06Q10/083; franking apparatus G07B17/00

Abstract

A transportation service reservation method executes, by a computer, a process including receiving a ride request specifying an origin and a destination, generating feasible products having service types, by referring to a storage unit that stores information indicating a schedule allocated to each vehicle and the service types of the schedule, for each vehicle capable of providing products having the service types, computing a choice probability of each product forming an assortment of the feasible products, for each of assortments satisfying a predetermined condition amongst the subsets of the feasible product set that are generated, computing an expected value of a number of future ride requests, and selecting an assortment to be presented with respect to the ride request, from the assortment satisfying the predetermined condition, based on the choice probability and the expected value.

Claims

1. A transportation service reservation method comprising:

receiving, by a computer, a ride request specifying an origin and a destination;

generating, by the computer, feasible products having a plurality of service types, by referring to a storage unit that stores information indicating a schedule allocated to each vehicle and the service types of the schedule, for each vehicle capable of providing products having the plurality of service types, wherein the products are defined as information indicating service contents of various transportation services that are provided;

first computing, by the computer, a choice probability of each product forming an assortment of the feasible products, for each of assortments satisfying a predetermined condition amongst the subsets of the feasible product set that are generated;

second computing, by the computer, an expected value of a number of ride requests which will be received in future; and

selecting, by the computer, a assortment to be presented with respect to the ride request, from the assortments satisfying the predetermined condition, based on the choice probability and the expected value of the number of ride requests.

2. The transportation service reservation method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a number of ride requests to which each service type can simultaneously cope with mutually differs amongst the plurality of service types.

3. The transportation service reservation method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a route modifying capability mutually differs amongst the plurality of service types.

4. The transportation service reservation method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the selecting includes

computing an expected value of a sum total of profit of a service provider, for each of the assortments satisfying the predetermined condition, based on the choice probability and the expected value of the number of ride requests, and

selecting the assortment to be presented with respect to the ride request, based on the expected value of the sum total of the profit.

5. The transportation service reservation method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the selecting includes

computing an expected value of a sum total of utility of users, for each of the assortments satisfying the predetermined condition, based on the choice probability and the expected value of the number of ride requests, and

selecting the assortment to be presented with respect to the ride request, based on the expected value of the sum total of the utility.

6. The transportation service reservation method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

returning the assortment selected by the selecting to a sending source of the ride request,

receiving the product selected by a user from the assortment that is returned, and

sending information related to the schedule to provide the product, with respect to the vehicle providing the product.

7. The transportation service reservation method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second computing computes the expected value of the number of ride requests which will be received in the future, based on a log of the ride request received by the receiving.

8. A transportation service reservation apparatus comprising:

a storage unit configured to store information indicating a schedule allocated to each vehicle and service types of the schedule for each vehicle capable of providing products having a plurality of service types; and

a processor configured to perform a process including

receiving a ride request specifying an origin and a destination;

generating feasible products having a plurality of service types, by referring to a storage unit that stores information indicating a schedule allocated to each vehicle and the service types of the schedule, for each vehicle capable of providing products having the plurality of service types, wherein the products are defined as information indicating service contents of various transportation services that are provided;

first computing a choice probability of each product forming an assortment of the feasible products, for each of assortments satisfying a predetermined condition amongst the subsets of the feasible product set that are generated;

second computing an expected value of a number of ride requests which will be received in future; and

selecting an assortment to be presented with respect to the ride request, from the assortments satisfying the predetermined condition, based on the choice probability and the expected value of the number of ride requests.

9. The transportation service reservation apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein a number of ride requests to which each service type can simultaneously cope with mutually differs amongst the plurality of service types.

10. The transportation service reservation apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein a route modifying capability mutually differs amongst the plurality of service types.

11. The transportation service reservation apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the selecting includes

computing an expected value of a sum total of profit of a service provider, for each of the assortments satisfying the predetermined condition, based on the choice probability and the expected value of the number of ride requests, and

selecting the assortments to be presented with respect to the ride request, based on the expected value of the sum total of the profit.

12. The transportation service reservation apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the selecting includes

computing an expected value of a sum total of a utility of a user, for each of the assortments satisfying the predetermined condition, based on the choice probability and the expected value of the number of ride requests, and

selecting the assortment to be presented with respect to the ride request, based on the expected value of the sum total of the utility.

13. The transportation service reservation apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the processor performs the process further including

returning the assortment selected by the selecting to a sending source of the ride request,

receiving the product selected by a user from the assortment that is returned, and

sending information related to the schedule to provide the product, with respect to the vehicle providing the product.

14. The transportation service reservation apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the second computing computes the expected value of the number of ride requests which will be received in the future, based on a log of the ride request received by the receiving.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a program which, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform a process comprising:

receiving a ride request specifying an origin and a destination;

generating feasible products having a plurality of service types, by referring to a storage unit that stores information indicating a schedule allocated to each vehicle and the service types of the schedule, for each vehicle capable of providing products having the plurality of service types, wherein the products are defined as information indicating service contents of various transportation services that are provided;

first computing a choice probability of each product forming an assortment of feasible products, for each of assortments satisfying a predetermined condition amongst the subsets of the feasible product set that are generated;

second computing an expected value of a number of ride requests which will be received in future; and

selecting a assortment to be presented with respect to the ride request, from the assortments satisfying the predetermined condition, based on the choice probability and the expected value of the number of ride requests.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 15, wherein a number of ride requests to which each service type can simultaneously cope with mutually differs amongst the plurality of service types.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 15, wherein a route modifying capability mutually differs amongst the plurality of service types.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 15, wherein the selecting includes

computing an expected value of a sum total of profit of a service provider, for each of the assortment satisfying the predetermined condition, based on the choice probability and the expected value of the number of ride requests, and

selecting the assortment to be presented with respect to the ride request, based on the expected value of the sum total of profit.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 15, wherein the selecting includes

computing an expected value of a sum total of a utility of users, for each of the assortments satisfying the predetermined condition, based on the choice probability and the expected value of the number of ride requests, and

selecting the assortment to be presented with respect to the ride request, based on the expected value of the sum total of the utility.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 15, wherein the process further comprises:

returning the assortment selected by the selecting to a sending source of the ride request,

receiving the product selected by a user from the assortment that is returned, and

sending information related to the schedule to provide the product, with respect to the vehicle providing the product.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 15, wherein the second computing computes the expected value of the number of ride requests which will be received in the future, based on a log of the ride request received by the receiving.