METHOD FOR REQUESTING TRANSPORTATION SERVICES

• US 20180268713A1
• Filed: 05/22/2018
• Published: 09/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LYFT Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Prosper Technology, LLC
• Inventors: LUBECK, Olaf Martin, HALL, John H.
• Granted Patent: US 10,708,714 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3667 Display of a road map G01C21/3614 takes precedence; guidance using 3D or perspective road maps G01C21/3635
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/46 Indirect determination of position data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/13 Receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/468 by Triangulation, i.e. two antennas or two sensors determine separately the bearing, direction or angle to a target, whereby with the knowledge of the baseline length, the position data of the target is determined
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 2240/00 Transportation facility access, e.g. fares, tolls or parking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/123 indicating the position of vehicles, e.g. scheduled vehicles; Managing passenger vehicles circulating according to a fixed timetable, e.g. buses, trains, tramstransmission of navigation instructions to vehicles G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/202 Dispatching vehicles on the basis of a location, e.g. taxi dispatching
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/205 Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/65 Telephone numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0202 Portable telephone sets, e.g. cordless phones, mobile phones or bar type handsets constructional features of telephone transmitters or receivers, e.g. of speakers or microphones H04M1/03
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/22 Processing or transfer of terminal data, e.g. status or physical capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/24 Transfer of terminal data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 999/99 : dummy group

Abstract

A method for safely and efficiently requesting transportation services through the use of mobile communications devices capable of geographic location is described. Individual and package transportation may be provided. New customers may be efficiently serviced, and the requester and transportation provider locations may be viewed in real time on the mobile devices.

Claims

1. A method for managing transportation services, the method comprising:

receiving, from a requester device associated with a requester, a transportation request;

determining a first mode of transportation available for the transportation request and a second mode of transportation available for the transportation request;

identifying a set of transporters associated with the first mode of transportation;

selecting a transporter from the set of transporters; and

providing, to the requester device, an acknowledgment message identifying the selected transporter.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from the requester device, one or more characteristics associated with the transportation request; and

selecting the transporter based on the one or more characteristics associated with the transportation request.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more characteristics associated with the transportation request comprise at least one of a number of individuals to be transported, a number of packages to be delivered, or a type of material to be transported.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first mode of transportation comprises private transportation, and wherein the second mode of transportation comprises public transportation.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from the requester device, a selection of the first mode of transportation; and

providing, to the requester device, location information for a plurality of transportation vehicles associated with the first mode of transportation for display within a map interface.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing, to the requester device, location information for a plurality of transportation vehicles associated with the second mode of transportation for display within a map interface.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the plurality of transportation vehicles associated with the second mode of transportation comprise at least one of buses, trains, or ferries.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of transportation vehicles associated with the second mode of transportation travels along a predetermined route.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

analyzing time-varying geographic locations for a plurality of vehicles associated with the second mode of transportation;

matching the time-varying geographic locations for the plurality of vehicles to a schedule;

computing times-of-arrival for the plurality of vehicles based on the schedule; and

providing the times-of-arrival to the requester device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the set of transporters comprises identifying all available transporters within at least one of a city, a county, or a borough.

11. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium for managing transportation services comprising instructions that, when executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to:

receive, from a requester device associated with a requester, a transportation request;

determine a first mode of transportation available for the transportation request and a second mode of transportation available for the transportation request;

identify a set of transporters associated with the first mode of transportation;

select a transporter from the set of transporters; and

provide, to the requester device, an acknowledgment message identifying the selected transporter.

12. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 11, further comprising instructions that, when executed by the computer system, cause the computer system to:

receive, from the requester device, one or more characteristics associated with the transportation request, wherein the one or more characteristics comprise at least one of a number of individuals to be transported, a number of packages to be delivered, or a type of material to be transported; and

select the transporter based on the one or more characteristics associated with the transportation request.

13. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 11, further comprising instructions that, when executed by the computer system, cause the computer system to:

receive, from the requester device, a selection of the first mode of transportation; and

provide, to the requester device, location information for a plurality of transportation vehicles associated with the first mode of transportation for display within a map interface.

14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the first mode of transportation comprises private transportation, and wherein the second mode of transportation comprises public transportation.

15. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 11, further comprising instructions that, when executed by the computer system, cause the computer system to:

analyze time-varying geographic locations for a plurality of vehicles associated with the second mode of transportation;

match the time-varying geographic locations for the plurality of vehicles to a schedule;

compute times-of-arrival for the plurality of vehicles based on the schedule; and

provide the times-of-arrival to the requester device.

16. A system for managing transportation services, the system comprising:

at least one server executing instructions that cause the at least one server to;

receive, from a requester device associated with a requester, a transportation request;

determine a first mode of transportation available for the transportation request and a second mode of transportation available for the transportation request;

identify a set of transporters associated with the first mode of transportation;

select a transporter from the set of transporters; and

provide, to the requester device, an acknowledgment message identifying the selected transporter.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the instructions further cause the at least one server to:

receive, from the requester device, one or more characteristics associated with the transportation request, wherein the one or more characteristics comprise at least one of a number of individuals to be transported, a number of packages to be delivered, or a type of material to be transported; and

select the transporter based on the one or more characteristics associated with the transportation request.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the instructions further cause the at least one server to:

receive, from the requester device, a selection of the first mode of transportation; and

provide, to the requester device, location information for a plurality of transportation vehicles associated with the first mode of transportation for display within a map interface.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the first mode of transportation comprises private transportation, and wherein the second mode of transportation comprises public transportation.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the instructions further cause the at least one server to:

analyze time-varying geographic locations for a plurality of vehicles associated with the second mode of transportation;

match the time-varying geographic locations for the plurality of vehicles to a schedule;

compute times-of-arrival for the plurality of vehicles based on the schedule; and

provide the times-of-arrival to the requester device.