Shared transport system and service network
First Claim
1. A method of sharing transportation employing a ground transportation network comprising the steps ofproviding a computer network;
- establishing an electronic registry in said computer network of capacity containing an indication of the spare transport capacity and location of a plurality of transport vehicles;
establishing a network of nodes in said computer network representing a plurality of pick-up points and a plurality of drop-off points;
abstracting a geographic representation of a predetermined transport vehicle journey by calculating places where said predetermined transport vehicle journey intersects said nodes and representing said predetermined transport vehicle journey in the format of a set of said nodes;
providing an electronic registry in said computer network of demand containing an indication of the demand for transportation needs of a plurality of transport users;
effecting a match in a match engine in said computer network of said transport capacity of at least one transport vehicle in said electronic registry of capacity with said transport demand for a journey of at least one transport user in said electronic registry of demand for transport between at least two of said nodes.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
The network system matches the supply and demand of transportation services by incorporating unused transportation capacity (i.e., empty seats) with a real-time allocation and matching service that enables individuals and goods to conveniently hire that capacity with attractive pricing, rapid responsiveness, better information availability and trusted security. The network system provides an electronic registry of capacity containing an indication of the spare transport capacity and location of a plurality of transport vehicles, an electronic registry of demand containing an indication of the demand for transportation needs of a plurality of individuals and a central processing capability to effect a match of the transport capacity of at least one transport vehicle with the transport demand of at least one individual.
224 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method of sharing transportation employing a ground transportation network comprising the steps of
providing a computer network; -
establishing an electronic registry in said computer network of capacity containing an indication of the spare transport capacity and location of a plurality of transport vehicles; establishing a network of nodes in said computer network representing a plurality of pick-up points and a plurality of drop-off points; abstracting a geographic representation of a predetermined transport vehicle journey by calculating places where said predetermined transport vehicle journey intersects said nodes and representing said predetermined transport vehicle journey in the format of a set of said nodes; providing an electronic registry in said computer network of demand containing an indication of the demand for transportation needs of a plurality of transport users; effecting a match in a match engine in said computer network of said transport capacity of at least one transport vehicle in said electronic registry of capacity with said transport demand for a journey of at least one transport user in said electronic registry of demand for transport between at least two of said nodes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A ground transportation network comprising
a computer network; -
an electronic registry of capacity in said computer network containing an indication of the spare transport capacity and location of a plurality of transport vehicles; a display system for displaying a network of nodes in said computer network representing a plurality of pick-up points and a plurality of drop-off points; an electronic registry of demand in said computer network containing an indication of the demand for transportation needs of a plurality of transport users; a matching engine in said computer network to effect a match of said transport capacity of at least one transport vehicle in said electronic registry of capacity with said transport demand for a journey of at least one transport user in said electronic registry of demand; a processor in said computer network for abstracting a geographic representation of said transport demand for a journey relative to said nodes by calculating places where a predetermined journey of a transport vehicle intersects said nodes and representing said predetermined journey in the format of a set of said intersected nodes. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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Specification