Active traffic and demand management system
First Claim
1. An active traffic and demand management system, comprising:
- a mobile device application executable on a mobile device of a user; and
a computer software server system in operative communication with the mobile device application, the computer software server system comprising a plurality of modules, including;
a route determination module operative to determine a route between a origin and destination pair selected by the user for multiple departure time windows proximate in time to a preferred travel time selected by the user, wherein each of the departure time windows corresponds to a time interval when the user is to depart from the origin and travel along the route toward the destination;
an experienced travel time prediction module operative to calculate predicted experienced travel times between the origin and destination pair for the multiple departure time windows;
an incentive offering module operative to determine a user incentive for each of the multiple departure time windows, the incentives allocated among the departure time windows based on least amount of impact to the route'"'"'s or traffic system'"'"'s congestion at each departure time window; and
a validation module operative to receive location information from the mobile device application, and to verify that the user has departed from the origin during a selected departure time window and has traveled along at least a portion of the route thereafter.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods for providing incentives for the public to travel during time windows and routes that help alleviate traffic congestion. The systems described herein include at least two components: a computer server software system that includes various algorithms and database sub-systems; and a mobile device application. Generally, a user may enter an origin, destination, and preferred time of travel for an intended trip into the mobile device application, which transmits the information to a remote server. The server computes a route for the trip and provides the user with available incentives for traveling the route at one or more departure time windows. The user'"'"'s mobile device transmits GPS data to the server, which allows the server to verify whether the user has traveled the route during the specified time window. If so, the server then provides the incentive to the user via the user'"'"'s mobile device or through email.
11 Citations
11 Claims
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1. An active traffic and demand management system, comprising:
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a mobile device application executable on a mobile device of a user; and a computer software server system in operative communication with the mobile device application, the computer software server system comprising a plurality of modules, including; a route determination module operative to determine a route between a origin and destination pair selected by the user for multiple departure time windows proximate in time to a preferred travel time selected by the user, wherein each of the departure time windows corresponds to a time interval when the user is to depart from the origin and travel along the route toward the destination; an experienced travel time prediction module operative to calculate predicted experienced travel times between the origin and destination pair for the multiple departure time windows; an incentive offering module operative to determine a user incentive for each of the multiple departure time windows, the incentives allocated among the departure time windows based on least amount of impact to the route'"'"'s or traffic system'"'"'s congestion at each departure time window; and a validation module operative to receive location information from the mobile device application, and to verify that the user has departed from the origin during a selected departure time window and has traveled along at least a portion of the route thereafter. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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Specification