Variable rate travel fee based upon vehicle occupancy

• US 8,055,534 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2008
• Issued: 11/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Ashby, Duncan, Hamilton, Rick A. II, Seaman, James W., Lim, Colin Fung Wan, Swaminathan, Vinodh K., Lamba, Naveen
• Primary Examiner(s): Hayes; John
• Assistant Examiner(s): EPSTEIN, BRIAN M
• Application Number:
  US12/341,087
• Publication Number:
  US 20100161392A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,051 Days
• Field of Search: 705/13, 340/928, 340/572, 340/905, 235/384
• US Class Current: 705/13
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0212 Chance discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0284 Time or distance, e.g. usage of parking meters or taximeters
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083

Abstract

Methods, including service methods, articles of manufacture, systems, articles and programmable devices are provided for charging travel fees or awarding benefits as a function of vehicle occupancy. Variable travel fee schedules include a plurality of different rate values, each rate value associated with ride-sharing service points of a vehicle infrastructure and vehicle occupancy counts. Occupants within a vehicle traveling via a vehicle infrastructure are counted, the counting generating discrete occupant counts correlated with the ride-sharing service points. Subsets of variable travel fee schedule rate values are selected as a function of association with discrete occupant counts and correlated ride-sharing service points. Owners, occupants or other parties associated with the vehicle are accordingly charged a travel fee or awarded a benefit as a function of the rate value subset and an amount of the vehicle traveling.

Claims

1. A method for awarding benefits as a function of vehicle occupancy, the method comprising:

communicating via a wireless transponder with each of a plurality of machine-readable media devices located within a vehicle, wherein each of the machine-readable media devices have a unique identification indicia associated with each of a plurality of passengers within the vehicle;

continuously counting in real-time a current number of occupants within the vehicle while the vehicle travels along a vehicle infrastructure by counting a number of the machine-readable media devices currently communicating with the wireless transponder;

associating each of a plurality of benefit award rates with a plurality of different occupant counts, wherein higher occupant counts are associated with higher benefit award rates;

awarding a variable benefit to each of the passengers within the vehicle without requiring the passengers to preregister with an awarding entity and as a function of an amount of use of the vehicle infrastructure by the vehicle and of the continuously counted real-time current number of occupants within the vehicle by;

awarding a first leg benefit as a function of a first leg portion of the amount of use of the vehicle infrastructure by the vehicle having a constant first value for the continuously counted real-time current number of occupants within the vehicle and of the selected and applied one of the benefit award rates associated with the constant first value;

awarding a second leg benefit that is higher than the first leg benefit as a function of a remainder portion of the amount of use of the vehicle infrastructure by the vehicle having a constant second leg value for the continuously counted real-time current number of occupants within the vehicle that is higher than the constant first leg value, and of a selected and applied one of the benefit award rates associated with the constant second value that is higher than the selected and applied one of the benefit award rates associated with the constant first value;

notifying each of the passengers within the vehicle of the awarded first and second leg benefits; and

increasing in real-time individual amounts of the variable benefit awarded to each of the passengers in proportion to an increase in the continuously counted real-time current number of occupants within the vehicle during the amount of use of the vehicle infrastructure by the vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

awarding a higher total amount of benefits to a driving passenger within the vehicle than a total amount of benefits awarded to a non-driving passenger within the vehicle as a function of identifying a driver status of the driving passenger.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the vehicle infrastructure that the vehicle travels along is a road selected from a plurality of roads, the method further comprising:

identifying a road of the plurality of roads as having a traffic condition that is heavier than a traffic condition of another of the plurality of roads; and

notifying the passengers within the vehicle that awarding the variable benefit to the each of the passengers within the vehicle is conditional upon the vehicle travelling along the one road having the heavier traffic condition during the heavier traffic condition.

4. A method for awarding benefits as a function of vehicle occupancy, the method comprising:

providing a wireless transponder computer infrastructure that;

communicates wirelessly with each of a plurality of machine-readable media devices located within a vehicle, wherein each of the machine-readable media devices have a unique identification indicia associated with each of a plurality of passengers within the vehicle;

continuously counts in real-time a current number of occupants within the vehicle while the vehicle travels along a vehicle infrastructure by counting a number of the machine-readable media devices currently communicating with the wireless transponder computer infrastructure;

awards a variable benefit to each of the passengers within the vehicle without requiring the passengers to preregister with an awarding entity and as a function of an amount of use of the vehicle infrastructure by the vehicle, each of a plurality of benefit award rates associated with a plurality of different occupant counts wherein higher occupant counts are associated with higher benefit award rates, and of the continuously counted real-time current number of occupants within the vehicle, by;

awarding a first leg benefit as a function of a first leg portion of the amount of use of the vehicle infrastructure by the vehicle having a constant first value for the continuously counted real-time current number of occupants within the vehicle and of the selected and applied one of the benefit award rates associated with the constant first value;

awarding a second leg benefit that is higher than the first leg benefit as a function of a remainder portion of the amount of use of the vehicle infrastructure by the vehicle having a constant second leg value for the continuously counted real-time current number of occupants within the vehicle that is higher than the constant first leg value, and of a selected and applied one of the benefit award rates associated with the constant second value that is higher than the selected and applied one of the benefit award rates associated with the constant first value;

notifying each of the passengers within the vehicle of the awarded first and second leg benefits; and

increasing in real-time individual amounts of the variable benefit awarded to each of the passengers in proportion to an increase in the continuously counted real-time current number of occupants within the vehicle during the amount of use of the vehicle infrastructure by the vehicle.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the computer infrastructure further:

awards a higher total amount of benefits to a driving passenger within the vehicle than a total amount of benefits awarded to a non-driving passenger within the vehicle as a function of identifying a driver status of the driving passenger.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the vehicle infrastructure that the vehicle travels along is a road selected from a plurality of roads, and wherein the computer infrastructure further:

identifies a road of the plurality of roads as having a traffic condition that is heavier than a traffic condition of another of the plurality of roads; and

notifies the passengers within the vehicle that awarding the variable benefit to the each of the passengers within the vehicle is conditional upon the vehicle travelling along the one road having the heavier traffic condition during the heavier traffic condition.

7. A computer program product for awarding benefits as a function of vehicle occupancy, the computer program product comprising:

a computer readable storage medium;

first program instructions that, when executing on a wireless transponder computer infrastructure, cause the wireless transponder computer infrastructure to communicate wirelessly with each of a plurality of machine-readable media devices located within a vehicle, wherein each of the machine-readable media devices have a unique identification indicia associated with each of a plurality of passengers within the vehicle, and to continuously count in real-time a current number of occupants within the vehicle while the vehicle travels along a vehicle infrastructure by counting a number of the machine-readable media devices currently communicating with the wireless transponder computer infrastructure;

second program instructions to award a variable benefit to each of the passengers within the vehicle without requiring the passengers to preregister with an awarding entity and as a function of an amount of use of the vehicle infrastructure by the vehicle, each of a plurality of benefit award rates associated with a plurality of different occupant counts wherein higher occupant counts are associated with higher benefit award rates, and of the continuously counted real-time current number of occupants within the vehicle, by;

awarding a first leg benefit as a function of a first leg portion of the amount of use of the vehicle infrastructure by the vehicle having a constant first value for the continuously counted real-time current number of occupants within the vehicle and of the selected and applied one of the benefit award rates associated with the constant first value;

awarding a second leg benefit that is higher than the first leg benefit as a function of a remainder portion of the amount of use of the vehicle infrastructure by the vehicle having a constant second leg value for the continuously counted real-time current number of occupants within the vehicle that is higher than the constant first leg value, and of a selected and applied one of the benefit award rates associated with the constant second value that is higher than the selected and applied one of the benefit award rates associated with the constant first value; and

notifying each of the passengers within the vehicle of the awarded first and second leg benefits; and

third program instructions to increase in real-time individual amounts of the variable benefit awarded to each of the passengers in proportion to an increase in the continuously counted real-time current number of occupants within the vehicle during the amount of use of the vehicle infrastructure by the vehicle; and

wherein the first, second and third program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage medium.

8. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the third program instructions are further to award a higher total amount of benefits to a driving passenger within the vehicle than a total amount of benefits awarded to a non-driving passenger within the vehicle as a function of identifying a driver status of the driving passenger.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the vehicle infrastructure that the vehicle travels along is a road selected from a plurality of roads, and wherein the third program instructions are further to:

identify a road of the plurality of roads as having a traffic condition that is heavier than a traffic condition of another of the plurality of roads; and

notify the passengers within the vehicle that awarding the variable benefit to the each of the passengers within the vehicle is conditional upon the vehicle travelling along the one road having the heavier traffic condition during the heavier traffic condition.

10. A system, comprising:

a processing unit, computer readable memory and a computer readable storage system;

first program instructions that, when executing on a wireless transponder computer infrastructure, cause the wireless transponder computer infrastructure to communicate wirelessly with each of a plurality of machine-readable media devices located within a vehicle, wherein each of the machine-readable media devices have a unique identification indicia associated with each of a plurality of passengers within the vehicle, and to continuously count in real-time a current number of occupants within the vehicle while the vehicle travels along a vehicle infrastructure by counting a number of the machine-readable media devices currently communicating with the wireless transponder computer infrastructure;

second program instructions to award a variable benefit to each of the passengers within the vehicle without requiring the passengers to preregister with an awarding entity and as a function of an amount of use of the vehicle infrastructure by the vehicle, each of a plurality of benefit award rates associated with a plurality of different occupant counts wherein higher occupant counts are associated with higher benefit award rates, and of the continuously counted real-time current number of occupants within the vehicle by;

awarding a first leg benefit as a function of a first leg portion of the amount of use of the vehicle infrastructure by the vehicle having a constant first value for the continuously counted real-time current number of occupants within the vehicle and of the selected and applied one of the benefit award rates associated with the constant first value;

awarding a second leg benefit that is higher than the first leg benefit as a function of a remainder portion of the amount of use of the vehicle infrastructure by the vehicle having a constant second leg value for the continuously counted real-time current number of occupants within the vehicle that is higher than the constant first leg value, and of a selected and applied one of the benefit award rates associated with the constant second value that is higher than the selected and applied one of the benefit award rates associated with the constant first value;

notifying each of the passengers within the vehicle of the awarded first and second leg benefits; and

third program instructions to increase in real-time individual amounts of the variable benefit awarded to each of the passengers in proportion to an increase in the continuously counted real-time current number of occupants within the vehicle during the amount of use of the vehicle infrastructure by the vehicle; and

wherein the first, second and third program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage system for execution by the processing unit via the computer readable memory.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the third program instructions are further to award a higher total amount of benefits to a driving passenger within the vehicle than a total amount of benefits awarded to a non-driving passenger within the vehicle as a function of identifying a driver status of the driving passenger.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the vehicle infrastructure that the vehicle travels along is a road selected from a plurality of roads, and wherein the third program instructions are further to:

identify a road of the plurality of roads as having a traffic condition that is heavier than a traffic condition of another of the plurality of roads; and

notify the passengers within the vehicle that awarding the variable benefit to the each of the passengers within the vehicle is conditional upon the vehicle travelling along the one road having the heavier traffic condition during the heavier traffic condition.