JP2004151911A - Fare adjusting method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the fare adjusting system of transportation such as a train and a bus equivalent to a parking lot system for discounting a parking lot fee when going shopping to stores, transport facilities and consumers, and to advise the fare adjusting system to increase opportunities for the consumers to go shopping by using a train and a bus. <P>SOLUTION: The consumers are able to pass ticket examination at using a train or a bus by using non-contact IC cards 1 to 4, and to purchase merchandise in stores 15 and 16 with card payment, and to execute the payment of the fares of transport facilities 13 and 14 and the merchandise purchase price in the stores through account withdrawal in a membership management center. In this case, all the fare information and purchase information is totaled by a card management center. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a technology for paying for services including transportation.
[0002]
[Prior art]
When shopping at a store such as a supermarket or a department store, there is a parking lot settlement system that discounts (or makes free) the parking fee according to the purchase amount (for example, see Patent Document 1).
In this conventional technique, the amount of shopping is detected, and a calculation process of discounting the amount of parking according to this amount is executed.
[Patent Document 1] JP-A-2002-189816 [Problems to be Solved by the Invention]
However, Patent Literature 1 considers only a visitor using a private car, and does not consider a visitor other than a private car such as a train or a bus (especially public transportation). The number of visitors who come for shopping is not extremely small, such as buses and other vehicles. However, there was a difference in the services available to customers other than private cars compared to customers using private cars. In other words, although passengers using private cars were discounted on transportation costs, passengers other than private cars were not discounted on transportation expenses. There is no system in the world that discounts the necessary fares for trains, buses, etc. according to the purchase price. From the housewife's point of view, "I do not go to the next station until I pay for the train and pay for the train. That is the current situation.
[0003]
Also, for example, if you decide to go shopping at a station on the way back from your company or school and want to do shopping, you will have to re-purchase your ticket due to a stopover and the fare will be higher. Works in general. This results in a loss of opportunity from the viewpoint of the store, which is not desirable.
[0004]
In other words, there is a problem that there is no technology for providing fair service to customers using private cars and other customers.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and realize fairer services, thereby achieving sales promotion of stores and improving the utilization rate of transportation. Note that the present invention is applicable not only to customers other than private cars but also to customers using private cars (for example, parking rate discount processing is also included in the present invention).
[0006]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention employs the following configuration in accordance with the present invention for a user who visits (or returns home) by transportation or the like in accordance with a purchase price at a predetermined store. A calculation process for discounting the fare of transportation etc. is executed.
[0007]
The present invention also includes the following. The storage medium used by the user at the store stores the usage status including the transportation agency identification information that identifies the transportation system, such as the transportation agency, and the fare information that specifies the usage fare. The transportation system indicated by the institution identification information is determined to be a discount target at the store or a table stored in a computer used at the store, and if determined to be a discount target, the purchase price to be settled is determined. Execute the discount calculation of. In this case, the discount information for the fare according to the purchase price may be stored in the storage medium. The storage medium can be used in transportation and the like, and the discount information includes information for adding fare value information and information for executing a calculation for discounting a return home fare. The information for executing the calculation for discounting the fare for returning home is that transportation is used at a time having a predetermined relationship including the same day as the date of purchase at the store (including within a predetermined time from the purchase time) (the storage medium was used). If so, information is included that discounts the fare according to the purchase price.
[0008]
The present invention also includes the following. Information for calculating a discount price of a use fare of a transportation facility or the like in accordance with a purchase price at a store is stored in a storage medium usable by the transportation facility or the like.
[0009]
More specifically, the following embodiments are also included in the present invention. First, transportation fare information indicating "when and how much train / bus" was used, and product purchase information indicating "who bought what at which store and at what price" were tabulated together. Prepare a member management center. Passing through a ticket gate when using a train / bus, etc., is performed using a non-contact IC card, and the fare data used is counted at the center and settled at a later date such as the end of the month. Further, an equivalent method is applied to merchandise sales at a store, and at the time of product purchase at the store, purchase information is counted up at the card management center via a POS terminal. The card management center manages the nearest station information at home for each member, the nearest station information for each store, and associates the fare data, purchase data, and the nearest station information with each other to reduce the round-trip fare from home. It is possible to carry out a discount processing of a fare such as a discount, a discount for a fare increase of a stopover, and to realize a desired fare settlement method.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Embodiment 1 will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a configuration diagram of the present invention. In the present invention, the illustrated computers (such as servers) execute processing according to a program.
[0011]
The card management center 17 issues transportation contactless IC cards 1 and 2 and stores cards 3 and 4 and manages members. The card management center 17 aggregates transportation fares used by members and purchase data at stores, and determines the card. This is a center for debiting from the member's account on the due date. It also manages transportation and stores participating in the discount program of the present invention, distributes fares and purchases collected from members, discounts fares, and distributes them to accounts of transportation and stores. , Transfer processing is also performed.
[0012]
IC card 1, IC card 2, IC card 3, and IC card 4 are issued to the members of this discount program. These IC cards are non-contact IF IC cards, and each IC card stores personal information such as a member ID and a card ID, and enables communication with a reader / writer mounted on a ticket gate or the like. . Here, the IC cards 1, 2, 3, and 4 may be the same card, or may be, for example, different cards issued by each transportation or each store. Alternatively, a mobile phone that can store electronic card member information and can communicate with a ticket gate and a POS terminal using a local communication function such as a contactless card communication function and an infrared IC communication function may be used. However, in the present embodiment, the description will be made assuming that the same IC card is issued by the card management center 17.
[0013]
When a member of the discount program gets on or off a train or a bus of the transportation 13 or 14, the IC card 1 or 2 is held over the ticket gate 9 or 10 and passes through the ticket gate. At that timing, the boarding / disembarking record information indicating “who got in and out of which station” from the IC cards 1 and 2 as data 51 via the reader / writers RW31 and RW32 mounted on the ticket gate, 9 and 10. The ticket gates 9 and 10 add the fare billing amount to the information of the getting on and off the vehicle and send it as fare data 52 to the tallying servers 21 and 22 of the transportation facilities 13 and 14.
[0014]
Similarly, when shopping at the stores 15 and 16, the member holds the IC card 3 or 4 over the reader / writer 33 or 34 mounted on the POS terminal 11 or 12 to perform shopping. At that time, “information indicating who has made a purchase” is transmitted as data 54 from the IC cards 3 and 4 to the POS terminals 11 and 12 via the reader / writers RW 33 and 34 mounted on the POS terminal. Is done. The POS terminals 11 and 12 send the purchase data 55 indicating “who, when and how much shopping” to the tallying servers 23 and 24 of the stores 15 and 16 as purchase data 55.
The card management center 17 includes a server 18 and a member management DB 19 for managing member information of consumer members, stores, and transportation. At the end of each day's work, each transportation agency and store participating in the discount program receives The fare data and purchase data tabulated for each transportation and store are tabulated as transfer data 53 and 56. Here, the transfer data 53, 56 includes the information of the data 52, 54, respectively, and is a total of the boarding histories and purchase histories of all members for the day.
[0015]
The financial institution 20 manages the member account 44 of the consumer member, the shops participating in the discount program, and the accounts 45 and 46 of the transportation agency. (Here, the financial institution is not necessarily the same, but for the sake of simplicity, the description will be made as the same financial institution in the first embodiment.) The card management center 17 also collects the fares and purchase data collected from the transportation agencies and stores. At the same time, the fare discount processing is performed, the amount debited from the member account is determined, and the debit processing is performed from the member's account on the determined date. In addition, the amount of payment to the transportation means and the store is determined by performing a discount processing of the fare, and the transfer processing to the account of the transportation means and the store is performed.
[0016]
FIG. 2 shows a record in the member DB 19, which includes a card member record 100 in FIG. 2A and a store member record 120 in FIG.
2A, the card member record 100 includes a member ID 101, a card ID 102, a card name 103, a member name 104, an enrollment date 105, a card expiration date 106, an address 107, a TEL 108, a date of birth 110, a gender 111, and points. In addition to the member attributes of the ordinary card such as other member attributes 112 such as, the nearest station information 109 of the member's home is stored. Since the nearest station information 109 is important information used for discount, it is sufficiently checked with address information at the time of member registration or the like, and is stored as record information. In addition, it is possible to have the latitude / longitude information of the address as information equivalent to the nearest station information, and to have information of stations (a plurality of stations) within a distance radius determined from the latitude / longitude information. And the nearest station information as record information.
[0017]
In FIG. 2B, the card member record 120 includes, in addition to the store ID 121, the store name 122, the store addresses 123 and 124, the representative, the contact information, the member attributes 124 such as TEL, etc., and the nearest station information 125 of the store. And a plurality of discounted section information 126 are stored. Here, instead of the nearest station information 125, it is also possible to hold the information as latitude / longitude information in the same way as the member address.
[0018]
FIG. 3A shows the boarding record data 100 transferred from the card to the ticket gate when the member passes the ticket gate to get off. A member ID 201, a card ID 202, and an on-board flag 204 indicating that the user has boarded at time 205 at the station 204.
[0019]
FIG. 3B shows the fare data 52 transferred from the ticket gate to the tallying server of the transportation agency. It consists of member ID 211, card ID 212, boarding station 213, boarding time 214, getting off station 215, getting off time 216, and boarding fare 217.
[0020]
FIG. 3C shows data 53 transferred from a card to a POS terminal when a member purchases a product at a store. It is composed of a member ID 221 and a card ID 222.
[0021]
FIG. 3D shows purchase data 54 transferred from the POS terminal to the tallying server of the store. It comprises a member ID 231, a card 232, a purchased item name 233, a purchase store 234, a purchase time 235, a purchase amount 236, a store name 237, and a store ID 238.
[0022]
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a fare discount rule. That is, it is an explanatory diagram of the shop discount target section 126 managed by the card management center for each shop. In this example, the discounted transportation routes of the shop L are the train route 402 and the bus routes 403 and 404, the nearest station of the shop L is D, and the discount target section is a station included in 401. .
[0023]
The following shows the rules used when calculating the fare discount at the card management center. (Rule 1) indicates a discount when going back and forth from home to the nearest station of the store L by shopping.
(Rule 1) When a certain amount of money is purchased at the shopping mall L from home, the following fares are discounted between ± 2 hours of the purchase time and 9: 00-17: 00. At the nearest station of the store L) and get off at the nearest station of the member L, and get off at the closest station of the member X (Note 1) The time is the arrival time (the nearest station of the store L) or the arrival and departure time.
(Note 2) If only one side is within 2 hours, only the fare within 2 hours is discounted.
The discount amount is as follows.
-If the nearest station of Member X is within the discounted section: the ride fare is free.-If the nearest station of Member X is outside the discounted section: A flat minimum section fare (example: $ 150) is discounted.
[0024]
(Rule 2) indicates a rule of a fare discount for a stopover at the nearest station of the store L to or from a company, a school, or the like.
(Rule 2) The fare for going to a company, school, etc., or shopping for a stop on the way back, or not dropping off.
When a certain amount of money is purchased at store L, there is a boarding record of station A → station B, station B → station C in the same route section for ± 2 hours of the purchase time, and station B (Station), if station A or station C is (nearest station at home) and the getting on / off time at station B is between 9:00 and 17:00, discount on the fare when not dropping off at station B .
(Note 1) The time is the arrival time or departure time at the nearest station of the store L.
(Note 2) Station A, Station B, and Station C are stations on the same line.
[0025]
(Rule 3) shows rules regarding the purchase price and the discount rate.
(Rule 3)
(1) In order to receive the discount privilege according to the above rules, a certain amount of shopping is required at the store L. For example, if you buy $ 5,000 or more: discount rate 100% (full discount for rules 1 and 2), if you buy $ 3000 or more: discount rate 50% (half discount for rules 1 and 2)
(2) When the member X makes a purchase at a plurality of stores participating in the discount program, the discount rate is determined based on the total purchase amount.
[0026]
(Rule 4) shows rules regarding the burden of the discounted fare.
(Rule 4) Burden of the fare (1) The discounted fare is borne by the shop L.
(2) When shopping is performed at a plurality of stores, the burden is 1 / N.
[0027]
In addition to the rules described above, there may be various modifications to the rules. For example, a campaign in which a store discounts a specific area to a specific institution to improve sales can be easily made into a rule. The reason why the discount time is set to 9: 00-17: 00 in this rule is to avoid traffic congestion and improve the utilization rate of trains and buses without increasing the number of trains and buses operated. There is.
[0028]
In addition, in rule 4, the fare discount was set to be entirely borne by the store, but for transportation, the effect of this discount program is expected to be that the occupancy rate during non-congestion periods will improve and the number of operating flights will not increase. Yes, even if the fare is reduced by half, it is also judged that the business is positive. In that case, it is possible to easily change the rule of sharing the cost of the resources of the discount between transportation and shops. In this case, the number of passengers in the transportation system is increased, and the number of customers in the store is increased, the eco-friendly and a WIN-WIN related discount program is possible.
[0029]
FIG. 5 shows a processing flow of the ticket gate. (A) shows the process when getting on, and (b) shows the process when getting off. The IC card may store value information indicating a monetary value that can be used for at least one of transportation and shops. Further, the IC card may store information indicating a purchase (use) amount at a transportation facility or a store.
[0030]
First, at the time of boarding, in step 501, the card ID of the IC card (storage medium) inserted into the ticket gate machine (or installed at a predetermined position) is read, and its validity is checked. If valid, go to step 502.
[0031]
In step 502, the boarding flag of the IC card is turned ON (1), and information for specifying the boarding station where the ticket gate is located is written in the boarding station field of the IC card. Thus, the process for boarding is completed.
[0032]
Next, the process at the time of getting off will be described using (b). First, in step 511, the boarding station written in the IC card inserted into the ticket gate (or installed in a predetermined position) is read (in step 502 of (a)).
[0033]
Next, in step 512, the fare from the boarding station to the getting off station is calculated. For example, the fare table stored in the ticket gate is referred to, and the fare table is calculated using the information for specifying the boarding station. At this time, the boarding flag in the IC card may be set to OFF (0).
[0034]
Next, in step 513, a state where the user can pass through the ticket gate is set. At this time, the boarding fare may be displayed on the display device of the ticket gate. Then, the boarding fare is transmitted to the tallying server. As described above, this information may be stored in the IC card. Note that the aggregation server transmits this information to the server 18.
[0035]
Next, FIG. 6 shows a process at the time of product purchase at the POS terminal when shopping at a store is completed after the boarding process at transportation shown in FIG. 5 is completed. In the POS terminal, a price of a purchased product or service is input using a barcode reader or the like.
[0036]
In step 601, the validity of the IC card inserted into the POS terminal (installed at a predetermined position) is confirmed. If so, go to step 602.
[0037]
In step 602, the purchase price is displayed on the display based on the input consideration.
[0038]
Then, in step 603, information indicating the purchase price is transmitted to the tallying server. Then, the aggregation server transmits this information to the server 18 of the card management center. In step 603, information indicating the purchase price may be stored in the IC card. Thus, the processing of the POS terminal at the time of settlement at the store is completed.
[0039]
Next, the processing of the card management center server will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 shows a daily business process (a) and a month-end business process (b) of the card management center. In blocks 702 and 703 of FIG. 7A, processing is performed according to the discount rule of FIG.
[0040]
First, FIG. 7A shows information processing for business processing in a short period of a predetermined period including a day.
[0041]
First, in step 701, the boarding record (including the fare) for one day (a predetermined period) and the purchase price are stored in association with each other for each member. That is, a list of records in which the fare transmitted in step 514 is associated with the purchase price transmitted in step 603 is created.
[0042]
Next, in step 702, the discount amount of the fare (or the discount amount of the purchase amount) for the day (the predetermined period) is calculated using the above-described discount rule. This discount amount includes information (such as points) having a monetary value.
[0043]
Next, in Step 703, the contribution amount of each member store is calculated using the discount rule described above. In step 704, whether the processing of steps 701 to 703 has been completed based on any of the following criteria: all users who have used transportation, all users who have shopped at member stores, or all users who have registered as members. You may check.
[0044]
Next, processing in a period (here, one month) longer than the predetermined period (one day) in (a) will be described with reference to FIG.
[0045]
In step 711, the usage fee for the one month is calculated for each member. This is to calculate the debit amount by adding the fare transmitted in step 514 and the purchase amount transmitted in step 603 in the month, and subtracting the discount amount calculated in step 702 in the month from the sum. . This calculation can be realized by transmitting information for identifying the user when transmitting in step 514 or step 603, and storing the information in association with the fare or purchase information. Then, the calculated amount is deducted from the user's account.
[0046]
Next, the transfer amount for each store is calculated. That is, first, the sales amount of each store is calculated. This can be realized by transmitting information for specifying a store when transmitting the purchase price in step 603, and storing the sales price and this information in association with each other. Then, the transfer amount is calculated by executing a process of subtracting one month of the burden amount calculated in step 703 from here. Then, this amount is transferred to the account of each store.
[0047]
Further, in step 713, the fare for each transportation means in the one month is calculated, and the calculated fare is transferred to the transportation account. Step 714 may be omitted, but it is confirmed whether all members have been calculated as in step 704.
[0048]
In the first embodiment, the fare is borne by the member store, but may be borne by the transportation agency. Further, the target may not be a transportation fare but a parking lot parking fee.
[0049]
Although the first embodiment has been described above, the second embodiment described below can be realized by slightly modifying the first embodiment. At present, point programs that issue points according to the purchase amount at the time of purchase at a store are widely used in the public. In the first embodiment, an example has been described in which a purchase price at a store is paid using an IC card. However, when a member purchases at a store, payment is made by cash or credit, and a point card is presented at that time. When the POS terminal reads the card ID of the point card, the same information as the purchase information in FIG. 3D can be transferred to the center that manages the point program. Here, if the point management center has already been established, the card management center 17 manages that the point card member ID and the member ID of the transportation IC card are the same customer, and purchase data at a predetermined cycle. A system for transmitting information equivalent to 54 from the point management center to the card management center can be easily constructed. Furthermore, by adding the amount corresponding to the fare discount as a point of the store, it greatly contributes to the improvement of the store visit rate.
[0050]
In a third embodiment, in the first embodiment, all information is collected in the card management center, and the discount processing is performed using the information. However, the nearest station information of the member is stored in the IC card. At the time of shopping, by referring to the nearest station information in the IC card and the getting on / off history of transportation, if it can be judged that it came from home, the fare for the round trip is valid electronic ticket with expiration date, or A configuration in which cashback is performed in a form stored in an IC card in the form of electronic money that can be used in transportation is conceivable.
[0051]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, a fare adjustment method for transportation such as trains and buses, which is equivalent to a parking system in which parking fees are discounted at the time of shopping, is provided to shops, transportation, and consumers, and consumers use trains and buses. A fare settlement method that increases the chances of going out shopping. Also, if the same company or the same group company conducts the transportation business such as trains and buses and the retail business such as department stores and supermarkets, the vacant seats on the train will be used to carry people and the store will increase sales. Because it is connected, it is very effective in terms of management and consolidated management. In addition, as the rate of using cars for shopping decreases, the effect of reducing CO2 emissions, being environmentally friendly and meeting national policies can be achieved at the same time.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a first embodiment.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a member DB according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a transfer data record according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a fare discount rule according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a ticket gate processing flow according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a POS terminal processing flow according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a card management center server processing flow according to the first embodiment;
[Explanation of symbols]
1-4 IC card, 9-10 ticket gate, 11-12 POS terminal, 13-14 transportation, 15-16 store, 17 card management center, 20 financial institution, 21-24 total Server, 44 ... Member account, 45 ... Shop account, 46 ... Transportation account

Claims (5)

In a fare settlement method using a center server connected to a transportation server that transmits fare information of a transportation facility used by a user and a store server that transmits purchase information of a product purchased by the user via a network, ,
Receiving fare information including the boarding date and fare of the user from the transportation server,
Receiving purchase information including a purchase date and a purchase amount from the store server;
If the boarding date and the purchase date satisfy a predetermined relationship, calculate a discount amount for the fare, which is a discount amount corresponding to the purchase amount,
A fare settlement method, wherein the calculated discount amount is subtracted from the sum of the fare and the purchase price to calculate a billed amount for the user. In the fare settlement method according to claim 1,
From the transportation server, receiving the fare information further including at least one of the user's boarding station and getting off station,
Receiving purchase information including information for specifying the position of the store from the store server;
When the location of the boarding station or the getting off station and the location of the store satisfy a predetermined relationship, the calculation of the billing amount is executed. In the fare settlement method described in claim 2,
The fare settlement method according to claim 1, wherein the calculation of the billing amount is performed when the boarding station or the getting off station is registered as a nearest station of the store. In the fare settlement method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Further, a fare settlement method characterized by calculating, as the payment amount to the store, an amount obtained by subtracting the discount amount from the purchase amount. In the fare settlement method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Further, a fare settlement method is characterized in that a deduction amount according to a predetermined rule relating to the fare is subtracted from the purchase price as a payment amount to the store.

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