JP2013206448A - Bus service management system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a bus service management system capable of improving convenience of a user.SOLUTION: The bus service management system includes: a service management server 10 for managing services of a plurality of buses between a specific facility and a transportation spot; and terminal devices 30 provided in the respective buses respectively for communicating information with the service management server 10. Each terminal device 30 includes: means for transmitting position information of a present vehicle acquired in a GPS receiver 31 and a service situation of the present vehicle to the service management server 10 and receiving position information of a subsequent bus and/or the predicted arrival time at the transportation spot of the subsequent bus notified from the service management server 10; and a monitoring device 36 for presenting service information including the departure scheduled time of the present vehicle to a passenger. The service management server 10 includes means for predicting the arrival time of the subsequent bus at the transportation spot on the basis of information acquired from the respective buses, and notifying a bus standing by at the transportation spot of the predicted arrival time of the subsequent bus and/or the position information of the subsequence bus.

Description

  The present invention relates to an operation management system for a pick-up bus that improves convenience for a user of the pick-up bus.

  Conventionally, a shuttle bus for a hotel, an inn or an event venue has been exclusively managed on a predetermined schedule. Specifically, operation management is performed so that a pick-up bus departs at a predetermined time from a pick-up point such as the nearest station to a specific facility such as a hotel. It is also advocated to create flexibility in bus operation management by creating shuttle bus operation information based on customer transfer data at multiple facilities, thereby improving passenger convenience and efficient bus operation. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2003-3456873 A

  However, when a shuttle bus is operated at a predetermined time, it is necessary for the user to check the departure time of the shuttle bus in advance. In addition, when the scheduled departure time of the pick-up bus is delayed, the user needs to wait somewhere until the next departure time of the pick-up bus or the arrival of the next pick-up bus. Further, in the system introduced in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to collect information related to customer pick-up (pick-up date and time, number of people, etc.) in advance and determine a bus operation schedule. Moreover, if the user misses the bus, it is necessary to create a new operation schedule. For this reason, it is difficult to say that it is highly convenient for users of the shuttle bus.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and its purpose is to efficiently operate a shuttle bus without burdening the user, and to further improve the convenience for the user. It is to provide a bus operation management system that can be used.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the bus operation management system according to the present invention operates a shuttle bus between a specific facility such as a hotel, inn or event venue, and a preset transfer point such as the nearest station of the specific facility. Comprising an operation management server that manages the operation of a plurality of buses, and a terminal device that is provided in each bus and communicates information with the operation management server,
The terminal device provided in each bus has its own vehicle position information acquisition means such as a GPS receiver for acquiring its own vehicle position information on the map, and the operation status of the own vehicle (for example, to the pick-up point) together with the acquired position information of the own vehicle And the following information on the location of the subsequent bus and / or the subsequent information notified from the operation management server. Receiving means for receiving the estimated arrival time of the bus at the pick-up point, and a monitor device for presenting service information including the scheduled departure time of the own vehicle to the passenger,
The operation management server predicts the arrival time of the subsequent bus to the pick-up point based on information notified from each bus, the predicted predicted arrival time of the subsequent bus and / or the position of the subsequent bus And a notification means for notifying information to the bus waiting at the pick-up point.

Incidentally, the prediction means predicts the predicted arrival time of the bus at the pick-up point from the bus operation route information and the position information notified from the operating bus,
The monitor device is configured to display the estimated arrival time of the subsequent bus notified from the operation management server as a scheduled departure time of the own vehicle.

In addition, using the monitor device, when the bus is waiting at the pick-up point, the scheduled departure time and the operation status of the following bus are displayed, and after the departure from the pick-up point, the specific facility is related to the own vehicle position. It is preferable to display information and / or preset advertisements.
Further, the operation management server may include departure instruction means for confirming arrival of a subsequent bus at the pick-up point and instructing the bus waiting at the pick-up point to leave. Moreover, it is preferable that the said terminal device is provided with the contact means which notifies that the said departure scheduled time is approaching with respect to the portable terminal registered beforehand.

  According to the bus operation management system of the present invention, the bus waiting at the pick-up point will start as soon as the subsequent bus arrives at the pick-up point, so the bus is always waiting at the pick-up point. . Therefore, the bus user can quickly get on the shuttle bus waiting at the transfer point without checking the shuttle bus schedule in advance, and wait for the arrival of the bus outside the vehicle (generally outdoors). It becomes possible to wait for the departure in the waiting bus. In addition, since the user who gets on the bus can easily know the scheduled departure time, the waiting time can be effectively utilized when there is a time margin before the scheduled departure time.

  Furthermore, by displaying information related to a specific facility and / or a preset advertisement using a monitor device, information necessary and useful for the use of the specific facility for passengers before arriving at the specific facility (Useful information) can be provided in advance. In addition, the provision of this information provides secondary effects such as being able to pick up passengers without boring them.

The figure which shows schematically the operation form of the pick-up bus to which this invention is applied. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a bus operation management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows the schematic process sequence in a shuttle bus. The figure which shows the schematic process sequence in an operation management server. The data block diagram of the table which preserve | saves the positional information on the pick-up bus for every operation route preserve | saved as operation information of the memory | storage part 11 of FIG. The data block diagram of the table which preserve | saves the positional information and status of a pick-up bus preserve | saved as operation information of the memory | storage part 11 of FIG.

Hereinafter, a bus operation management system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, this bus operation management system has a plurality of transfers between a specified facility H such as a hotel, inn or event venue and a preset transfer point S such as the nearest station of the specified facility. When the bus B is operated, the operation schedule is managed according to the operation status of each pick-up bus B. This bus operation management system basically has an operation management server 10 provided on the hotel (specific facility) H side for managing the operation of a plurality of pick-up buses B, as schematically shown in FIG. The terminal device 30 is provided in each of the pick-up buses B and communicates information with the operation management server 10.

  FIG. 1 shows an example in which two shuttle buses B1 and B2 are operated between a hotel (specific facility) H and the nearest station (pickup point) S. The location of the hotel H and the nearest station S More shuttle buses B can be operated depending on the operation distance depending on the relationship and geographical conditions such as roads. In addition, a shuttle bus B is operated for each route between the hotel H and a plurality of pick-up points (nearest stations) S, or a pick-up bus B via a plurality of pick-up points (nearest stations) S in order. Of course it is also possible to operate.

  The operation management server 10 stores the route information related to the operation route of the pick-up bus B as schematically shown in FIG. 2 and also stores the operation information of each bus acquired from each of the plurality of pick-up buses B. The unit 11 is provided. The arithmetic processing unit 12 that executes operation management of these pick-up buses B is connected to the terminal devices 30 respectively mounted on the pick-up buses B using the communication unit 14 connected via the communication interface 13. Information communication is performed, and the operation of each pick-up bus B is managed according to the operation information acquired from the pick-up bus B side and the information stored in the storage unit 11 as will be described later.

  Specifically, the arithmetic processing unit 12 collects position information and status information notified from each pick-up bus B, detects the position of each pick-up bus B in the bus operation route from the position information, and also outputs the status. From the information, the operation status of each pick-up bus B, in detail, whether you are on your way from the hotel H to the nearest station S (when you meet), waiting at the nearest station S (when waiting), or the nearest station S It is detected whether it is in the middle of return to hotel H (at the time of return). After that, the arithmetic processing unit 12 refers to the above-described operation route information, obtains the arrival time of the so-called subsequent bus from the hotel H toward the nearest station S to the nearest station S by a prediction calculation, and predicts the arrival. The predicted time is notified to the pick-up bus B waiting at the nearest station S.

  That is, the arithmetic processing unit 12 collects bus position information notified together with the ID information and status information previously assigned to each pick-up bus B from a plurality of pick-up buses B [position information acquisition means] Check the operation status of each shuttle bus B. Based on the status information, a shuttle bus B1 waiting at the transfer point (nearest station) S and a subsequent shuttle bus B2 heading to the transfer point (nearest station) S are specified, respectively, and the subsequent shuttle bus The arrival time at the pick-up point (closest station) S of B2 is predicted [arrival time prediction means].

  In addition, when there are a plurality of pick-up buses B heading to the pick-up point (nearest station) S, the bus that arrives at the pick-up point (nearest station) S earliest, that is, the bus preceding the same operation route Is identified as the subsequent bus B2. Then, the arithmetic processing unit 12 notifies the predicted arrival time of the subsequent bus B2 and the position information of the subsequent bus B2 to the pick-up bus B1 waiting at the pick-up point (nearest station) S [notification means]. . The arithmetic processing unit 12 notifies the estimated time of arrival at the pick-up point (nearest station) S to the subsequent bus B2 [notification means].

  On the other hand, the terminal device 30 mounted on each of the plurality of pick-up buses B includes a GPS receiver 31 that detects the position of the vehicle on the map and a communication unit that communicates information with the operation management server 10. 32. The arithmetic processing unit 34 connected to the communication unit 32 via the communication interface 33 transmits the vehicle position information detected using the GPS receiver 31 to the operation management server 10 described above via the communication unit 32. It plays a role of notifying [location information transmitting means]. Further, the arithmetic processing unit 34 receives the route information notified from the operation management server 10 and stores it in the storage unit 35, and also predicts the arrival time and bus position of the subsequent bus B2 notified from the operation management server 10. Each of the information is received [receiving means], the monitor device (display unit) as the estimated arrival time of the subsequent bus B2 as the scheduled departure time of the own vehicle B1, and the position information of the subsequent bus B2 as symbol mark information mapped on the map It is displayed on 36 and presented to the crew (driver) and passenger (user) of the shuttle bus B1.

  In addition, about the map information used for the position display of subsequent bus B2, the route information notified from the operation management server 10 and memorize | stored in the memory | storage part 35 may be utilized. In this case, instead of a road map based on a topographic map as map information, it is also possible to use an illustration diagram schematically representing the operation route.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic processing procedure on the side of the pick-up bus B, that is, the terminal device 30 in the bus operation management system shown by the functional block described above, and FIG. 4 shows a schematic operation in the operation management server 1. The management processing procedure is shown.
The processing procedure in the terminal device 30 will be described. In the pick-up bus B, a crew member (driver) of the pick-up bus B first sets a status <step S1>. This status setting is performed by, for example, selecting and setting any state (status) of “greeting / standby / return” by switching a status switch. As a matter of course, when going from the hotel H to the nearest station S, the status is set to [Meeting]. When arriving at the nearest station S and waiting for customers, it is set to [Waiting]. When returning to H, it is set to [Return].

  When the status is set, the operation management process is started. In this operation management process, first, the vehicle position is detected using the GPS receiver 31 <step S2>, and the detected vehicle position information is operated together with the ID information assigned to the vehicle and the status information set as described above. It transmits to the management server 10 <Step S3>. Thereafter, processing corresponding to the set status is started <step S4>.

  That is, when the status of “greeting” is set, the arithmetic processing unit 34 receives the estimated arrival time at the pick-up point (nearest station) S predicted by the operation management server 10 as will be described later. <Step S <b> 11> The received estimated arrival time is displayed using the monitor device 36. At the same time, the position of the vehicle detected using the GPS receiver 31 is displayed on a map <Step S12>, and further a predetermined advertisement or the like is displayed on the monitor device 36 if necessary (Step S13). The display of the advertisement or the like may be a plurality of types of sponsor advertisement images (moving images / still images) whose time schedule is managed in advance, or tourist information such as sights / historic sites in the vicinity of the operation route. The above processing is repeatedly executed until the set status is canceled <step S5>. As a result, in the shuttle bus B from the hotel H to the nearest station S, the current position of the bus on the operation route, the estimated arrival time at the nearest station S, and service information such as advertisements are displayed.

  On the other hand, when the shuttle bus B arrives at the nearest station S, the above-described status is changed to [standby]. In this case, the arithmetic processing unit 34 first notifies the operation management server 30 of the position information and status information of the own vehicle as described above <steps S2 and S3>, and then according to the set status, the operation management server 30. The estimated arrival time at the pick-up point (nearest station) S of the subsequent bus B2 predicted in step S2, the position information of the subsequent bus B2, and the like are received <step S21>. The received estimated arrival time of the subsequent bus B2 is displayed as the scheduled departure time of the own vehicle (pick-up bus B1) using the monitor device 36, and is collected in the operation management server 30 and is stored in the operation management server 30 (step S22). The position information of the subsequent bus B2 notified from the server 30 is displayed as a map <step S23>.

  At this time, if the position information of the subsequent bus B2 coincides with the position information of the own vehicle B1, and the estimated arrival time of the subsequent bus B2 (the scheduled departure time of the own vehicle B1) coincides with the current time, this is followed by the subsequent bus B2. May be determined to have arrived at the pick-up point (nearest station) S, or it may be determined that the departure of the host vehicle B1 is prompted from the operation management server 10. If there is a time until the scheduled departure time, a predetermined advertisement or the like is displayed on the monitor device 36 (step S24). This advertisement display may also be a plurality of types of sponsor advertisement images (moving images / still images) whose time schedule is managed in advance, or tourist information such as sights / historic sites near the operation route. .

  After that, it is determined whether or not the scheduled departure time is approaching <step S25>. For example, if it is 5 minutes before or 10 minutes before the scheduled departure time, the mobile terminal T of the bus user registered in advance is checked. To notify that [the scheduled departure time is approaching] <step S26>. Incidentally, this notification service is executed by pre-registering the number or e-mail address of the portable terminal T carried by the user when the bus user goes out of the vehicle until the scheduled departure time. In addition, when it is possible to monitor the location of the bus user using the GPS function of the mobile terminal T, the return time from the location to the pick-up point (nearest station) S is anticipated as described above. Of course, it is also possible to provide a notification service that [the scheduled departure time is approaching] by automatic voice notification or e-mail notification.

  In the above, the user of the notification service has registered in the bus terminal 30, but the bus user is informed of the URL of the operation management server 10 in advance, and the bus user accesses this URL. Registration may be performed. In this case, the operation management server 10 performs the process of step S25 and step S26.

  In addition, when there is a separate departure instruction from the operation management server 10, the departure may be made from the pick-up point (nearest station) S according to this instruction. In this case, it goes without saying that in the operation management server 10, it is necessary to always monitor whether or not the subsequent bus B2 has arrived at the pick-up point (nearest station) S from the position information of the subsequent bus B2, for example. Yes. Of course, visual confirmation of the following bus B2 by a crew member (driver) of the pick-up bus B1 waiting at the pick-up point (nearest station) S is also possible.

  Therefore, when departing from the pick-up point (nearest station) S, the above-described status is changed to [Return]. In this case, as described above, while displaying the position information and status information of the own vehicle B1 to the operation management server 30 <steps S2 and S3>, the map display and the advertisement display of the own vehicle position are performed <step S31. , S32>. When displaying this advertisement, it is also useful to provide procedures for check-in at the hotel H, other usage guidance, hotel facility guidance, and the like.

  The operation management server 10 that provides information to the shuttle bus B as described above generally acquires bus information from each shuttle bus B in real time as shown in FIG. 4 (step S41). This bus information includes an ID number assigned to each pick-up bus B in advance, bus position information detected by the GPS receiver 31 described above, and bus status information. In the operation management server 30, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, for each route (operation route) set in advance, ID numbers of a plurality of pick-up buses B arranged in the operation route and the pick-up bus B The current position (GPS information) is stored and managed, and at the same time, the position information and status of each route bus B that changes every moment as shown in FIG. 6 are managed.

  On that basis, the operation management server 30 sends a pick-up bus B1 waiting at the pick-up point (nearest station) S and a subsequent bus B2 heading to the pick-up point (nearest station) S for each route (operating route). Detection (identification) is performed <step S42>, and the arrival time of the subsequent bus B2 at the pick-up point (nearest station) S is predicted <step S43>. Incidentally, the identification of the subsequent bus B2 is required as the preceding bus that arrives at the pick-up point (nearest station) S earliest among the pick-up buses B that are operating on the same route as described above. Further, the arrival time prediction is basically calculated based on the distance to the pick-up point (nearest station) S indicated by the operation route information and the operation speed of the pick-up bus B, and the change in the position information of the subsequent bus B2 It is updated sequentially according to. At this time, the arrival time may be predicted while correcting the required travel time with reference to past performance data such as road conditions.

  The operation management server 10 is waiting at the pick-up point (nearest station) S for the estimated arrival time of the subsequent bus B2 to the pick-up point (nearest station) S and the position information of the subsequent bus B2 obtained as described above. In addition to notifying the shuttle bus B1, the estimated arrival time is notified to the subsequent bus B2 <step S44>. At this time, if the position information of the subsequent bus B2 becomes the pick-up point (nearest station) S and the expected arrival time coincides with the current time, it is determined that the subsequent bus B2 has arrived at the pick-up point (nearest station) S. It is also possible to send a departure instruction to the pick-up bus B1 waiting at the pick-up point (nearest station) S.

  According to the bus operation management system configured as described above, in the pick-up bus B1 waiting at the pick-up point (nearest station) S, arrival notified from the operation management server 10 according to the operation status of the subsequent bus B2. The predicted time is presented to the bus user as the scheduled departure time of the own vehicle B1, and waiting for arrival of the subsequent bus B2 at the pick-up point (nearest station) S, that is, as soon as the subsequent bus B2 arrives, the departure can be made promptly. it can. In other words, the pick-up bus B can be operated efficiently while always waiting any one of the pick-up buses B at the pick-up point (nearest station) S. Therefore, it is not necessary for the bus user to check the departure time of the pick-up bus B in advance, and the bus user who arrives at the pick-up point (nearest station) S does not have to wait outside the car (outdoors) without having to wait for the pick-up point (nearest) You can quickly get on the shuttle bus B waiting at the station S). In addition, since the scheduled departure time is presented to the bus user in the waiting pick-up bus B1, an effect such as not causing the bus user to feel uneasy can be achieved.

  In addition, if there is enough time before the scheduled departure time of the bus, the bus user can take a walk around the pick-up point (nearest station) S using the time and enjoy shopping as appropriate. It becomes. At this time, if the number of the portable terminal T is registered in the terminal device 30 of the pick-up bus B1 as described above, a notification service indicating that the scheduled departure time is approaching is performed. Can be prevented. Even if the passenger gets late, the next pick-up bus B stands by at the same pick-up point (nearest station) S, so the convenience in using the pick-up bus B is not impaired.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. For example, if the operating distance between a hotel (specific facility) H and its nearest station (pickup point) S is long, if the number of pick-up buses B to be put into the operating route is increased, the operation interval of the pick-up bus B will be shortened. As a result, the waiting time at the nearest station (pickup point) S can be shortened. Also, the arrival bus B2 arrival determination at the nearest station (pickup point) S is determined as arrival at the nearest station (pickup point) S within a certain distance from the nearest station (pickup point) S, for example, within the rotary in front of the station. You may make it do.

  Further, the terminal device 30 of the subsequent bus B2 obtains the required arrival time or the estimated arrival time from the current position and the position information of the nearest station (pickup point) S to the nearest station (pickup point) S. It is also possible to construct a system so that the scheduled arrival time is notified to the shuttle bus B1 waiting at the nearest station (pickup point) S via the operation management server 10. In addition, when the operation interval of the shuttle bus B is roughly determined, in addition to the scheduled departure time obtained as described above in the shuttle bus B1 waiting at the nearest station (transfer point) S, the following It is also possible to display the scheduled departure time of the departure bus and the next departure bus B.

In the embodiment, the status is set manually by operating the switch.
It is also possible to detect a stop / stop / start of travel from the change of the own vehicle position of the pick-up bus in the vicinity of the pick-up point S, and to change the status automatically according to the detection result. In this case, it is needless to say that a stop of less than a predetermined time due to congestion, waiting for a signal or the like, a slight movement of the bus position, etc. are excluded from the status switching requirements.

  Further, in the pick-up bus waiting at the pick-up point S, the subsequent bus location information and / or the estimated arrival time notified from the operation management server are sequentially analyzed (determined) to detect the arrival of the subsequent bus at the pick-up point S by itself. Thus, it is possible to determine as a departure instruction from the pick-up point S without waiting for an instruction from the operation management server. In addition, the present invention can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the scope of the invention.

B Shuttle bus B1 Own car (pickup bus)
B2 Subsequent bus (pick-up bus)
H Hotel (specific facility)
S Nearest station (Pick-up point)
T mobile terminal 10 operation management server 11 storage unit 12 arithmetic processing unit 13 communication interface 14 communication unit 30 terminal device 31 GPS receiver 32 communication unit 33 communication interface 34 arithmetic processing unit 35 storage unit 36 monitor device

Claims (6)

A management server that manages the operation of a plurality of buses between a specific facility and a preset pick-up point, and a terminal device that is provided in each bus and communicates information with the management server,
A terminal device provided in each bus includes own vehicle position information acquisition means for acquiring own vehicle position information on a map, and transmission means for transmitting the operation status of the own vehicle to the management server together with the acquired position information of the own vehicle. And receiving means for receiving the location information of the subsequent bus and / or the estimated arrival time of the subsequent bus to the pick-up point notified from the management server, and service information including the scheduled departure time of the own vehicle is presented to the passenger. A monitoring device,
The management server predicts the arrival time of the subsequent bus to the pick-up point based on the information notified from each bus, the predicted predicted arrival time of the subsequent bus and / or the position information of the subsequent bus And a notifying means for notifying the waiting bus at the pick-up point. The vehicle position information acquisition means comprises a GPS receiver mounted on a bus,
The prediction means predicts the predicted arrival time of the bus at the pick-up point from bus operation route information and position information notified from the bus in operation,
The bus operation management system according to claim 1, wherein the monitor device displays the estimated arrival time notified from the management server as a scheduled departure time of the own vehicle. The specific facility is a hotel, inn or event venue,
The bus operation management system according to claim 1, wherein the pick-up point is a nearest station close to the specific facility.   The monitor device displays the scheduled departure time and the operation status of the following bus when waiting at the pick-up point of the bus, and after the departure from the pick-up point, information on the specific facility and / or Alternatively, the bus operation management system according to claim 1, wherein the advertisement display is set in advance. In the bus operation management system according to claim 1,
The bus management system further comprises departure instruction means for confirming arrival of a subsequent bus at the pick-up point and instructing departure of a bus waiting at the pick-up point. In the bus operation management system according to claim 1,
The terminal device further comprises a contact means for notifying the pre-registered portable terminal that the scheduled departure time is approaching.