JP2023119303A - Charge calculation device and charge calculation system - Google Patents

Abstract

To facilitate application of an appropriate extra fare or discount fare in accordance with variations in supply and demand for taxis.SOLUTION: In such a case where a user of a taxi reserves a taxi on a server 31, an extra/discount charge in which a busyness/inactive situation corresponding to a pickup location area and a time zone is reflected is made applicable to a pre-fixed charge presented by the server 31 to the user. The server 31 performs statistical processing on past data accumulated in advance in a business record database DB1 per area and per time zone to register busyness degree data in a database DB2. Further, a database DB3 in which a charge correction factor in accordance with the busyness degree is allocated per area and per time zone is utilized. When the server 31 calculates the pre-fixed charge at user's reservation, an extra/discount charge of the charge correction factor relevant to the area and time zone is applied.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a fare calculation device and a fare calculation system that can be used when reserving a taxi or when boarding a taxi.

In taxis, attempts have been made to perform processing such as fare calculation using a server installed outside the vehicle.
For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a taximeter system for reducing or eliminating the burden on taxi drivers. Specifically, the taximeter on-board device mounted on the unmanned taxi vehicle and the external server are always connected by wireless communication during operation. The on-board taximeter detects the state of boarding and alighting of passengers, and transmits information such as the destination specified by the passenger and the positional information of the current location to an external server. The external server performs processing such as automatic switching of states such as empty taxi, actual taxi, payment, etc., calculation of fees, determination of fees, and the like. The on-board taximeter device displays the toll, determines the toll, and makes payments according to instructions from the external server. The external server detects anomalies in each vehicle and automatically handles them. Furthermore, by predicting the level of boarding demand at each location, empty vehicles are efficiently dispatched. Furthermore, appropriate commercial facility information is provided according to passengers.

Further, Patent Literature 2 discloses a taximeter system for reducing or eliminating the burden on a taxi driver when arriving at a destination. Specifically, when the taxi arrives at the destination, the system notifies the passengers of the arrival using voice or the like. When the taxi arrives at its destination, the system determines the fare amount and notifies the passenger's smart phone of this amount. Fares can be paid electronically using credit cards, etc., through communication between the passenger's smartphone or other device and the on-board payment terminal. When the system recognizes that the payment has been completed normally, it issues a receipt and unlocks the vehicle doors so that passengers can get off. The on-board taxi meter is connected to an external server by wireless communication, and the external server calculates the route to the destination and the fare according to the distance and time.

JP 2018-128842 A JP 2019-20984 A

By the way, although the number of taxi vehicles and the number of taxi drivers owned by taxi companies and the like do not change much, the number of users who use taxis fluctuates according to differences in places, seasons, time zones, and the like. In other words, in the taxi industry, the balance between demand and supply of taxis changes greatly depending on the situation, and busy states and quiet states exist.

On the other hand, the taxi fare is generally fixed regardless of whether it is busy or not. In other words, passengers are presented with a fare system determined in advance for each taxi company and a fare that is determined according to the travel distance, travel time, and the like.

For example, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is experimentally applying dynamic pricing to taxi fares for the purpose of improving the convenience of taxis. However, practical application of dynamic pricing is a future task.

For example, in a busy area, the number of available taxis does not increase even though there are many users who want to take a taxi. As a result, it is often difficult for users to get into a taxi.

In addition, even if a taxi driver can obtain information indicating that another specific area is busy while operating in a quiet area, the distance to that specific area may be long, If you do not know the roads in the specific area well, it will take extra time and effort, and you will not be motivated. Therefore, it is difficult to increase the number of taxi vehicles operating in busy areas.

On the other hand, in a quiet area, the number of users who actually use taxis is small compared to the number of available taxis, so each taxi waits in an empty state for a long time until a user appears. Therefore, it is difficult to increase operating income.

Also, even in a quiet area, it is considered that there are potential taxi users. For example, if it is possible to take a taxi at a lower fare than the current taxi fare, potential taxi users will actually use taxis, and taxi demand can be increased. However, since actual taxi fares are fixed, it is not possible to stimulate demand for taxis by potential taxi users.

On the other hand, when dynamic pricing is applied to taxi fares to make fares variable, it is difficult to determine appropriate fares. For example, applying too high a surcharge in a busy area can quickly reduce the number of taxi riders. In addition, if discount fares that are too cheap are applied in a quiet area, the number of taxi users will increase, but it will be impossible to increase the operating income for each taxi vehicle.

In particular, if the extra fares and discount fares are not appropriately determined according to the actual degree of busyness or quietness, there is a possibility that the demerits will outweigh the effects obtained by dynamic pricing. However, it is difficult for each taxi company to correctly grasp the actual degree of busyness or quietness and determine an appropriate fare.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances described above, and its object is to provide a fare calculation device and a fare calculation system that can easily determine an appropriate premium fare or discount fare in accordance with fluctuations in supply and demand of taxis. That's what it is.

The above objects of the present invention are achieved by the following configurations.

As a result of statistically processing the supply and demand trend of at least the past vehicle business record data accumulated in advance, at least one of each vehicle driving area and each driving time zone is divided into multiple stratified busy situations or off-peak conditions. a correction data holding unit that holds fare correction data representing the situation;
a correction data acquisition unit that acquires the appropriate fare correction data based on at least one of a boarding place and a boarding time period specified by a user when at least accepting a reservation for a taxi from the user;
The expected traveling distance of the taxi vehicle calculated based on at least the pick-up location and the drop-off location specified by the user when accepting a taxi reservation from the user, the predetermined fare system, and the correction data acquisition unit acquired a fare presentation unit that presents a fare calculated based on the fare correction data to a user as a pre-determined fare;
A fee calculation device.

a taxi vehicle and
a server that manages the taxi vehicle;
and the server includes:
As a result of statistically processing the supply and demand trend of at least the past vehicle business record data accumulated in advance, at least one of each vehicle driving area and each driving time zone is divided into multiple stratified busy situations or off-peak conditions. a correction data holding unit that holds fare correction data representing the situation;
A correction data acquisition unit that acquires the appropriate fare correction data based on at least one of a boarding place and a boarding time specified from the user terminal when accepting a reservation of the taxi vehicle from at least the user terminal of the taxi user. and,
an expected traveling distance of the taxi calculated based on a pick-up location and a drop-off location designated by the user terminal when a reservation for the taxi is received from at least the user terminal; a predetermined fare system; a fare presentation unit that presents a fare calculated based on the fare correction data acquired by the correction data acquisition unit as a pre-determined fare to a user;
Toll calculation system with.

According to the fare calculation device and the fare calculation system of the present invention, it becomes easy to determine an appropriate extra fare or discount fare in accordance with fluctuations in supply and demand of taxis. That is, since the demand-supply trends obtained by statistical processing of past vehicle business record data accumulated in advance are held as fare correction data representing the busy state or the off-peak state, areas such as busy or off-peak states, It is possible to grasp the time zone and appropriately reflect it in the fare.

The present invention has been briefly described above. Furthermore, the details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading the following detailed description of the invention (hereinafter referred to as "embodiment") with reference to the accompanying drawings. .

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a charge calculation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the main functional components in the server. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the major functional components in the softmeter. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the details of the operation of statistically processing the business performance with respect to the degree of busyness. FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the operation when the server calculates the pre-determined charge. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing an operation example of the entire system.

Specific embodiments relating to the present invention will be described below with reference to each drawing.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a charge calculation system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A fare calculation system 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a soft meter 10 mounted on a taxi vehicle 25 and a server 31 installed in a data center or the like. Of course, it is also possible to use a general taximeter instead of the soft meter 10. FIG.

Each taxi user 40A, 40B who uses the taxi vehicle 25 can communicate with the server 31 using the user terminals 41, 42, for example, when making a reservation. As the user terminals 41 and 42, for example, a mobile terminal such as a general smart phone or a personal computer (PC) can be used.

The soft meter 10 is a device capable of performing the same function as a general taximeter mounted on a taxi vehicle. However, while the taximeter corresponds to a specified measuring instrument subject to regulation under the Measurement Act, the soft meter 10 does not correspond to a specified measuring instrument at present.

Specifically, the taximeter measures the length by integrating the length of the circumference of a rotating part such as a wheel in order to measure the actual distance. On the other hand, the soft meter 10 calculates the distance based on the positional information of the vehicle identified using a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) such as GPS, and identifies the taxi fare based on the distance.

The soft meter 10 of FIG. 1 includes a control unit (CPU) 11, an interface (I/F) 12, a rate system information holding unit 13, an interface 14, an operation button unit 15, an inertial measurement unit (IMU: Inertial Measurement Unit) 16, A memory unit 17 , a touch panel 18 , a display device 19 and an interface 20 are provided.

A GPS receiver 21 is connected to the control unit 11 via an interface 12, an ETC vehicle-mounted device 22 is connected to the control unit 11 via an interface 14, and an external device input device 24 is connected to the control unit 11 via an interface 20. , and the LTE communication module 23 is connected to the control unit 11 .

The control unit 11 is composed of an electronic circuit mainly composed of, for example, a microcomputer, and performs control for realizing the functions required for the soft meter 10 by executing a program prepared in advance.

The GPS receiver 21 receives radio wave signals arriving from a plurality of (three or more) GPS satellites, and calculates the latitude/longitude representing the current position based on the time of the received signals, that is, performs positioning. can. Therefore, in a normal state in which radio waves from a predetermined number or more of satellites can be received simultaneously, the GPS receiver 21 can identify the correct current position.

Position information detected by the GPS receiver 21 periodically (for example, every second) is input to the control unit 11 via the interface 12 . Information indicating whether or not the GPS receiver 21 is positioning is also input to the control unit 11 together with the positional information.

The charge system information holding unit 13 is configured by a read-only memory (ROM) or the like, and holds predetermined charge system data. For example, data such as a predetermined basic charge amount, unit travel distance, increased fare per unit travel distance, length of unit time, and increased fare per unit time are held in the rate system information holding unit 13. there is

The ETC vehicle-mounted device 22 performs road-to-vehicle wireless communication with, for example, a roadside device (not shown) on an expressway or a toll road. Through this wireless communication, the ETC vehicle-mounted device 22 exchanges information (taxi vehicle model information, ETC card number, entrance toll gate, exit toll gate, toll, etc.) necessary for toll settlement with the roadside device. do.

The operation button unit 15 is arranged on the front surface of the soft meter 10 and has buttons such as "empty vehicle", "actual vehicle", and "payment" that can be operated by the driver of the taxi vehicle 25. FIG. The control unit 11 reads the state of each button of the operation button unit 15, and can grasp the states such as "empty vehicle", "actual vehicle", and "payment" and their changes as in the case of a general taximeter.

The inertial measurement unit 16 is an electronic device incorporating a gyro sensor for detecting acceleration in three axial directions and a sensor for detecting rotational angular acceleration in three axial directions. The control unit 11 can use the result of measurement by the inertial measurement unit 16 to calculate the momentum of the own vehicle. Therefore, for example, when the GPS receiver 21 cannot perform positioning, it is possible to obtain an estimated value of the current position of the vehicle from the measurement result of the inertial measurement unit 16 .

The memory unit 17 incorporates RAM (random access memory) and ROM. The RAM in the memory unit 17 is used by the controller 11 to temporarily store various data. The ROM in the memory unit 17 holds pre-prepared programs, constant data, pre-prepared tables, etc. that can be used by the control section 11 .

The touch panel 18 can be used by the control unit 11 to read the user's (driver's or passenger's) touch device with respect to the touch buttons displayed on the screen of the display device 19 .
The display unit 19 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD), and displays information such as taxi status such as "empty", "actual", and "payment", fare, and numbers and characters required for input operation. It can be displayed in a state visible to passengers. A display 19 is arranged in front of the soft meter 10 .

The LTE communication module 23 is a device for the control unit 11 of the soft meter 10 to connect to the server 31 using the LTE network 33 and perform data communication.
The external device input device 24 is, for example, an external terminal having a camera, numeric keypad, magnetic card reader, IC card reader, and the like. This external terminal is used, for example, to read a QR code (registered trademark) or to settle a rental fee using a credit card, an electronic money card, or the like.

Meanwhile, the server 31 is connected to the LTE network 33 via the Internet 32 . The soft meter 10 mounted on the taxi vehicle 25 and the user terminals 41 and 42 can be connected to the server 31 by wireless communication using the LTE communication module 23 .

The server 31 shown in FIG. 1 has a function for realizing dynamic pricing as a characteristic function. Specifically, when calculating the fare of the taxi vehicle 25, it has a function for applying a surcharge or a discount according to the busy situation according to the difference in area and time zone.

For example, when the taxi user 40A reserves the taxi vehicle 25, the server 31 can present the user with a pre-determined fare. When calculating this pre-determined fare, dynamic pricing can be applied in consideration of the boarding and alighting area and the boarding time zone.

Actually, the server 31 accumulates and holds a business record database (DB) DBA, which is the past record. Therefore, by statistically processing the past results, it is possible to build a database DBB that has been processed for busy situations stratified by boarding/alighting area and boarding time zone. The server 31 can reflect the busy state on the processed database DBB in the pre-determined charges and the like.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing major functional components in server 31. As shown in FIG.
The server 31 shown in FIG. 2 has a business record database DB1, a busy degree database DB2, a correction coefficient database DB3, and a taxi reservation database DB4.

A business record database DB1 in FIG. 2 corresponds to the business record DBA in FIG. Each taxi vehicle 25 equipped with a soft meter 10 or a communicable taximeter transmits performance data of business to the server 31 each time business is conducted or on a business day basis. The server 31 collects business performance data from each taxi vehicle 25 and accumulates it in the business record database DB1 (S11).

The business performance data accumulated in the business record database DB1 includes information such as the latitude/longitude of the boarding and alighting points for each business, the date of boarding and alighting, the day of the week, the time (hour, minute, second), travel distance, and fare. there is

The server 31 performs statistical processing using the past data accumulated in the business record database DB1 in, for example, daily periodic processing, weekly processing, monthly processing, etc. (S12), Generate busyness data stratified by area and time period. Details of this processing will be described later. This busyness degree data is held and managed in the busyness degree database DB2. Specifically, in each area (for example, within 〇 km from 〇 station), each time zone (for example, 〇 hours to 〇 hours on 〇 days of the week) is accumulated in the busy degree database DB2. be. This busy degree database DB2 corresponds to the processed database DBB in FIG.

In addition, the server 31 assigns a charge correction coefficient according to the busyness degree to each of the busyness degree data stratified by area and time zone (S13). This charge correction coefficient is registered and held in the correction coefficient database DB3. Therefore, each area-by-area and time-zone-by-time item on the busy degree database DB2 is associated with each charge correction coefficient on the correction coefficient database DB3. The data of the correction coefficient database DB3 may be included in the busy degree database DB2.

The server 31 also has a reservation function (S15) for accepting taxi reservations from the taxi users 40A and 40B. Specifically, in response to access to the server 31 from each of the user terminals 41 and 42 in which predetermined application software (app) is installed in advance, the server 31 issues coupons and taxi tickets for using taxis. be able to.

For example, when the user designates the place of boarding, the place of getting off, the boarding time, etc., the server 31 presents the user with the pre-determined fare, and issues a corresponding coupon ticket or taxi ticket. Coupon tickets and taxi tickets issued by the server 31 are managed by individually assigned numbers, and, for example, different QR codes are assigned to each ticket. A user can obtain a QR code of a coupon ticket or a taxi ticket from the user terminals 41 and 42 .

Information on coupon tickets and taxi tickets issued by the server 31 is registered and managed in the taxi reservation database DB4. When the user gets on the taxi vehicle 25 and presents the QR code of a coupon ticket or a taxi ticket on the user terminal 41, the external device input device 24 connected to the soft meter 10 reads the QR code. The soft meter 10 inquires of the server 31 about the coupon ticket or taxi ticket of the read QR code. The server 31 can refer to the reservation information registered in the taxi reservation database DB4 to authenticate a coupon ticket or a taxi ticket (S16).

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing major functional components in the soft meter 10. As shown in FIG.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, the soft meter 10 includes a boarding/alighting point information acquisition unit 51, a time zone identification unit 52, a correction coefficient acquisition unit 53, a communication unit 54, a pre-determined fare calculation unit 55, a fare presentation unit 56, and a reservation code An authentication unit 57 is provided.

The boarding/alighting point information acquisition unit 51 acquires the latest latitude/longitude of the vehicle position acquired from the GPS receiver 21 as the position of the boarding point, for example, when the driver of the taxi vehicle 25 operates the "actual vehicle" button. Also, for example, when the driver of the taxi vehicle 25 operates the "payment" button, the latest latitude/longitude of the vehicle position obtained from the GPS receiver 21 is obtained as the position of the drop-off point. Alternatively, for example, the position of the destination on the map specified by the passenger is acquired as the position of the drop-off point.

The time period identifying unit 52 identifies the time period based on time information such as the latest current time, date, and day of the week obtained from the GPS receiver 21, for example.
The correction coefficient acquisition unit 53 acquires a fare correction coefficient according to the degree of busyness, based on the boarding/alighting point information acquired by the boarding/alighting point information acquisition unit 51 and the time period information acquired by the time period identification unit 52. . Specifically, the information on the boarding/alighting point and the time period is transmitted to the server 31 via the communication unit 54 and the correction coefficient is acquired from the server 31 .

The pre-determined fare calculation unit 55 calculates the toll system information held by the toll system information holding unit 13, the distance between boarding/alighting points calculated on the road map, and the correction coefficient acquired by the correction coefficient acquisition unit 53. Calculate the pre-determined fee based on Alternatively, the distance traveled from the boarding point is sequentially measured based on changes in the position information detected at regular intervals, and the distance, information on the toll system held by the toll system information holding unit 13, and a correction coefficient are acquired. A normal taxi fare is calculated in real time based on the correction coefficient acquired by the unit 53 .

The fare presentation unit 56 displays the pre-determined fare calculated by the pre-determined fare calculation unit 55, the normal taxi fare, or the pre-determined fare determined when the user makes a reservation in advance so that the user and the driver can visually recognize it. is displayed on the display 19.

The reservation code authentication unit 57 reads the reservation code (e.g., QR code) of the taxi ticket or taxi ticket presented by the user with the external device input device 24, and authenticates whether or not it is a valid reservation code that can be used. . In practice, the reservation code authentication unit 57 communicates with the server 31 via the communication unit 54 and inquires of the server 31 whether the reservation code matches a pre-registered reservation code. Further, when the pre-determined fee determined at the time of reservation is registered in the server 31 , the reservation code authentication unit 57 acquires information on the pre-determined fee from the server 31 .

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the details of the operation of statistically processing the business performance with respect to the degree of busyness. That is, FIG. 4 shows a specific example of the process S12 in FIG. 2 by the server 31. In FIG. The operation of FIG. 4 will be described below.

In S21, the server 31 acquires data within a certain period of time from past business records accumulated in the business record database DB1. For example, business records for the past one month or two months from that time are extracted and acquired.

The server 31 classifies all the data in the range obtained in S21 by day of the week and time zone (S22).
Based on the data classified in S22, the server 31 extracts, in S23, areas in which there are many records of "actual vehicle start" for each day of the week and each time period. For example, each business record area is specified as a circular range with a constant radius (for example, 1 km, 2 km) from a characteristic point where many people pass by, such as each railway station.

The server 31 calculates the average actual vehicle start count for each area with respect to the business records of the areas extracted in S23 (S24).
The server 31 calculates the average number of empty cars for each area with respect to the business records of the areas extracted in S23 (S25). Note that the number of taxi companies operating in the area may be used in S25 instead of the average number of available taxis.

The server 31 calculates the actual vehicle rate for each time slot in S26.
Actual vehicle rate = number of actual vehicles / (number of actual vehicles + number of empty vehicles)
The server 31 compares the actual vehicle rate calculated in S26 with a threshold value (for example, 90%) in S27 to identify the busy state for each time slot in each area. Note that the threshold value to be compared in S27 can be changed as required.

The server 31 recognizes the time zone and the area where the condition that the actual vehicle rate is equal to or higher than the threshold is a "busy" situation (S28). In addition, time periods and areas that do not correspond to the "busy" situation are recognized as "not busy" situations (S29).

The server 31 registers the results recognized in S28 and S29 in FIG. 4 in the busy degree database DB2 shown in FIG. That is, data representing the degree of busyness by area and by time period is registered in the busyness degree database DB2.

In addition, the charge correction coefficients registered in the busyness degree database DB2 are assigned to each area and time zone in S13 in FIG. 2 and registered in the correction coefficient database DB3. .

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the operation when the server 31 calculates the pre-determined charge. That is, FIG. 5 shows a specific operation example of the process S14 shown in FIG. 2 by the server 31. In FIG. The operation of FIG. 5 will be described below.

For example, when the taxi user 40</b>A makes a reservation, when the taxi user 40</b>A specifies the boarding place and boarding time of the taxi to be reserved, the information is input to the server 31 . Then, the server 31 reads the input boarding place and boarding time in S31 and proceeds to the next process of S32.

The server 31 searches the busy degree database DB2 in S32 to determine whether or not the boarding location and boarding time specified in S31 correspond to a busy time zone/area, or the degree of busyness in the time zone/area. identify.

If the specified boarding place and boarding time correspond to a busy time zone/area, the server 31 retrieves the charge correction coefficient for the extra charge assigned to the time zone/area from the correction coefficient database DB3. It reads out and sets it as a parameter for calculating the current fee (S33).

Also, when applying the charge correction coefficient for the extra charge, the server 31 notifies the user that the area/time period for which the current charge is to be calculated corresponds to the "busy area/time period". (S34). For example, the server 31 controls to display a message of "busy area/time period" on the screen of the application running on the user terminal 41, or to make an announcement by voice output message. Alternatively, the server 31 or the soft meter 10 displays a message indicating that the soft meter 10 corresponds to the "busy area/time period" to the passengers who boarded the taxi vehicle 25, or outputs a voice message. Control to announce.

On the other hand, if the specified boarding place and boarding time correspond to a time zone/area other than the busy state (low-volume state), the server 31 calculates the fare correction coefficient for the discount fare assigned to the time zone/area. is read from the correction coefficient database DB3 and set as a parameter for calculating the current charge (S35).

In addition, when applying the charge correction coefficient for the discount charge, the server 31 notifies the user that the area/time period for which the current charge is to be calculated corresponds to the "non-congested area/time period". (S36). For example, the server 31 controls to display a message of "off-peak area/time period" on the screen of the application running on the user terminal 41, or to make an announcement by voice output message. Alternatively, the server 31 or the soft meter 10 displays a message indicating that the soft meter 10 corresponds to the "non-congested area/time period" to the passengers who boarded the taxi vehicle 25, or outputs a voice message. Control to announce.

For example, when the taxi user 40</b>A makes a reservation, when the taxi user 40</b>A designates the drop-off place of the reserved taxi, that is, the destination, the information is input to the server 31 . Then, the server 31 reads the input drop-off location in S37 and proceeds to the next processing in S38.

In S38, the server 31 calculates the distance between the boarding location specified in S31 and the getting-off location specified in S37. For example, on a road map database, a planned route for traveling from a pick-up location to a drop-off location on a road is searched, and the distance traveled along the planned route is obtained.

The server 31 calculates the pre-determined fare based on the predetermined taxi fare system and the scheduled travel distance obtained in S38, and adds the fare correction coefficient set in S33 or S35 to determine the final fare. is calculated in S39. Of course, not only the distance traveled but also the length of time required is reflected in the price.

The server 31 presents the fee calculated in S39 to the user in S40. For example, when the taxi user 40A purchases a taxi coupon ticket or a taxi ticket by reservation, the server 31 outputs the amount of the coupon ticket or the taxi ticket calculated as the pre-determined fee to the user terminal 41, and the taxi user 40A Allow 40A to confirm before purchase.

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing an operation example of the entire system. The operation shown in FIG. 6 will be described below.

Users, that is, taxi users 40A and 40B can use user terminals 41 and 42 to connect to the server 31 via the Internet 32 and use the communication services of the server 31 . Specifically, it is possible to purchase a coupon ticket for a taxi or a taxi ticket from the server 31 and make a reservation for using a taxi (S51).

When the user designates the pick-up place, the drop-off place, the day of the week, the time zone, etc. when performing the taxi reservation procedure, the server 31 executes the processing shown in FIG. can decide. The server 31 presents the determined amount of the pre-determined charge to the user (S52).

When the user confirms the amount of the pre-determined fare and executes the procedure for purchasing a book of tickets or a taxi ticket, the server 31 accepts the user's reservation, issues a unique reservation code for the book of tickets or the taxi ticket, and makes the taxi reservation. It is registered in the database DB4 (S53).
A user who has purchased a coupon ticket or a taxi ticket receives the reservation code issued by the server 31 at user terminals 41 and 42 .

On the other hand, when a user who has purchased a coupon ticket or a taxi ticket in advance actually gets on the taxi vehicle 25, the user presents the reservation code obtained in advance on the user terminal 41 (S55). For example, when the reservation code is a QR code, the vehicle-mounted device such as the soft meter 10 mounted on the taxi vehicle 25 captures the image displayed on the screen of the user terminal 41 using the camera of the external device input device 24. , the QR code is read (S56).

The soft meter 10 connects to the server 31 using the LTE communication module 23 and makes an inquiry for authentication in order to confirm that the reservation code read from the user terminal 41 is a valid code that can be used.

The server 31 searches the taxi reservation database DB4 and executes authentication processing for the reservation code inquired from the soft meter 10 (S58). When the reservation code is successfully authenticated, information on the coupon or taxi ticket linked to the reservation code can be obtained from the taxi reservation database DB4, so the server 31 notifies the software meter 10 of the information.

The soft meter 10 receives the authentication result of the reservation code from the server 31 and grasps the information of the coupon ticket or the taxi ticket. When the soft meter 10 receives information on the pre-determined fee from the server 31, the soft meter 10 presents the amount to the user (S57).

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified, improved, etc. as appropriate. In addition, the material, shape, size, number, location, etc. of each component in the above-described embodiment are arbitrary and not limited as long as the present invention can be achieved.

For example, in the above-described fare calculation system 100, when a user makes an advance reservation for a taxi, a surcharge or discount is applied to the pre-determined fare presented by the server 31, reflecting the busy situation expected from the past business results. However, it is also possible to make a reservation without confirming the price at the time of reservation.

In that case, even if the boarding point and boarding time of the user are not fixed, there is a possibility that a surcharge or discount will be applied, and the area where the surcharge or discount is applied, It is also conceivable that the server 31 or the like presents conditions such as the time period and the degree of premium/discount to the user at the time of reservation.

In that case, by installing the software meter 10 capable of communicating with the server 31 in the taxi vehicle 25, the passenger who has made a reservation in advance can receive an extra charge or a discount according to the busy state of the area and time zone. become applicable.

Here, the features of the charge calculation system according to the embodiment of the present invention described above are summarized and listed in [1] to [5] below.
[1] As a result of statistically processing the supply and demand trends of at least past vehicle business record data (business record database DB1) accumulated in advance, multiple layers for at least one of each vehicle driving area and each driving time zone a correction data holding unit (correction coefficient database DB3) holding fare correction data representing separately classified busy conditions or off-peak conditions;
a correction data acquisition unit (S33, S35) for acquiring the appropriate fare correction data based on at least one of a boarding place and a boarding time period specified by a user when accepting a taxi reservation from the user;
The expected traveling distance of the taxi vehicle calculated based on at least the pick-up location and the drop-off location specified by the user when accepting a taxi reservation from the user, the predetermined fare system, and the correction data acquisition unit acquired a fare presenting unit (S15, S40) for presenting the fare calculated (S39) based on the fare correction data to the user as a pre-determined fare;
A fee calculation device (server 31).

According to the fare calculation device having the configuration [1] above, a premium/discount fare that reflects the busy situation or quiet situation expected for each area and each traveling time zone is applied to the user who reserves a taxi. It becomes possible to present a pre-determined fee. In addition, since supply and demand trends assumed from past vehicle business record data accumulated in advance can be reflected in the premium/discount rate, there is no need to constantly monitor actual busy conditions or quiet conditions. Therefore, appropriate dynamic pricing can be applied without increasing the processing load on the server. In addition, by applying extra fares during busy times, it is possible to increase the motivation of taxi drivers, and as a result, it is possible to obtain the effect of quickly resolving busy conditions. In addition, by applying discounted fares during off-peak times, it is possible to stimulate demand from new taxi customers and quickly resolve off-peak situations.

[2] a taxi vehicle (25);
a server (31) for managing the taxi vehicle,
The server is
As a result of statistically processing at least the past vehicle business record data (business record database DB1) accumulated in advance with respect to supply and demand trends, at least one of each vehicle driving area and each driving time zone is divided into a plurality of stratifications. a correction data holding unit (correction coefficient database DB3) that holds fare correction data representing a busy situation or an off-peak situation;
A correction data acquisition unit that acquires the appropriate fare correction data based on at least one of a boarding place and a boarding time specified from the user terminal when accepting a reservation of the taxi vehicle from at least the user terminal of the taxi user. (S33, S35);
an expected traveling distance of the taxi calculated based on a pick-up location and a drop-off location designated by the user terminal when a reservation for the taxi is received from at least the user terminal; a predetermined fare system; a fare presentation unit (S15, S40) that presents to the user, as a pre-determined fare, a fare calculated based on the fare correction data acquired by the correction data acquisition unit;
A fee calculation system (100) comprising:

According to the fare calculation system configured in [2] above, a premium/discount fare that reflects the busy situation or quiet situation expected for each area and each traveling time period is applied to the user who reserves a taxi. It becomes possible to present a pre-determined fee. In addition, since supply and demand trends assumed from past vehicle business record data accumulated in advance can be reflected in the premium/discount rate, there is no need to constantly monitor actual busy conditions or quiet conditions. Therefore, it is possible to apply appropriate dynamic pricing to taxi vehicles without increasing the processing load on the server.

[3] Including a vehicle-mounted device (soft meter 10) mounted on the taxi vehicle,
The vehicle-mounted device,
an in-vehicle correction data acquisition unit (correction coefficient acquisition unit 53) that acquires the appropriate fare correction data from the server based on at least one of the passenger's boarding location and boarding time zone;
The fare calculated based on the mileage of the taxi vehicle calculated based on the boarding place and the drop-off place of the passenger, the predetermined fare system, and the fare correction data acquired by the correction data acquisition unit an in-vehicle fare presentation unit (advance fixed fee calculation unit 55, fare presentation unit 56) presented to passengers;
The fee calculation system according to [2] above.

According to the fare calculation system configured in [3] above, it is possible to apply appropriate dynamic pricing to taxi fares for passengers who have reserved a taxi in advance and for passengers who have boarded a taxi vehicle without making a reservation.

[4] Including a vehicle-mounted device (soft meter 10) mounted on the taxi vehicle,
The vehicle-mounted device,
A reservation confirmation unit (reservation code authentication unit 57) that confirms the reservation status of the user by communicating with the server when the user who made a reservation in advance boarded as a passenger,
The fee calculation system according to [2] or [3] above.

According to the fare calculation system configured in [4] above, when a user who has made a reservation in advance gets on a taxi vehicle as a passenger, the taxi driver and passengers can check the reservation status of the corresponding user using the onboard device. I can confirm. Therefore, for example, it is possible to suppress the possibility of inconsistency between the pre-determined fare confirmed by the user at the time of reservation and the fare presented when actually boarding the taxi.

[5] When applying the fare correction data to increase or discount the fare, the fare presenting unit presents information representing the busy or quiet situation to the user together with the pre-determined fare (S34, S36);
The fee calculation system according to any one of [2] to [4] above.

According to the fare calculation system configured in [5] above, the user can confirm whether a fare surcharge or discount has been applied, and can confirm the reason for the fare surcharge or discount, such as when busy or not busy. Become. In addition, the user can grasp the area where the taxi is used and the state of busyness and quietness for each time period.

10 soft meter 11 control unit 12, 14, 20 interface 13 toll system information holding unit 15 operation button unit 16 inertial measurement unit 17 memory unit 18 touch panel 19 display device 21 GPS receiver 22 ETC vehicle-mounted device 23 LTE communication module 24 external device input Device 25 Taxi vehicle 31 Server 32 Internet 33 LTE network 40A, 40B Taxi user 41, 42 User terminal 51 Boarding/alighting point information acquisition unit 52 Time period identification unit 53 Correction coefficient acquisition unit 54 Communication unit 55 Preliminary fare calculation unit 56 Fare presentation Unit 57 Reservation code authentication unit 100 Fee calculation system DB1, DBA Business record DB
DB2 Busy degree DB
DB3 Correction coefficient DB
DB4 Taxi reservation DB
DBB Processed DB

Claims (5)

As a result of statistically processing the supply and demand trend of at least the past vehicle business record data accumulated in advance, at least one of each vehicle driving area and each driving time zone is divided into multiple stratified busy situations or off-peak conditions. a correction data holding unit that holds fare correction data representing the situation;
a correction data acquisition unit that acquires the appropriate fare correction data based on at least one of a boarding place and a boarding time period specified by a user when at least accepting a reservation for a taxi from the user;
The expected traveling distance of the taxi vehicle calculated based on at least the pick-up location and the drop-off location specified by the user when accepting a taxi reservation from the user, the predetermined fare system, and the correction data acquisition unit acquired a fare presentation unit that presents a fare calculated based on the fare correction data to a user as a pre-determined fare;
A fee calculation device. a taxi vehicle and
a server that manages the taxi vehicle,
The server is
As a result of statistically processing the supply and demand trend of at least the past vehicle business record data accumulated in advance, at least one of each vehicle driving area and each driving time zone is divided into multiple stratified busy situations or off-peak conditions. a correction data holding unit that holds fare correction data representing the situation;
A correction data acquisition unit that acquires the appropriate fare correction data based on at least one of a boarding place and a boarding time specified from the user terminal when accepting a reservation of the taxi vehicle from at least the user terminal of the taxi user. and,
an expected traveling distance of the taxi calculated based on a pick-up location and a drop-off location designated by the user terminal when a reservation for the taxi is received from at least the user terminal; a predetermined fare system; a fare presentation unit that presents a fare calculated based on the fare correction data acquired by the correction data acquisition unit as a pre-determined fare to a user;
Toll calculation system with. Including a vehicle-mounted device mounted on the taxi vehicle,
The vehicle-mounted device,
an in-vehicle correction data acquisition unit that acquires the appropriate fare correction data from the server based on at least one of a passenger's boarding location and boarding time period;
The fare calculated based on the mileage of the taxi vehicle calculated based on the boarding place and the drop-off place of the passenger, the predetermined fare system, and the fare correction data acquired by the correction data acquisition unit an in-vehicle fare presentation unit to be presented to passengers;
The fee calculation system according to claim 2, comprising: Including a vehicle-mounted device mounted on the taxi vehicle,
The vehicle-mounted device,
A reservation confirmation unit that communicates with the server to confirm the reservation status of the user when the user who made a reservation in advance boarded as a passenger,
The fee calculation system according to claim 2 or 3. When the fare correction data is applied to increase or discount the fare, the fare presentation unit presents information representing the busy or quiet situation to the user together with the pre-determined fare.
The fee calculation system according to any one of claims 2 to 4.

Images