WO2020240393A1 - Ticket booking and issuing system and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods and systems for automatic ticket generation for using a public transport vehicle. According to an embodiment, a processor communicatively coupled with a remote server receives a unique identifier associated with a vehicle. The unique identifier is captured upon the user boarding the vehicle using a computing device associated with a user. A current location of the vehicle is determined and associated with a boarding point of the user. A token is generated that includes one or more data packets associated with one or more stop points of the vehicle and the token is displayed on the computing device. When the user de-boards the vehicle on a stop point, a current location of the vehicle with respect to the stop point is determined. The determined stop point is associated with a de-boarding point of the user.

Description

TICKET BOOKING AND ISSUING SYSTEM AND METHOD THEREOF

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to a ticket booking and issuing system, more particularly the present disclosure provides systems and methodsfor automatic generation of tickets while using a public transport.

BACKGROUND

[0002] In the recent past, the tourism industry has become one of the fastest growing sectors of the global economy. In a developing country like India, that has rich cultural heritage and a diverse geography, travel contributes to a significant proportion of the National Income. While civil aviation in India has grown rapidly, its penetration through different classes of the population has been questionable. To India’s advantage, we have in place a robust network of Railways and Roads which helps transport people across the country. Buses are the most common form of public transportation on roads and also do very commonly exist where even train routes aren’t found. They are critical to the trade, commerce and movement of humans in certain areas in the country.

[0003] Traditionally, tickets of public transport such as bus have been reserved by people through physical, over the counter transactions at either public bus stations or private offices. Such purchases were by nature, inconvenient and time consuming, as people had to travel to the concerned brick and mortar offices in order to inquire about the availability of tickets and if they were, wait in queues to book the same. The amount of time and money wasted in this process was a serious disadvantage. Although telephones have existed for a long time, the confirmation of a booking over the phone is impossible since there can’t be a proper verification of any person’s identity telephonically.

[0004] The rise of the Internet brought with itself websites that help users to book bus tickets online. These websites have only been able to solve the existing problem partially, with several new issues having arisen. The growth of these facilities has been fast, albeit with a low penetration rate in rural areas and among the urban poor. A significant percentage of buses are not listed on these portals and some ply on routes outside their listings. The safety of personal (financial or non-financial) information is another challenge, which they have not overcome. These websites have been found to be unreliable and online ticket bookers often get into disputes with the bus company representatives over issues ranging from choice of seats to hidden costs to even having to give up one’s ticket despite a confirmation online, due to mismanagement.

[0005] To take optimal advantage of digitalization, there is a need in the art to address these and other disadvantages by streamlining our reservation process and providing a system and method confirmation of bookings in public transport.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

[0006] Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfies are as listed herein below.

[0007] It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a ticket booking facility that facilitates the user to automatically book a ticket using his/her computing device.

[0008] It is another object of the present disclosure to determine a ticket fare in real time based on a source location from where the user boards a vehicle and a destination location where the user de-boards the vehicle.

[0009] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a safe, secure and malware free ticket reservation facility.

SUMMARY

[00010] The present disclosure relates generally to a ticket booking and issuing system, more particularly the present disclosure provides systems and methods for automatic generation of tickets while using a public transport.

[00011] An aspect of the present disclosure pertains to a method for generating a token, said method comprising: receiving, at a processor communicatively coupled with a remote server, a unique identifier associated with a vehicle, the unique identifier being captured using a computing device associated with a user, the capturing being done upon the user boarding the vehicle; determining, at the processor, a current location of the vehicle, and associating the determined current location of the vehicle with a boarding point of the user; and generating, at the processor, a token comprising one or more data packets associated with one or more stop points of the vehicle, the generated token being displayed on the computing device associated with the user.

[00012] According to an embodiment, upon the user de-boarding the vehicle on a stop point of the one or more stop points, determining, at the processor, a current location of the vehicle with respect to the stop point on which the user de -boarded the vehicle, the determined stop point being associated with a de -boarding point of the user from the vehicle. [00013] According to an embodiment, a first signal is generated, at the processor, based on a distance covered between the boarding point of the user and the de-boarding point of the user, said first signal being presented on the computing device associated with the user.

[00014] According to an embodiment, generating, at the processor, a second signal upon the vehicle reaching a stop point of the one or more stop points, the stop point being associated with a final destination of the vehicle, said second signal based on a distance covered between the boarding point of the user and location information of the final destination of the vehicle, said second signal being presented on the computing device associated with the user.

[00015] According to an embodiment, the user is instructed to de-board the vehicle when the vehicle reaches the final destination, the instruction being displayed on the computing device associated with the user.

[00016] According to an embodiment, defining, at the processor, the token as invalid upon the user de-boarding the vehicle.

[00017] According to an embodiment, at most one of the first signal and the second signal is generated upon the user de -boarding the vehicle.

[00018] According to an embodiment, the one or more data packets comprises name, unique identification code and location information associated with the one or more stop points of the vehicle.

[00019] An aspect of the present disclosure pertains to a system for generating a token, said system comprising: a processing engine of a remote server comprising a processor coupled with a memory, the memory storing instructions executable by the processor to: receive a unique identifier associated with a vehicle, the unique identifier being captured using a computing device associated with a user, the capturing being done upon the user boarding the vehicle; determine a current location of the vehicle, and associating the determined current location of the vehicle with a boarding point of the user; and generate, at the processor, a token comprising one or more data packets associated with one or more stop points of the vehicle, the generated token being displayed on the computing device associated with the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[00020] In the figures, similar components and/or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label with a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label.

[00021] FIG. 1 indicates a network implementation of a ticket generation system 102, which facilitates to automatically generate a ticket in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[00022] FIG. 2 illustrates exemplary functional components of the proposed system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[00023] FIGs. 3A-D illustrate exemplary representations of the computing device in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[00024] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary representation of hand-held device of the entity in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[00025] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for issuing a token for travelling in a public transport in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[00026] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary computer system to implement the proposed system in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[00027] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present invention. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details.

[00028] Embodiments of the present invention include various steps, which will be described below. The steps may be performed by hardware components or may be embodied in machine-executable instructions, which may be used to cause a general-purpose or special- purpose processor programmed with the instructions to perform the steps. Alternatively, steps may be performed by a combination of hardware, software, firmware and/or by human operators.

[00029] Embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a computer program product, which may include a machine-readable storage medium tangibly embodying thereon instructions, which may be used to program a computer (or other electronic devices) to perform a process. The machine -readable medium may include, but is not limited to, fixed (hard) drives, magnetic tape, floppy diskettes, optical disks, compact disc read-only memories (CD-ROMs), and magneto-optical disks, semiconductor memories, such as ROMs, PROMs, random access memories (RAMs), programmable read-only memories (PROMs), erasable PROMs (EPROMs), electrically erasable PROMs (EEPROMs), flash memory, magnetic or optical cards, or other type of media/machine -readable medium suitable for storing electronic instructions (e.g., computer programming code, such as software or firmware).

[00030] Various methods described herein may be practiced by combining one or more machine-readable storage media containing the code according to the present invention with appropriate standard computer hardware to execute the code contained therein. An apparatus for practicing various embodiments of the present invention may involve one or more computers (or one or more processors within a single computer) and storage systems containing or having network access to computer program(s) coded in accordance with various methods described herein, and the method steps of the invention could be accomplished by modules, routines, subroutines, or subparts of a computer program product.

[00031] If the specification states a component or feature“may”,“can”,“could”, or “might” be included or have a characteristic, that particular component or feature is not required to be included or have the characteristic.

[00032] As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of“a,”“an,” and“the” includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein, the meaning of“in” includes“in” and“on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[00033] Exemplary embodiments will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. These embodiments are provided so that this invention will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those of ordinary skill in the art. Moreover, all statements herein reciting embodiments of the invention, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in the future (i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function, regardless of structure).

[00034] While embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it will be clear that the invention is not limited to these embodiments only. Numerous modifications, changes, variations, substitutions, and equivalents will be apparent to those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as described in the claim.

[00035] The present disclosure relates generally to a ticket booking and issuing system, more particularly the present disclosure provides systems and methods for automatic generation of tickets while using a public transport.

[00036] An aspect of the present disclosure pertains to a method for generating a token, said method comprising: receiving, at a processor communicatively coupled with a remote server, a unique identifier associated with a vehicle, the unique identifier being captured using a computing device associated with a user, the capturing being done upon the user boarding the vehicle; determining, at the processor, a current location of the vehicle, and associating the determined current location of the vehicle with a boarding point of the user; and generating, at the processor, a token comprising one or more data packets associated with one or more stop points of the vehicle, the generated token being displayed on the computing device associated with the user.

[00037] According to an embodiment, upon the user de-boarding the vehicle on a stop point of the one or more stop points, determining, at the processor, a current location of the vehicle with respect to the stop point on which the user de -boarded the vehicle, the determined stop point being associated with a de -boarding point of the user from the vehicle.

[00038] According to an embodiment, a first signal is generated, at the processor, based on a distance covered between the boarding point of the user and the de-boarding point of the user, said first signal being presented on the computing device associated with the user.

[00039] According to an embodiment, generating, at the processor, a second signal upon the vehicle reaching a stop point of the one or more stop points, the stop point being associated with a final destination of the vehicle, said second signal based on a distance covered between the boarding point of the user and location information of the final destination of the vehicle, said second signal being presented on the computing device associated with the user.

[00040] According to an embodiment, the user is instructed to de-board the vehicle when the vehicle reaches the final destination, the instruction being displayed on the computing device associated with the user.

[00041] According to an embodiment, defining, at the processor, the token as invalid upon the user de-boarding the vehicle.

[00042] According to an embodiment, at most one of the first signal and the second signal is generated upon the user de -boarding the vehicle. [00043] According to an embodiment, the one or more data packets comprises name, unique identification code and location information associated with the one or more stop points of the vehicle.

[00044] An aspect of the present disclosure pertains to a system for generating a token, said system comprising: a processing engine of a remote server comprising a processor coupled with a memory, the memory storing instructions executable by the processor to: receive a unique identifier associated with a vehicle, the unique identifier being captured using a computing device associated with a user, the capturing being done upon the user boarding the vehicle; determine a current location of the vehicle, and associating the determined current location of the vehicle with a boarding point of the user; and generate, at the processor, a token comprising one or more data packets associated with one or more stop points of the vehicle, the generated token being displayed on the computing device associated with the user.

[00045] FIG. 1 indicates a network implementation 100 of a ticket generation system 102, which facilitates to automatically generate a ticket in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[00046] According to a network implementation, a ticket generation system 102 (referred to as system 102, hereinafter) can facilitate to automatically generate tickets or tokens used interchangeably, for a user when the user travels in or boards a public transport vehicle (referred to as vehicle hereinafter) such as a bus, tram, train, etc. Although the present subject matter is explained considering that the system 102 is implemented as an application on a server, it may be understood that the system 102 may also be implemented in a variety of computing systems, such as a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a notebook, a workstation, a server, a network server, a cloud-based environment and the like. It would be appreciated that the system 102 may be accessed by multiple users 108-1, 108-2... 108-N (collectively referred to as users 108, and individually referred to as the user 108 hereinafter), through one or more user devices 106-1, 106-2... 106-N (collectively referred to as user devices 106 (e.g., computing devices) and individually referred to as user device 106, hereinafter), or applications residing on the user devices 106.

[00047] In an aspect, the system 102 can be operatively coupled to a website and so be operable from any Internet enabled user device 106. Examples of the user devices 106 may include, but are not limited to, a portable computer, a personal digital assistant, a handheld device, and a workstation. The user devices 106 can be communicatively coupled with the system 102 through a network 104. [00048] In one implementation, the network 104 can be a wireless network, a wired network or a combination thereof. The network 104 can be implemented as one of the different types of networks, such as intranet, local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), the internet, and the like. Further, the network 104 may either be a dedicated network or a shared network. The shared network represents an association of the different types of networks that use a variety of protocols, for example, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), and the like, to communicate with one another. Further the network 104 can include a variety of network devices, including routers, bridges, servers, computing devices, storage devices, and the like. In another implementation the network 104 can be cellular network or mobile communication network based on various technologies, including but not limited to, Global System for Mobile (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), WiMAX, and the like.

[00049] In an embodiment, the system 102 can provide freedom from using smart cards and cash as the user 108 can book a ticket using his user device 106. Tickets can be generated based on declaring a starting point of user’s journey as a current location of the public transport vehicle (e.g. bus). The generated tickets are expired once the bus reaches to a destination location. The destination location may be considered such as when the user de boards the vehicle or the vehicle reaches to its final destination.

[00050] In an implementation, the user 108 can access the system 102 through an application residing on the user device 106. The user 108 can register with the system 102 using user information such as name, date of birth, password, Aadhaar id, and so forth.

[00051] In an embodiment, the user 108 can capture a unique identifier associated with the vehicle and provide the same to a remote server. The unique identifier may be captured using a computing device 106 associated with the user 108. The system may determine a current location of the vehicle and associate the determined current location of the vehicle with a boarding point of the user. For example, every vehicle can have a GSM installed, which can provide the current or live location of the vehicle. Thereafter, a token comprising one or more data packets associated with one or more stop points of the vehicle is generated and displayed on the computing device associated with the user 108. The one or more data packets includes name, unique identification code and location information associated with the one or more stop points of the vehicle.

[00052] In an embodiment, thetransport such as a bus can have a unique identifier in a form of any or a combination of an alphanumeric code, a bar code, a QR code and the like. The vehicle may an assigned pre-defined bus route and the system 102 may facilitate to display a list of stop points on the route. In an implementation, the map can indicate a current stop/location highlighted and the next coming stops. The user 108 may click on the map to determine more information about upcoming stops of the vehicle.

[00053] In an embodiment, upon the user 108 de -boarding the vehicle on a stop point of the multiple stop points, a current location of the vehicle is determined and is associated to the stop point on which the user 108 de-boards the vehicle. The determined stop point is associated with a de -boarding point of the user from the vehicle. In another embodiment, a first signal is generated based on a distance covered between the boarding point of the user 108 and the de-boarding point of the user 108. The generated first signal is then presented on the computing device 106 associated with the user 108. In an implementation, the first signal is a ticket fare. For example, the user can pay the ticket fare e.g., via a payment gateway operatively coupled with the system 102. In yet another implementation, the ticket fare may be deducted automatically from an electronic wallet associated with the user, and a confirmation message (e.g., via SMS, email etc.) for the same may be generated automatically on the computing device 106. The ticket can include details, such as a ticket price, boarding point of the user 108, de-boarding point of the user 108, date, time, bus number, distance covered and the like. Once the vehicle reaches the final destination or when the user 108 de-boards the vehicle, the ticketis declared as invalid. For example, a water mark on the ticket may be incorporated such as“journey completed”,“done”,“invalid” or“no journey in progress” and displayed on the ticket.

[00054] In an embodiment, upon the vehicle reaching a stop point of the multiple stop points, a second signal is generated. The stop point can be associated with a final destination of the vehicle and the second signal may be based on a distance covered between the boarding point of the user and location information of the final destination of the vehicle. The second signal may be presented on the computing device associated with the user.

[00055] In an embodiment, the system 102 can allow the user 108 to extend his/her journey simply by selecting any next destinations and paying extra charges so that theongoing journey ticket can beupdated accordingly. Alternately, the user 108 also can do a floating journey when he/she is not sure about destination while starting the journey. For example, the floating journey may refer to the journey where the user 108 may start his journey from a source and can decide to not to choose the destination. In an implementation, the user 108 may manually terminate the journey by providing input to the system 102 such that the fare can be based on number of stops or distance travelled by the user 108. In another implementation, ticketing authority using the system 102 may decide the destination based on user’s location and the vehicle location. For example, once the user 108 leaves the vehicle, the system 102 may automatically detect that the user 108 is away from the bus and can determine his/her destination based on a current location of the bus. This leads toautomatic calculationof the fare, and that is based on stops or distance travelled by the user 108. Therefore, the user 108 can be charged the ticket price based on the boarding point and the de-boarding point of the user. In an implementation, until the payment is done by the user 108, the ticket is not issued to the user.

[00056] In an embodiment, the data related to all the users 108 or the passengers can be available with the system 102. The system 102 can provide the data to the entity 110, which can access the system 102 through a hand held device such as a smart device, a computing device or a smart phone. The entity 110 can be any suitable authority of the public transport, for example, the entity can be a bus ticket checker who can register with the system 102 using the hand held device. In an implementation, the entity 110 can be notified each time ticket is booked in the public transport and can issue physical confirmation receipt or ticket to the user 108 using the device.

[00057] In an embodiment, the entity 110 can view how many tickets are booked for a current stop, previous stop and how many passengers or users 108 will get down to any stop including current stop. Further, the tickets issued by the entity 110 from the hand-held device and tickets issued to the users 108 through the user device can be synchronizedby the system 102.The handheld device of the entity 110 can display real-time number of users 108 present in the public transport.

[00058] In an embodiment, incase the user 108 has booked the ticket online, the entity 110 can confirm the ticket using the hand-held device based on the data synchronized by the system 102. In an implementation, the entity 110 can include a driver such as a bus driver so that a display device operatively coupled with the system 102 can display a de-boarding pint of the user 108 to the driver of the transport, for example, the driver can have a small display to receive boarding and de-boarding information of the passenger/user 108, also aboutif the user 108 has to get down at an upcoming stop.

[00059] In an embodiment, the user 108 can access the system 102 through a remote place such as a bus stop or a home and can provide the source and the destinationthrough the user device.The user 108 canalso check the live location of the public transport or the bus on the map and number of passengers on the bus to accordingly decide which bus he/she wants to board and chances for him/her to get a confirmed seat.In an embodiment, the system 102 can be accessed by entity 110 such as a transport agency that can have various live data about journeys of the vehiclesuch as feedbacks from the passengers, passenger density, traffic, systematic fare collection, and the like.

[00060] Although in various embodiments, the implementation of system 102 is explained with regard to the server, those skilled in the art would appreciate that, the system 102 can fully or partially be implemented in other computing devices operatively coupled with network 104 such as user devices 106 with minor modifications, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[00061] FIG. 2 illustrates exemplary functional components of the proposed system 102in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[00062] In an aspect, the ticket booking system 102 may comprise one or more processor(s) 202. The one or more processor(s) 202 may be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, logic circuitries, and/or any devices that manipulate data based on operational instructions. Among other capabilities, the one or more processor(s) 202 are configured to fetch and execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory 204 of the system 102. The memory 204 may store one or more computer-readable instructions or routines, which may be fetched and executed to create or share the data units over a network service. The memory 204 may comprise any non-transitory storage device including, for example, volatile memory such as RAM, or non-volatile memory such as EPROM, flash memory, and the like.

[00063] The system 102 may also comprise an interface(s) 206. The interface(s) 206 may comprise a variety of interfaces, for example, interfaces for data input and output devices, referred to as I/O devices, storage devices, and the like. The interface(s) 206 may facilitate communication of system 102. The interface(s) 206 may also provide a communication pathway for one or more components of the system 102. Examples of such components include, but are not limited to, processing engine(s) 208 and data 210.

[00064] The processing engine(s) 208 may be implemented as a combination of hardware and programming (for example, programmable instructions) to implement one or more functionalities of the processing engine(s) 208. In examples described herein, such combinations of hardware and programming may be implemented in several different ways. For example, the programming for the processing engine(s) 208 may be processor executable instructions stored on a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium and the hardware for the processing engine(s) 208 may comprise a processing resource (for example, one or more processors), to execute such instructions. In the present examples, the machine-readable storage medium may store instructions that, when executed by the processing resource, implement the processing engine(s) 208. In such examples, the system 102 may comprise the machine-readable storage medium storing the instructions and the processing resource to execute the instructions, or the machine -readable storage medium may be separate but accessible to system 102 and the processing resource. In other examples, the processing engine(s) 208 may be implemented by electronic circuitry.

[00065] The database 210 may comprise data that is either stored or generated as a result of functionalities implemented by any of the components of the processing engine(s) 208 or the system 102.

[00066] In an exemplary embodiment, the processing engine(s) 208 may include a unique identifier receiving engine 212, a current location determination engine 214, a token generation engine 216, and other engine(s) 218. Other engine(s) 218 can supplement the functionalities of the processing engine 208 or the system 102.

[00067] In an embodiment, the system 102 facilitates the users to register themselves directly with the system 102. The registration can mandate requirement of any or a combination of a mobile number, date of birth, place of birth, first name and last name, a biometric or any other such unique information based input. On successful registration and on providing related attributes, the user can be provided with a user name and password or any other unique information for accessing the system 102.

[00068] In an embodiment, the unique identifier receiving engine 212 may facilitate to receive a unique identifier associated with a vehicle. The unique identifier of the vehicle is captured using a computing device associated with a user. The capturing of the unique identifier of the vehicle is being done upon the user boarding the vehicle. The unique identifier can be in a form of any or a combination of an alphanumeric code, a bar code, a QR code and the like.

[00069] In an embodiment, the current location determination engine 214 can facilitate to determine a current location of the vehicle. The determined current location is associated with a current location of the vehicle. Further, the current location of the vehicle is considered as a boarding point of the user. The user can capture the unique identifier through the computing device associated with the user so that a live location of the vehicle is determined and is considered as a boarding point (e.g., a source location) of the user.

[00070] In an embodiment, the system can determine a list of stops (destination locations) based on the unique identifier of the bus and the boarding point so that the user can take an informed decision about a destination or a de-boarding point from the list of stops. For example, every bus can have an assigned pre-defined bus route and the bus route can display the list of stops based on the route and the boarding point. The user can select a de boarding point from the list or may get down at a stop that is considered as a de-boarding point of the user. In an implementation, the list of stops can be displayedon a route map for clarity and efficient use by the user.

[00071] In an embodiment, the token generation engine 216 can issue a token (e.g., a ticket) based on the determined source and destination locations. The token can include multiple data packets associated with one or more stop points of the vehicle. The generated token can be displayed on the computing device associated with the user. The multiple data packets includes such as name, unique identification code and location information associated with the one or more stop points of the vehicle. The generated token is considered as invalid upon the user de-boarding the vehicle.

[00072] The token generation engine 216 can also compute charges or ticket fare based on the boarding and the de-boarding point of the user. In an embodiment, upon the user de boarding the vehicle on a stop point of the multiple stop points, a current location of the vehicle is determined with respect to the stop point on which the user de-boarded the vehicle. Further, when the user de -boards the vehicle a first signal (ticket fare or token fare) may be generated based on a distance covered between the boarding point of the user and the de boarding point of the user. Also, the first signal being presented on the computing device associated with the user.

[00073] In another embodiment, a second signal (ticket fare or token fare) is generated when the vehicle reaches at one of a stop point of the multiple stop points. The stop point may be associated with a final destination of the vehicle. The second signal may be based on a distance covered between the boarding point of the user and location information of the final destination of the vehicle. The second signal may be presented on the computing device associated with the user. As can be appreciated by those skilled in the art, at most one of the first signal and the second signal can be generated upon the user de-boarding the vehicle.

[00074] Those skilled in the art would appreciate that, though embodiments of the present disclosure are explained usingbus as an example, however, this does not limit the scope of the present disclosure in any manner and the public transport may include any kind of transport medium such as tram, metro, city transport, and the like.

[00075] FIGs. 3A-Dillustrate exemplary representationsof the computing device in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. [00076] In an example, as illustrated in FIG. 3A, the user can scan a QR code of the vehicle such as a bus to capture a unique identifier associated with the vehicle. Live location of the vehicle can be retrieved from the unique identifier. As is illustrated in FIG. 3B, boarding point of the user can be selected based on retrieved live location of the vehicle and the user can be provided with a list of stops (e.g., destination locations), from which the user can decide on whichone of a destination or a de-boarding point the user may de-board the vehicle. As illustrated in FIG. 3C, on deciding the destination, the user can be provided with a token (e.g., fare)for the journey when the user de-boards the vehicle so that the user can pay the fare automatically using a payment gateway. The user may not even need to access his computing device for the fare payments and the fare payments shall be deducted automatically from a linked electronic wallet.

[00077] On successful fare payments, as illustrated in FIG. 3D, the user can download the ticket on his/her user device. Additionally or alternately, the ticket can be displayed on the computing device of the user so that the ticket can be shown to the entity such as a ticket checker.

[00078] FIG. 4 illustrates at 400 an exemplary representation of hand-held device of the entity in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[00079] In an exemplary implementation, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the entity or the ticket checker can view how many tickets are booked. Further, the tickets issued by the entity from the hand-held device i.e. physical booking and tickets issued to the users through the user device i.e. online booking can be synchronized by the system. Also, for the ease of monitoring by the ticket checker, the handheld device can display real-time number of passengers present in the public transport based on synchronization of the data. Also, the system can enable the ticket checker to pause the automatic or online ticketing for the bus he/she is currently checking so that no user would be able to buy tickets until the ticket checker re-enables the ticketing through the handheld device.

[00080] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram 500 illustrating a method for issuing a token for travelling in a public transport in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[00081] In context of flow diagram, at block 502 a processor communicatively coupled with a remote server, receives a unique identifier associated with a vehicle. The unique identifier is captured using a computing device associated with a user when the user boards the vehicle. At block 504, a current location of the vehicle is determined. The determined current location is associated with a boarding point of the user. Further, at block 506, a token comprising one or more data packets associated with one or more stop points of the vehicle is generated. Additionally, the generated token is displayed on the computing device associated with the user.

[00082] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary computer system 600 to implement the proposed system in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00083] As shown in FIG. 6, computer system can include an external storage device 610, a bus 620, a main memory 630, a read only memory 640, a mass storage device 650, communication port 660, and a processor 670. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that computer system may include more than one processor and communication ports. Examples of processor 670 include, but are not limited to, an Intel® Itanium® or Itanium 2 processor(s), or AMD® Opteron® or Athlon MP® processor(s), Motorola® lines of processors, FortiSOC™ system on a chip processors or other future processors. Processor 670 may include various modules associated with embodiments of the present invention. Communication port 660 can be any of an RS-232 port for use with a modem based dialup connection, a 10/100 Ethernet port, a Gigabit or 10 Gigabit port using copper or fiber, a serial port, a parallel port, or other existing or future ports. Communication port 660 may be chosen depending on a network, such a Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), or any network to which computer system connects.

[00084] Memory 630 can be Random Access Memory (RAM), or any other dynamic storage device commonly known in the art. Read only memory 640 can be any static storage device(s) e.g., but not limited to, a Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM) chips for storing static information e.g., start-up or BIOS instructions for processor 670. Mass storage 650 may be any current or future mass storage solution, which can be used to store information and/or instructions. Exemplary mass storage solutions include, but are not limited to, Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment (PATA) or Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) hard disk drives or solid-state drives (internal or external, e.g., having Universal Serial Bus (USB) and/or Firewire interfaces), e.g. those available from Seagate (e.g., the Seagate Barracuda 7102 family) or Hitachi (e.g., the Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000), one or more optical discs, Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) storage, e.g. an array of disks (e.g., SATA arrays), available from various vendors including Dot Hill Systems Corp., LaCie, Nexsan Technologies, Inc. and Enhance Technology, Inc.

[00085] Bus 620 communicatively couples processor(s) 670 with the other memory, storage and communication blocks. Bus 620 can be, e.g. a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) / PCI Extended (PCI-X) bus, Small Computer System Interface (SCSI), USB or the like, for connecting expansion cards, drives and other subsystems as well as other buses, such a front side bus (FSB), which connects processor 670 to software system.

[00086] Optionally, operator and administrative interfaces, e.g. a display, keyboard, and a cursor control device, may also be coupled to bus 620 to support direct operator interaction with computer system. Other operator and administrative interfaces can be provided through network connections connected through communication port 660. External storage device 610 can be any kind of external hard-drives, floppy drives, IOMEGA® Zip Drives, Compact Disc - Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), Compact Disc - Re -Writable (CD- RW), Digital Video Disk - Read Only Memory (DVD-ROM). Components described above are meant only to exemplify various possibilities. In no way should the aforementioned exemplary computer system limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[00087] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented entirely hardware, entirely software (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or combining software and hardware implementation that may all generally be referred to herein as a“circuit,”“module,”“component,” or“system.” Furthermore, aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program product comprising one or more computer readable media having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

[00088] Thus, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the diagrams, schematics, illustrations, and the like represent conceptual views or processes illustrating systems and methods embodying this invention. The functions of the various elements shown in the figures may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing associated software. Similarly, any switches shown in the figures are conceptual only. Their function may be carried out through the operation of program logic, through dedicated logic, through the interaction of program control and dedicated logic, or even manually, the particular technique being selectable by the entity implementing this invention. Those of ordinary skill in the art further understand that the exemplary hardware, software, processes, methods, and/or operating systems described herein are for illustrative purposes and, thus, are not intended to be limited to any particular named.

[00089] As used herein, and unless the context dictates otherwise, the term "coupled to" is intended to include both direct coupling (in which two elements that are coupled to each other contact each other) and indirect coupling (in which at least one additional element is located between the two elements). Therefore, the terms "coupled to" and "coupled with" are used synonymously. Within the context of this document terms "coupled to" and "coupled with" are also used euphemistically to mean “communicatively coupled with” over a network, where two or more devices are able to exchange data with each other over the network, possibly via one or more intermediary device.

[00090] It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that many more modifications besides those already described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims. Moreover, in interpreting both the specification and the claims, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context. In particular, the terms“comprises” and“comprising” should be interpreted as referring to elements, components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that the referenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combined with other elements, components, or steps that are not expressly referenced. Where the specification claims refers to at least one of something selected from the group consisting of A, B, C .... and N, the text should be interpreted as requiring only one element from the group, not A plus N, or B plus N, etc.

[00091] While the foregoing describes various embodiments of the invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof. The scope of the invention is determined by the claims that follow. The invention is not limited to the described embodiments, versions or examples, which are included to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention when combined with information and knowledge available to the person having ordinary skill in the art.

ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION

[00092] The present disclosure provides a ticket booking facility that facilitates the user to book a ticket using his/her computing device

[00093] The present disclosure determines a ticket fare in real time based on a source location from where the user boards a transport and a destination location where the user de boards the transport.

[00094] The present disclosure provides provide a safe, secure and malware free ticket reservation facility.

Claims

aim:

1. A method for generating a token, said method comprising:

receiving, at a processor communicatively coupled with a remote server, a unique identifier associated with a vehicle, the unique identifier being captured using a computing device associated with a user, the capturing being done upon the user boarding the vehicle;

determining, at the processor, a current location of the vehicle, and associating the determined current location of the vehicle with a boarding point of the user; and generating, at the processor, a token comprising one or more data packets associated with one or more stop points of the vehicle, the generated token being displayed on the computing device associated with the user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein upon the user de-boarding the vehicle on a stop point of the one or more stop points, determining, at the processor, a current location of the vehicle with respect to the stop point on which the user de -boarded the vehicle, the determined stop point being associated with a de-boarding point of the user from the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein a first signal is generated, at the processor, based on a distance covered between the boarding point of the user and the de -boarding point of the user, said first signal being presented on the computing device associated with the user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein generating, at the processor, a second signal upon the vehicle reaching a stop point of the one or more stop points, the stop point being associated with a final destination of the vehicle, said second signal based on a distance covered between the boarding point of the user and location information of the final destination of the vehicle, said second signal being presented on the computing device associated with the user.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the user is instructed to de-board the vehicle when the vehicle reaches the final destination, the instruction being displayed on the computing device associated with the user.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein defining, at the processor, the token as invalid upon the user de -boarding the vehicle.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein at most one of the first signal and the second signal is generated upon the user de-boarding the vehicle.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more data packet comprises name, unique identification code and location information associated with the one or more stop points of the vehicle.

9. A system for generating a token, said system comprising:

a processing engine of a remote server comprising a processor coupled with a memory, the memory storing instructions executable by the processor to:

receive a unique identifier associated with a vehicle, the unique identifier being captured using a computing device associated with a user, the capturing being done upon the user boarding the vehicle;

determine a current location of the vehicle, and associating the determined current location of the vehicle with a boarding point of the user; and

generate, at the processor, a token comprising one or more data packets associated with one or more stop points of the vehicle, the generated token being displayed on the computing device associated with the user.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein upon the user de -boarding the vehicle on a stop point of the one or more stop points, determining, at the processor, a current location of the vehicle with respect to the stop point on which the user de -boarded the vehicle, the determined stop point being associated with a de-boarding point of the user from the vehicle.