JP7796818B2 - Service providing device, service providing system, service providing method and program - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a service providing device, a service providing system, a service providing method, and a program that can provide services to users of mobile devices.

In an on-demand mobility system that arranges vehicles and other moving objects on demand, users make reservations for the use of the moving object using a bus stop terminal installed at a bus stop or the user's own terminal. In such on-demand mobility systems, there may be waiting times until the moving object arrives at the bus stop where the user plans to board.

Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that utilizes waiting times for public transportation. When a user searches for a route including a train and the route search results in a waiting time due to a train transfer at a station, the technology delivers advertisements to the user's device that correspond to the transfer location and waiting time.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-271283

The technology described in Patent Document 1 makes it possible to present advertisements to users while they are waiting to transfer between trains. However, this technology calculates the waiting time for transfers based on train timetables and provides users with advertisements for facilities within and around stations based on the waiting time. This technology is therefore not applicable to on-demand mobility systems, which do not have fixed timetables. Furthermore, like waiting time, there is also the possibility that users can make effective use of usage time, which is the time spent traveling using a mobile device. However, Patent Document 1 does not mention the use of usage time (i.e., the time spent on a mobile device such as a train). As such, the effective use of users' waiting time and usage time in on-demand mobility systems has not been fully considered until now. Hereinafter, at least one of these waiting time and usage time will be referred to as "free time."

The present disclosure has been made in light of the above, and aims to provide a service providing device that enables users to make effective use of their free time when using an on-demand mobility system.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, a service providing device according to the present disclosure includes a service determination unit that acquires free time of a user who uses a mobile object that is arranged by reservation and travels on a route including a plurality of stops, and determines, using the free time, a service that is to be provided to the user during the free time, the service relating to an area including an operation area in which the mobile object is operated, and a service processing unit that performs processing to provide the determined service to the user based on a result of the determination by the service determination unit, wherein the free time includes at least one of a waiting time that is a time during which the user waits for the arrival of the arranged mobile object and a usage time that is a time during which the user is using the mobile object, and the service determination unit uses the free time to determine presentation information to be presented to the user, and the service processing unit generates the presentation information based on the result of the determination and presents it to a reservation terminal used by the user for the reservation. and a transmitting/receiving unit that transmits information, the reservation terminal displays the presented information, the mobile body is a vehicle, the service determination unit determines the presented information so that, if the waiting time is less than a threshold value, the presented information is information about facilities or places within a first range that is a range up to a first distance from a boarding stop where the user boards the vehicle, and, if the waiting time is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the presented information is information about facilities or places within a second range that is a range up to a second distance from the boarding stop that is longer than the first distance, the second range being set to include stops adjacent to the boarding stop, and when the service determination unit determines that the presented information should include information about facilities or places closer to a stop adjacent to the boarding stop than the boarding stop, it generates display information for causing the reservation terminal to display an acceptance of changes to the vehicle reservation, and the transmitting/receiving unit transmits the display information to the reservation terminal .

The service providing device disclosed herein has the effect of enabling users to make effective use of their free time when using an on-demand mobility system.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a service providing system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a bus stop terminal according to a first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an operation management device according to a first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a vehicle according to a first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of an operation related to service provision in the service providing system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a bus stop and surrounding facilities according to the first embodiment; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of local provided information stored in a local provided information storage unit according to the first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of presentation rule information according to the first embodiment; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of presentation rule information according to the first embodiment. Schematic diagram showing an example of a neural network FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of presented information in the appointment terminal of the first embodiment; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of presented information in the appointment terminal of the first embodiment; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of presented information on the reservation terminal according to the first embodiment when presenting waiting times for a plurality of routes. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a computer system that realizes a service providing device according to a first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a service providing system according to a second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an operation management device according to a second embodiment; FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of an operation related to service provision in the service providing system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of arrangement rule information according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of arrangement rule information according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a service providing system according to a modification of the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a service providing system according to a third embodiment. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of an operation related to service provision in the service providing system according to the third embodiment. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating another example of the operation related to service provision in the service providing system according to the third embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a service providing system according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of an operation related to service provision in the service providing system according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a service providing system according to a fifth embodiment.

The service providing device, service providing system, service providing method, and program according to the embodiments are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Embodiment 1.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a service providing system according to a first embodiment. The service providing system 100 of this embodiment includes a service providing device 1 and an operation management device 2. The operation management device 2 is a control device that manages the operation of vehicles 3-1 to 3-n (n is an integer equal to or greater than 1), which are examples of moving objects. Hereinafter, when vehicles 3-1 to 3-n are referred to without being individually distinguished, they will be referred to as vehicles 3. Although FIG. 1 illustrates an example in which there are multiple vehicles 3, it is sufficient that there be one or more vehicles 3. Note that, although FIG. 1 illustrates the service providing device 1 and the operation management device 2 as separate devices, the service providing device 1 may be provided within the operation management device 2. In other words, the operation management device 2 may also have the function of the service providing device 1.

The vehicle 3, together with the operation management device 2, constitutes a mobility system in which a mobile object is arranged based on a reservation from a user, i.e., an on-demand mobility system. The vehicle 3 is an example of a mobile object arranged based on a reservation from a user. In the following, an example is described in which the mobile object in the mobility system is a vehicle 3, but the mobile object is not limited to a vehicle 3 and may be a ship, an airplane, or the like, as long as it is capable of carrying a user. The mobility system of this embodiment provides mobility services within a defined operating area. The operating area may be, for example, a tourist destination, an urban area, a resort facility, a large commercial facility such as a shopping mall or outlet mall, or a theme park. The operating area is not limited to these.

Vehicle 3 travels within the operation area based on an operation plan received from the operation management device 2, following an operation route that includes multiple stops. A stop terminal 4 is provided at each stop. While one stop terminal 4 is illustrated in Figure 1, multiple stop terminals 4 may be provided for each stop. Here, an example is described in which a stop terminal 4 is provided at each stop, but stop terminals 4 may be provided at only some of the multiple stops within the operation area. Vehicle 3 may be an autonomous vehicle or a vehicle driven by a driver. Furthermore, when multiple vehicles 3 are used in a mobility system, autonomous vehicles and vehicles driven by a driver may be mixed. At least one of vehicles 3-1 to 3-n and stop terminals 4 may be included in the service provision system 100.

FIG. 1 shows an example in which users 7-1 and 7-2, who are examples of users using vehicle 3, are located near bus stop terminal 4. For example, user 7-1 makes a reservation for vehicle 3 using bus stop terminal 4, and user 7-2 makes a reservation using user terminal 5, i.e., a terminal device that user 7-2 can operate. User terminal 5 may be, but is not limited to, a smartphone, tablet, or personal computer. In FIG. 1, reference numerals 7-1 and 7-2 are used to identify the users of vehicle 3, but reference numerals are not used to refer to the general user of vehicle 3. As shown in FIG. 1, reservations for vehicle 3 may be made using bus stop terminal 4, or may be made using a user terminal 5 that the user can operate. Because reservations can be made using bus stop terminal 4, elderly people who do not own a user terminal 5 can also make reservations for vehicle 3. Hereinafter, the bus stop terminal 4 and user terminal 5 that make reservations for vehicle 3 are also referred to as reservation terminals. User terminal 5 may be included in the service provision system 100.

The service providing device 1 obtains the free time of the user using the vehicle 3 based on the reservation results of the vehicle 3, determines the service to be provided to the user corresponding to the reservation result using the obtained free time, and performs processing to provide the determined service. The service is provided to the user during free time and is a service related to the area including the operating area in which the vehicle 3 operates. This allows the service providing device 1 to make effective use of users' free time in an on-demand mobility system. Furthermore, the use of the service by users revitalizes the area, which is also beneficial to the local residents who receive the service.

In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the service provided to the user is the provision of information to the user. The information provided to the user is information about the area including the operating area of the reserved vehicle, and is, for example, at least one of advertisements and coupons for facilities near the stop where the user plans to board, at least one of advertisements and coupons for facilities near the user's destination (the stop where the user plans to disembark), and at least one of tourist information and event information for the destination. The destination is an example of the end location where the user's travel by the vehicle reserved by the user ends. The facility is, for example, a store, but is not limited to a store and may be a facility other than a store, such as an art gallery or museum. The tourist information is, for example, at least one of information about tourist spots, information about events, information about local specialties, and the like.

In this embodiment, the service providing device 1 extracts information to be provided to users from local information provided by local residents in the area including the operating area. Local residents include at least one of people who live within the operating area and people who work at facilities within the operating area. Local residents may also include at least one of people who live near the operating area and people who work at facilities near the operating area. In other words, local residents are, for example, people who live or work in the area including the operating area. While Figure 1 shows two local residents, there is no restriction on the number of local residents, and local information may be provided by one or more local residents. The area may be the same as the operating area or may be larger than the operating area. For example, if the operating area is City A, the area may include City A and its neighboring cities, towns, and villages.

Local information is registered in the service provider device 1 by being transmitted from, for example, terminal devices 6-1 and 6-2 that can be operated by local residents. Hereinafter, when referring to terminal devices 6-1 and 6-2 without distinguishing between them, they will be referred to as terminal devices 6. Terminal devices 6 include, but are not limited to, smartphones, tablets, and personal computers. While FIG. 1 shows an example in which local residents and terminal devices 6 correspond one-to-one, multiple local residents may register local information using a single terminal device 6, or one local resident may register local information using multiple terminal devices 6. Local information may include, for example, advertisements for stores (retail shops and restaurants) in the area, coupons and gift certificates that can be used at those stores, and tourist and event information for the area. Furthermore, in recent years, many areas have been promoting subcultures such as anime and manga. Therefore, local information may include, for example, information about locations that are the setting for famous anime or manga.

By providing the user with information extracted from regional information provided by local residents, the service provider device 1 can provide the user with information that meets the needs of local residents, efficiently promoting the revitalization and development of the region corresponding to the operation area. The method for collecting regional information in the service provider device 1 is not limited to registration by local residents; the service provider device 1 may automatically collect information about events and facilities in the region from tourist association databases, online information providers such as SNS (Social Networking Services), and other sources. The regional information may also be a mixture of information registered by local residents and information automatically collected by the service provider device 1. In this embodiment, a service provider device 1 is installed for each region. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this example, and one service provider device 1 may be assigned to multiple regions. In this case, the service provider device 1 stores regional information separately for each region, extracts regional information related to the operation area of the reserved mobility, and provides it to the user who made the reservation.

Next, an example configuration of the service providing device 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the service providing device 1 includes a transmitter/receiver 11, a service determination unit 12, a presentation information generation unit 13, a registration processing unit 14, and a local provision information storage unit 15.

The transmitter/receiver unit 11 transmits and receives information by communicating with other devices. For example, when the transmitter/receiver unit 11 receives reservation information indicating a request to reserve a vehicle 3 from a reservation terminal (bus stop terminal 4 or user terminal 5), the transmitter/receiver unit 11 outputs the received reservation information to the service determination unit 12 and also transmits it to the operation management device 2. The reservation information includes, for example, the boarding location (the planned boarding stop), the destination (the planned disembarking stop), and user identification information for identifying the user. The desired boarding time may also be specified in the reservation information. Details of the reservation information will be described later. The boarding location is an example of a starting location from which the user's movement by mobile object begins. Furthermore, when the transmitter/receiver unit 11 receives, from the terminal device 6, local information entered into the terminal device 6 by a local resident, the transmitter/receiver unit 11 outputs the received local information to the registration processing unit 14. Furthermore, when the transmitter/receiver unit 11 receives, from the operation management device 2, a reservation result indicating the result of the reservation of a vehicle 3 made based on the reservation information, the transmitter/receiver unit 11 outputs the reservation result to the service determination unit 12. Furthermore, when the transmitter/receiver 11 receives presentation information (described below) from the presentation information generator 13 along with the reservation results, it transmits the received presentation information along with the reservation results to the reservation terminal. Furthermore, if the presentation information is to be provided to the user at boarding time, the transmitter/receiver 11 may transmit the received presentation information to the operation management device 2. As described below, the presentation information is transmitted to the vehicle 3 via the operation management device 2 and presented to the user aboard the vehicle 3 at the vehicle terminal 34. Note that in this case, the transmitter/receiver 11 may transmit the presentation information directly to the vehicle 3 without going through the operation management device 2.

The service determination unit 12 obtains the free time of the user using the mobile vehicle arranged by reservation, and uses the free time to determine services to be provided to the user during the free time, which services relate to the area including the operating area in which the mobile vehicle operates. For example, the service determination unit 12 calculates the user's waiting time using the reservation results received from the transmission/reception unit 11, and determines the service to be provided to the user using the waiting time. Here, the waiting time is calculated based on the estimated arrival time of the vehicle 3 at the boarding location included in the reservation results. Specifically, the service determination unit 12 determines the content of the information to be presented to the user by selecting, from the local provided information related to the area related to the reservation stored in the local provided information storage unit 15, local provided information corresponding to the waiting time as the local provided information to be presented to the user, and outputs the determination result to the presentation information generation unit 13 together with the reservation result. For example, the service determination unit 12 determines the content of the information to be presented to the user by selecting, from the local provided information related to the waiting time provided by local residents, local provided information to be included in the presentation information. If the service providing device 1 is assigned to multiple regions, the service determination unit 12 extracts region provision information related to the corresponding region from the region provision information stored in the region provision information storage unit 15 and selects from the extracted region provision information region provision information corresponding to the waiting time as the region provision information to be provided to the user. In this case, the corresponding region may be identified based on information about the start location (i.e., the planned boarding stop, which is the boarding location) or the end location (i.e., the planned disembarking stop, which is the destination) included in the reservation result (which may be the reservation information). Details of how to determine the information corresponding to the waiting time will be described later. The service determination unit 12 may also calculate the boarding time using the reservation result received from the transmission/reception unit 11 and further select information to be provided to the user using the boarding time. The service determination unit 12 may also output the waiting time, or the waiting time and boarding time, together with the reservation result to the presentation information generation unit 13.

The service determination unit 12 may also determine the information to be presented based on the user's purpose for using the vehicle 3 (purpose of the ride or purpose of the entire trip). Examples of user purposes include, but are not limited to, sightseeing at tourist spots, sports, shopping, eating and drinking, and business. The service determination unit 12 may also infer the user's purpose based on the destination, which is an example of an end location. For example, if the user's destination is the nearest bus stop to a specific tourist spot, it may be inferred that the user's purpose is sightseeing at the tourist spot. For example, if the user's destination is the nearest bus stop to an office building, it may be inferred that the user's purpose is business. The user's purpose may also be included in the reservation information, in which case the service determination unit 12 selects the information to be provided to the user using the purpose included in the reservation information.

The presentation information generation unit 13 is an example of a service processing unit that performs processing to provide the user with the determined service based on the determination result received from the service determination unit 12. The presentation information generation unit 13 generates presentation information based on the determination result received from the service determination unit 12 and outputs the generated presentation information to the transceiver unit 11 along with the reservation result received from the service determination unit 12. The presentation information presented to the user includes regional information, such as advertisements for stores (retail shops and restaurants) near the boarding or disembarking stops, coupons and gift certificates that can be used at those stores, and tourist and event information for the area including the operating area of the arranged vehicle 3. Furthermore, if the user's purpose is to visit locations that were the setting for a famous anime or manga (a so-called pilgrimage), information about those locations may be presented in association with the anime or manga. For example, a scene in the anime or manga in which the location appears may be described, or information may be presented using the voice of a voice actor who played a character in the anime. The presentation information generation unit 13 further outputs the waiting time, or the waiting time and boarding time, to the transmission/reception unit 11. Note that while an example has been described here in which the presentation information generation unit 13 outputs the reservation results to the transmission/reception unit 11, this is not limiting, and the service determination unit 12 may also output the reservation results to the transmission/reception unit 11. Similarly, the service determination unit 12 may output the waiting time, or the waiting time and boarding time, to the transmission/reception unit 11. Also, while an example has been described here in which the presentation information is sent to the reservation terminal along with the reservation results, the reservation results and the presentation information may each be sent separately to the reservation terminal.

When the registration processing unit 14 receives the local area information from the transmission/reception unit 11, it stores the received local area information in the local area information storage unit 15. The local area information storage unit 15 stores the local area information. If the service providing device 1 is assigned to multiple regions and the local area information for the multiple regions is managed collectively, the local area information storage unit 15 stores the local area information separately for each region. For example, the registration processing unit 14 assigns an information number, which is identification information, to the local area information received from the transmission/reception unit 11 and stores it in the local area information storage unit 15. Note that assigning an information number is not required, and each piece of local area information may be identified using other information within the local area information. Furthermore, prior to receiving the local area information, the registration processing unit 14 may generate registration information, such as a form for registering the local area information, output the generated information to the transmission/reception unit 11, and the transmission/reception unit 11 may transmit the information to the terminal device 6. In this case, local residents can enter the local area information into the terminal device 6 according to a registration form displayed on the terminal device 6. There are no particular restrictions on the method for registering the local information; the registration processing unit 14 may provide registration website information to the terminal device 6 via the transmission/reception unit 11, and local residents may enter the local information on the website. Alternatively, application software (hereinafter abbreviated as "app") for registering local information may be installed on the terminal device 6, and local residents may launch the app and enter the local information. Alternatively, a registration form or the like may be sent to the terminal device 6 by email, and the terminal device 6 may then send the local information to the service provider device 1 by email.

Next, an example configuration of the bus stop terminal 4 will be described. Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example configuration of the bus stop terminal 4 in this embodiment. As shown in Figure 2, the bus stop terminal 4 includes a reservation information generation unit 41, a transmission/reception unit 42, an information presentation unit 43, an ID acquisition unit 44, and an input reception unit 45.

The input acceptance unit 45 accepts reservations from users who wish to use the vehicle 3. Specifically, the input acceptance unit 45 accepts input of at least the destination (the stop where the user plans to disembark) and outputs the accepted information to the reservation information generation unit 41. The information accepted by the input acceptance unit 45 includes, for example, the boarding location, which is the stop where the user plans to board, and the destination. The information accepted by the input acceptance unit 45 may also include at least one of the number of passengers and the purpose of the trip. The information accepted by the input acceptance unit 45 only needs to include at least the destination, and other information may be automatically set by the bus stop terminal 4. The input acceptance unit 45 may accept input through user operation or through voice utterance by the user.

For example, the bus stop terminal 4 may set the boarding location to the bus stop where it is installed, and the number of passengers to one. If the number of passengers is fixed at one, reservations are entered for each passenger. When accepting the boarding location, destination, and number of passengers, the bus stop terminal 4 may display the bus stop where the bus stop terminal 4 is installed and one passenger as default values for the boarding location and number of passengers, and may make the displayed default values changeable so that changed input can be accepted.

The ID acquisition unit 44 acquires a user ID (identifier), which is identification information of the user reserving the vehicle 3, and outputs the acquired user ID to the reservation information generation unit 41. The user ID may be any identification information that identifies the user, and may be identification information assigned to the user for the purpose of reserving the vehicle 3, or identification information used in another service. The user ID may be printed on paper as a two-dimensional code such as a QR code (registered trademark), or may be displayed on the user terminal 5 as a two-dimensional code. The user ID may also be stored on an IC (Integrated Circuit) card or a magnetic card, or may be biometric information such as a fingerprint, vein pattern, face, or iris. The ID acquisition unit 44 may be, for example, a reader that reads two-dimensional codes, a card reader that reads the user ID from an IC card or magnetic card on which the user ID is stored, or a biometric information reader that reads the user's biometric information. The ID acquisition unit 44 may also acquire the user ID by accepting input of the user ID from the user.

The reservation information generation unit 41 generates reservation information using the information received from the input acceptance unit 45 and the user ID received from the ID acquisition unit 44, and outputs the generated reservation information to the transmission/reception unit 42. If the input acceptance unit 45 accepts input of all information included in the reservation information except the user ID from the user, the reservation information generation unit 41 generates reservation information by adding the user ID to the information received from the input acceptance unit 45. For example, if the input acceptance unit 45 does not accept input of the boarding location, the reservation information generation unit 41 generates reservation information by adding the bus stop where the bus stop terminal 4 equipped with the reservation information generation unit 41 is installed as the boarding location and adding the user ID to the information received from the input acceptance unit 45. It is assumed that each bus stop terminal 4 holds information indicating the bus stop where it is installed.

The transmission/reception unit 42 transmits and receives information by communicating with other devices. For example, the transmission/reception unit 42 transmits reservation information received from the reservation information generation unit 41 to the service providing device 1. Furthermore, when the transmission/reception unit 42 receives a reservation result from the service providing device 1, it outputs the received reservation result and presentation information to the information presentation unit 43.

The information presentation unit 43 presents the reservation results and presentation information received from the transmission/reception unit 42 to the user. The information presentation unit 43 may be a display device, a device that presents information by sound using a speaker or the like, a device that presents information by printing it on paper or the like, or a combination of these.

Here, we have described an example in which a user makes a reservation for a vehicle 3 using the bus stop terminal 4, and the presented information is also presented when the reservation results are presented. However, the presentation of the reservation results and the presented information may be presented at different times. For example, after the reservation results are displayed and the reservation process is completed, the presented information may be displayed on the bus stop terminal 4 until the next operation is performed. Also, when multiple users make reservations using the bus stop terminal 4 in succession, for example, after each user's reservation results are displayed and the reservation process is completed, multiple pieces of presented information corresponding to each of the multiple users may be displayed on the bus stop terminal 4 in a split-screen or time-shared manner.

Although not shown in the figure, the user terminal 5 has the same configuration as the bus stop terminal 4. The user terminal 5 may not have the ID acquisition unit 44 and may internally store, for example, a user ID assigned to the user for reserving a vehicle 3. In this case, the reservation information generation unit 41 generates reservation information by adding the stored user ID to the information received from the input acceptance unit 45. Alternatively, an app for reserving a vehicle 3 may be installed on the user terminal 5, causing the user terminal 5 to perform the same processing as the bus stop terminal 4. Alternatively, the user terminal 5 may perform the same processing as the bus stop terminal 4 by using a website. In the latter case, for example, a website for reserving a vehicle 3 may be provided by the service providing device 1, the operations management device 2, or a web server (not shown), and the user terminal 5 may access the website and perform the same operations as the bus stop terminal 4. In other words, the user may operate the user terminal 5 on a screen displayed as a website prompting input, causing the input acceptance unit 45 of the user terminal 5 to accept input for each item of the reservation information. In this case, the user terminal 5 may not have a reservation information generation unit 41, and the input information may be transmitted from the transmission/reception unit 42 to the service providing device 1 as reservation information, and the user ID may be transmitted from the transmission/reception unit 42 separately from the reservation information.

Next, an example configuration of the operations management device 2 will be described. Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example configuration of the operations management device 2 according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 3, the operations management device 2 includes a dispatch processing unit 21, an operation plan storage unit 22, a transmission/reception unit 23, and a vehicle information storage unit 24.

The transmitter/receiver 23 transmits and receives information by communicating with other devices. For example, the transmitter/receiver 23 receives reservation information from the service providing device 1 and outputs the received reservation information to the arrangement processing unit 21. The transmitter/receiver 23 also receives vehicle information indicating the current location of the vehicle 3 from the vehicle 3 and stores the received vehicle information in the vehicle information storage unit 24. When the transmitter/receiver 23 receives an operation plan (described below) from the arrangement processing unit 21, it transmits the received operation plan to the corresponding vehicle 3. When the transmitter/receiver 23 receives a reservation result from the arrangement processing unit 21, it transmits the reservation result to the service providing device 1 and the corresponding vehicle 3. For example, the transmitter/receiver 23 also receives presentation information from the service providing device 1 and transmits the received presentation information to the vehicle 3.

The vehicle information storage unit 24 stores vehicle information for each vehicle 3. The operation plan storage unit 22 stores an operation plan indicating the planned travel time for each vehicle 3. As will be described later, the operation plan is determined based on reservations from users, i.e., based on reservation information transmitted from a reservation terminal. The operation plan may be information indicating the planned location of vehicle 3 for each time period. The operation plan is, for example, information indicating whether vehicle 3 is parked as an empty vehicle in a designated location such as a garage, or whether it is in operation, at each time in the operation plan. Furthermore, if vehicle 3 is in operation, the operation plan includes, for example, information indicating what time and which stop it will arrive at, and information indicating the planned number of passengers for each section.

When the dispatch processing unit 21 receives reservation information transmitted from the service providing device 1 via the transmission/reception unit 23, it performs reservation processing to dispatch a vehicle 3 based on the received reservation information and confirm the reservation. Specifically, the dispatch processing unit 21 selects a vehicle 3 that is capable of traveling the route from the boarding location corresponding to the reservation information to the destination and has available seats, based on the operation plan for each vehicle 3 stored in the operation plan storage unit 22, and assigns the selected vehicle 3 to the reservation corresponding to the reservation information. The dispatch processing unit 21 may also use vehicle information indicating the current location of the vehicle 3 stored in the vehicle information storage unit 24 in the reservation processing. For example, if there are multiple vehicles 3 that can be assigned to the reservation corresponding to the reservation information, the dispatch processing unit 21 may select the vehicle 3 whose current location is closest to the boarding location. Here, an example has been described in which the reservation information does not include a desired boarding time, and a vehicle 3 is dispatched at the earliest time from the time the reservation is made. However, as described above, the desired boarding time may also be specified in the reservation information. If a desired boarding time is specified in the reservation information, the dispatch processing unit 21 assigns, for example, a vehicle 3 that can depart from the boarding location at the desired boarding time and travel to the destination to the reservation corresponding to the reservation information. If there is no vehicle 3 that can depart the boarding location at the desired boarding time and travel to the destination, the arrangements processing unit 21 assigns to the reservation corresponding to the reservation information a vehicle 3 that can depart the boarding location as close as possible to the desired boarding time and travel to the destination. Note that any method for allocating vehicles 3 may be used, and since common methods can be used, detailed explanations will be omitted.

Once the dispatch processing unit 21 has determined the vehicle 3 to be allocated, it generates a reservation result including the estimated time of arrival of the vehicle 3 at the boarding location, the estimated time of arrival of the vehicle 3 at the destination, and the user ID based on the current location of the vehicle 3, and outputs the generated reservation result to the transmission/reception unit 23. The dispatch processing unit 21 may also obtain traffic congestion information via the transmission/reception unit 23 from a system (not shown) that provides traffic information, and use the traffic congestion information to calculate the estimated time of arrival of the vehicle 3 at the boarding location and the estimated time of arrival of the vehicle 3 at the destination. The dispatch processing unit 21 may also update the operation plan based on the vehicle information of each vehicle 3. The dispatch processing unit 21 may include seat designation information in the reservation result. The dispatch processing unit 21 may also include vehicle identification information that identifies the vehicle 3 in the reservation result. This allows the user to determine whether the vehicle 3 they have reserved is the vehicle 3 they have reserved when the vehicle 3 arrives.

Note that while an example is shown here in which reservation information is sent from the reservation terminal to the service providing device 1, the reservation information may also be sent from the reservation terminal to the operations management device 2. In this case, the operations management device 2 may send the reservation information to the service providing device 1 along with the reservation results. Alternatively, if there is no information included in the reservation information that is not included in the reservation results, or if there is information included in the reservation information that is not included in the reservation results but the service providing device 1 does not use that information in processing, the operations management device 2 may not need to send the reservation information to the service providing device 1.

Furthermore, when the operation management device 2 and the service providing device 1 are integrated, i.e., when the operation management device 2 also has the functions of the service providing device 1, communication between the operation management device 2 and the service providing device 1 takes place within the device. In this case, information exchange within the device does not need to go through the transceiver 11 and the transceiver 23. Furthermore, in this case, when it comes to sending and receiving with other devices, the transceiver 23 also serves the functions of the transceiver 11, so the transceiver 11 does not need to be provided.

Next, an example configuration of vehicle 3 will be described. Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example configuration of vehicle 3 in this embodiment. As shown in Figure 4, vehicle 3 includes an on-board device 31, an ID acquisition device 32, a driving control device 33, vehicle terminals 34-1 to 34-m (m is an integer equal to or greater than 1), equipment 35, and a location acquisition unit 36. Note that while Figure 4 shows an example in which vehicle 3 is an autonomous vehicle, vehicle 3 is not limited to autonomous vehicles.

The ID acquisition device 32 acquires the user ID of the user boarding the vehicle 3 and outputs the acquired user ID to the vehicle-mounted device 31. Like the ID acquisition unit 44 of the bus stop terminal 4, the ID acquisition device 32 may be a reader that reads a two-dimensional code, a card reader that reads the user ID from an IC card or magnetic card on which the user ID is stored, or a biometric information reading device that reads the user's biometric information. For example, if the user ID is represented by a two-dimensional code, the user holds a piece of paper on which the two-dimensional code is printed or a user terminal 5 displaying the two-dimensional code over the ID acquisition device 32 when boarding the vehicle 3. In this way, the ID acquisition device 32 acquires the user ID of the user boarding the vehicle 3. As mentioned above, the user ID may be presented in a form other than a two-dimensional code.

Each of the vehicle terminals 34-1 to 34-m includes a receiving unit 341 and a presentation unit 342. Each of the vehicle terminals 34-1 to 34-m is an example of a mobile terminal mounted on a mobile body and capable of displaying presentation information. The receiving unit 341 receives control information from the vehicle-mounted device 31 and outputs the received control information to the presentation unit 342. The presentation unit 342 presents information to the user by performing at least one of display and sound output based on the control information received from the receiving unit 341. The vehicle terminals 34-1 to 34-m are installed, for example, in front of each seat in the vehicle 3, but the installation locations of the vehicle terminals 34-1 to 34-m are not limited to this. Hereinafter, when the vehicle terminals 34-1 to 34-m are referred to without being individually distinguished, they will be referred to as vehicle terminals 34.

The vehicle-mounted device 31 controls the operation of the vehicle 3 based on the information received from the operation management device 2. As shown in FIG. 4, the vehicle-mounted device 31 includes a transmitter/receiver 311, a reservation result storage unit 312, and a reservation matching unit 313.

The transmitter/receiver 311 transmits and receives information by communicating with other devices. For example, the transmitter/receiver 311 receives reservation results from the operation management device 2 and stores the received reservation results in the reservation result storage unit 312. Furthermore, when the transmitter/receiver 311 receives an operation plan from the operation management device 2, it transmits the received operation plan to the driving control device 33. Furthermore, when the transmitter/receiver 311 receives the current location of the vehicle 3 from the driving control device 33, it transmits the received current location as vehicle information to the operation management device 2. Furthermore, when the transmitter/receiver 311 receives presentation information from the service provision device 1 via the operation management device 2, it outputs the presentation information to the reservation matching unit 313. Note that the presentation information may be transmitted directly from the transmitter/receiver 11 of the service provision device 1 to the transmitter/receiver 311 of the vehicle-mounted device 31 without going through the operation management device 2. Furthermore, when the transmitter/receiver 311 receives presentation information from the reservation matching unit 313, it transmits the presentation information to the destination vehicle terminal 34. The reservation result storage unit 312 stores the reservation results.

The reservation matching unit 313 matches the user ID received from the ID acquisition device 32 to determine whether the user is a user who made a reservation. If it determines that the user is not a user who made a reservation, it notifies the user accordingly. Specifically, the reservation matching unit 313 determines whether the user ID received from the ID acquisition device 32 matches the user ID included in the reservation results stored in the reservation result storage unit 312. If they match, it determines that the user is a user who made a reservation. If they do not match, it determines that the user is not a user who made a reservation. In addition to the user ID, the reservation matching unit 313 may also determine whether the boarding location included in the reservation results matches the current bus stop, and may determine that the user is a user who made a reservation when the user ID and boarding location match the reservation results. The reservation matching unit 313 may notify the user by sounding an error or displaying an error message. For example, the reservation matching unit 313 may notify the user that a reservation has not been made using an output device (not shown), and the output device may notify the user of the error using at least one of a sound and a display. Note that this notification may be given not only to the user but also to the occupants of the vehicle 3.

Furthermore, when the reservation matching unit 313 receives presentation information from the transmission/reception unit 311, it reads out the reservation results corresponding to the user ID included in the presentation information from the reservation result storage unit 312, and selects the vehicle terminal 34 to which the presentation information should be presented based on the reservation results. The reservation matching unit 313 outputs the presentation information to the transmission/reception unit 311, addressed to the selected vehicle terminal 34. For example, an example will be described in which a vehicle terminal 34 is provided for each seat, a seat is specified at the time of reservation, and the presentation information sent from the service providing device 1 includes a user ID. In this case, the reservation matching unit 313 selects the vehicle terminal 34 corresponding to the seat included in the reservation results corresponding to the user ID as the vehicle terminal 34 to which the presentation information should be presented. Furthermore, based on the reservation results, the reservation matching unit 313 may instruct the vehicle terminal 34 to present the presentation information during the ride period (from the boarding location to the destination) corresponding to the reservation results. Here, the reservation matching unit 313 selects the vehicle terminal 34 to which the presentation information should be presented, but this is not limited to this. The service providing device 1 may store the correspondence between seats in each vehicle 3 and vehicle terminals 34, and the presentation information generation unit 13 may determine the vehicle terminal 34 corresponding to the seat based on the reservation results for each vehicle 3, and specify the determined vehicle terminal 34 as the destination of the presentation information. In this case, the presentation information may be transmitted from the service providing device 1 to the vehicle terminal 34 via the transmitter/receiver 311 of the vehicle-mounted device 31, or may be transmitted from the service providing device 1 to the vehicle terminal 34.

Also, if no seat is specified, the reservation matching unit 313 may not select a vehicle terminal 34 to present the presentation information, but may instead cause all vehicle terminals 34 to present the presentation information. In this case, too, the reservation matching unit 313 may instruct the vehicle terminal 34 to present the presentation information during the ride period corresponding to the reservation result corresponding to the user ID included in the presentation information. In this case, if there is an overlapping ride period in which users corresponding to multiple reservation results are riding together in the vehicle 3, the vehicle terminal 34 may be instructed to display the presentation information corresponding to each user on a split screen during the overlapping ride period, or to present the presentation information on a time-sharing basis (at least one of display and sound output). Note that such control of the vehicle terminal 34, such as split-screen display or time-sharing presentation, is not limited to the example performed by the reservation matching unit 313. The presentation information generation unit 13 of the service providing device 1 may determine a presentation method, such as split-screen display or time-sharing presentation, and the presentation information including the presentation method may be transmitted from the presentation information generation unit 13 to the vehicle 3. In this case, the presentation information may be transmitted from the service providing device 1 to the vehicle terminal 34 via the transceiver 311 of the vehicle-mounted device 31, or may be transmitted from the service providing device 1 to the vehicle terminal 34.

The position acquisition unit 36 acquires the current position of the vehicle 3 and transmits the acquired current position to the cruise control device 33. The position acquisition unit 36 acquires the current position of the vehicle by, for example, using a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver to perform positioning, but the method of acquiring the current position is not limited to this. The equipment 35 is equipment such as the accelerator, brake, and steering wheel used to drive the vehicle 3, and is controlled by the cruise control device 33. The cruise control device 33 controls the equipment 35 based on the operation plan received from the vehicle-mounted device 31 and the current position acquired from the position acquisition unit 36, thereby causing the vehicle 3 to drive in accordance with the operation plan. Note that, for example, the cruise control device 33 controls the driving of the vehicle 3 using information acquired by various sensors (not shown), such as on-board radar; however, any control method may be used for autonomous driving in the cruise control device 33, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. Note that while Figure 4 shows an example in which the current position acquired by the position acquisition unit 36 is transmitted to the vehicle-mounted device 31 via the driving control device 33, this is not limiting, and the current position may also be transmitted from the position acquisition unit 36 to the vehicle-mounted device 31.

Note that, here, an example is described in which a user presents a user ID when boarding vehicle 3 to determine whether or not the user is the user who reserved vehicle 3. However, confirmation when boarding vehicle 3 may be performed using methods other than the user ID. For example, a reservation ID identifying the reservation may be included in the reservation result, and the user may obtain this reservation ID and present it when boarding vehicle 3 (i.e., read it using the ID acquisition device 32). In this case, the bus stop terminal 4 and the user terminal 5 may not be equipped with an ID acquisition unit 44, and the user ID may not be included in the reservation information. Also, in this case, the bus stop terminal 4 may present the reservation ID to the user by printing it on paper or the like, or may display the reservation ID, or may communicate the reservation ID aloud. Also, in this case, a user who made a reservation using the user terminal 5 may present the reservation ID when boarding vehicle 3 by displaying the reservation ID on the user terminal 5. The reservation ID may be displayed as a two-dimensional code. Note that the method of confirming a reservation for vehicle 3 is not limited to the above example; any method may be used. The process related to the reservation of vehicle 3 may be modified as appropriate depending on the method of confirming the reservation for vehicle 3. For example, a passenger on the vehicle 3 may visually check the printed user ID or reservation ID to verify the reservation without using the ID acquisition device 32. Also, a reservation may not be confirmed when boarding the vehicle 3. In this case, the vehicle 3 does not need to be equipped with the ID acquisition device 32, and the vehicle-mounted device 31 does not need to verify the reservation.

In addition, while Figure 4 illustrates an example of an autonomous vehicle, when vehicle 3 is driven by a driver, for example, the vehicle-mounted device 31 outputs the received operation plan to a display device (not shown) that the driver can check. The driver then drives vehicle 3 based on the operation plan. Alternatively, the operation plan may be transmitted to a terminal device (not shown) carried by the driver and displayed on the terminal device.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. Figure 5 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation related to service provision in the service provision system 100 of this embodiment. As shown in Figure 5, when a local resident operates a terminal device 6, local provision information is sent from the terminal device 6 to the service provision device 1 (step S1).

When the service providing device 1 receives the local area information, it registers the received local area information (step S2). In particular, the transmitting/receiving unit 11 receives the local area information, and the registration processing unit 14 stores the local area information in the local area information storage unit 15. As described above, registration information such as an input form may be transmitted to the terminal device 6 prior to receiving the local area information.

The service providing device 1 receives reservation information from the reservation terminal (bus stop terminal 4 or user terminal 5) (step S3) and transmits the received reservation information to the operation management device 2 (step S4). Note that while Figure 5 shows an example in which step S3 is performed after steps S1 and S2, the relationship between the timing at which steps S1 and S2 are performed and the timing at which step S3 is performed is arbitrary and is not limited to the example shown in Figure 5. Also, as mentioned above, the local provision information is not limited to being registered from the terminal device 6, but may also be automatically acquired by the service providing device 1.

When the operation management device 2 receives the reservation information, it performs a reservation process for the vehicle 3 (step S5). In detail, the transmission/reception unit 23 receives the reservation information, and the arrangement processing unit 21 performs a reservation process to arrange for the vehicle 3 and confirm the reservation based on the reservation information, and outputs the reservation result to the transmission/reception unit 23.

The operations management device 2 transmits the reservation results to the service providing device 1 (step S6). More specifically, the transmitter/receiver 23 transmits the reservation results to the service providing device 1. Note that, although not shown in Figure 5, the operations management device 2 generates an operation plan for the vehicle 3 during the reservation process and transmits the generated operation plan and the reservation results to the vehicle 3.

When the service providing device 1 receives the reservation result, it calculates the waiting time based on the reservation result (step S7). In detail, the transmitter/receiver 11 receives the reservation result, and the service determination unit 12 uses the reservation result to calculate the user's waiting time. The waiting time is the time until the vehicle 3 arrives at the user's boarding location, and is, for example, the time from the current time to the estimated arrival time included in the reservation result (the arrival time of the vehicle 3 at the scheduled boarding stop).

Next, the service providing device 1 determines the presentation information based on the waiting time (step S8). In detail, the service determining unit 12 uses the waiting time, which is an example of free time, to determine the presentation information (contents of the presentation information) to be provided to the user from the local provided information stored in the local provided information storage unit 15, and outputs the determination result together with the reservation result to the presentation information generating unit 13. The determination result may be specified, for example, by the information number of the local provided information selected as the presentation information, or by a name in other local provided information, as described below. Furthermore, if some kind of processing, such as data reduction, is required for the local provided information, the determination result also includes the content of that processing.

Here, the details of the method for determining presentation information based on waiting time in the service determination unit 12 are described. In this embodiment, for example, when the waiting time is short, the service determination unit 12 selects, as presentation information, local information provided about facilities and places around the user's planned boarding stop where the expected stay time is short. The expected stay time may be predetermined for each local information provided, or may be predetermined by facility and place type, such as assuming that a retail store has a short expected stay time. Furthermore, when the waiting time is long, local information provided about facilities and places around the user's planned boarding stop where the expected stay time is long may be selected as presentation information, or local information provided about facilities and places far from the user's planned boarding stop may be selected as presentation information. Furthermore, the service determination unit 12 may use the waiting time to determine the length of the presentation information, i.e., the amount of information (data volume) of the presentation information. For example, when the waiting time is short, the presentation information may be short, i.e., the amount of information in the presentation information may be small, and when the waiting time is long, the presentation information may be long, i.e., the amount of information in the presentation information may be large. Additionally, the information to be presented may be determined taking into consideration not only waiting time but also boarding time.

For example, the service determination unit 12 determines the presentation information so that, when the waiting time is less than a threshold value, the presentation information is information about facilities or places within a first range, which is a range up to a first distance from the boarding stop, and, when the waiting time is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the presentation information is information about facilities or places within a second range, which is a range up to a second distance from the boarding stop. The second distance is longer than the first distance. The second range may also be set to include bus stops adjacent to the boarding stop.

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of bus stops and surrounding facilities in this embodiment. The bus stop terminals 4-1, 4-2, 4-10, 4-11, and 4-12 shown in Figure 6 are each the bus stop terminal 4 shown in Figure 1, and are installed at the corresponding bus stops. In the example shown in Figure 6, the reservation result indicates that the boarding location (boarding stop) is the stop (assumed to be stop #1) corresponding to bus stop terminal 4-1, and the destination (disembarking stop) is the stop (assumed to be stop #11) corresponding to bus stop terminal 4-11. In other words, the user's boarding section in this reservation result is from stop #1 corresponding to bus stop terminal 4-1 to stop #11 corresponding to bus stop terminal 4-11. Additionally, the bus stop corresponding to bus stop terminal 4-2 (assuming bus stop #2) is adjacent to bus stop #1 on the route from bus stop #1, the boarding point, to bus stop #11, the destination (i.e., the stop immediately following the boarding stop on the route), and the bus stop corresponding to bus stop terminal 4-10 (assuming bus stop #10) is adjacent to bus stop #11 on the route (i.e., the stop immediately preceding the disembarking stop on the route). Furthermore, the bus stop corresponding to bus stop terminal 4-12 (assuming bus stop #12) is adjacent to bus stop #11, although it is off the route (the stop immediately following bus stop #11 on the operating route of vehicle 3). The boarding stop is an example of a starting location where the user's movement begins.

When the boarding location and destination in the reservation result are the example shown in Figure 6, the service determination unit 12 selects, for example, local provided information corresponding to the area around bus stop #1, which is the boarding location, or bus stop #11, which is the destination, as presentation information depending on the waiting time. Specifically, for example, the service determination unit 12 determines presentation information depending on the waiting time using local provided information stored in the local provided information storage unit 15, in accordance with presentation rule information that defines the conditions for presentation information for each waiting time. The presentation rule information is an example of rule information that indicates the correspondence between waiting time (or waiting time and boarding time) and the service to be provided. The presentation rule information is, for example, information in table format, but is not limited to this.

Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of local information stored in the local information storage unit 15 in this embodiment. Figure 7 shows an example in which each piece of local information is stored in the local information storage unit 15 after being assigned an information number, which is identification information for identifying the local information. In the example shown in Figure 7, the local information includes the registrant (identification information of the registered local resident), name (name of facility or location), type (type of facility or location), content (type of information), nearest bus stop, location, and presented data. In the example shown in Figure 7, the nearest bus stop is indicated by the bus stop number (bus stop number), but this is not limited to this and may also be indicated by the bus stop name or abbreviation. For example, the bus stop number corresponds to the branch number such as 4-1 or 4-2 on the bus stop terminal shown in Figure 6. The location may be indicated by latitude and longitude, or by a coordinate system with a predetermined reference point as the origin. Any method of expressing the location may be used. Additionally, in the example shown in FIG. 7, the presentation data is indicated by an electronic file name, and an example is shown in which a separate electronic file exists, but the contents of the presentation data itself may be directly included. Furthermore, the presentation data may include multiple types of data depending on the amount of information. For example, the presentation data may include two types of electronic files: one with a small amount of information and one with a larger amount of information than the electronic file.

Note that the data structure of the local provided information is not limited to the example shown in Figure 7, and the local provided information may also include information indicating the provider of the local provided information. The local provided information only needs to include at least information used for making judgments using the presentation rule information and information indicating the presented data, and may not include all of the items shown in Figure 7, or may include items other than those shown in Figure 7. The information used to identify each piece of local provided information may be an information number or a name.

Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of presentation rule information according to this embodiment. In the example shown in Figure 8, the presentation rule information is in table format and includes selection conditions for each waiting time (each waiting time range). In the example shown in Figure 8, the presentation rule information includes selection conditions such as: if the waiting time is less than TW1, select local information about retail stores within a distance D1 from the reserved boarding stop; if the waiting time is between TW1 and TW2 (TW2 > TW1), select local information about retail stores within a distance D2 from the reserved boarding stop; and if the waiting time is between TW2 and TW3 (TW3 > TW2), select local information about restaurants within a distance D2 from the reserved boarding stop. Thus, in the example shown in Figure 8, selection conditions are set for each waiting time range, including the distance from the reserved boarding stop to the facility or location to be selected as presentation information, and the type of facility or location (e.g., retail store, restaurant, etc.). The location of each bus stop is assumed to be held by the service determination unit 12 or stored in a storage unit (not shown).

In more detail, for example, a typical stay time (required time) is defined for each type of trip, and distances (distance thresholds) such as D1 and D2 and waiting time thresholds such as TW1 and TW2 are predefined. For example, if a typical stay time at a retail store is set to 10 minutes and TW1 is set to 15 minutes, D1 is set to a distance that can be traveled round trip in 5 minutes, such as approximately 200 m. D2 may also be determined to include the area surrounding the stop adjacent to the boarding stop. For example, if the distance to the stop adjacent to the boarding stop is 800 m, D2 may be set to a value longer than 800 m, such as 900 m, to include retail stores surrounding the stop adjacent to the boarding stop. In this way, presenting users with local information about retail stores near adjacent stops can encourage user mobility and revitalize the operating area of vehicle 3.

Note that if D2 is determined to include the areas surrounding stops adjacent to the boarding stop, only retail stores located a certain distance away from the boarding stop and whose neighboring stops are less than D1 may be selected. In the example shown in Figure 8, if the waiting time is between TW1 and TW2, local information provided by retail stores within a distance D2 from the reserved boarding stop is selected. However, this is not limited to this. If the waiting time is between TW1 and TW2, local information provided by retail stores within a distance D1 and D2 from the reserved boarding stop may be selected. For example, if the typical stay time at a restaurant is 45 minutes, TW2 may be set to 50 minutes, adding some travel time to 45 minutes. Note that in the example shown in Figure 8, if the waiting time is between TW2 and TW3, the selection condition is to select local information provided by retail stores within a distance D2 from the reserved boarding stop. However, restaurants may also be further subdivided into those within a distance D1 and those within a distance D2 depending on the waiting time. Selection conditions may also be determined by combining retail stores and restaurants. For example, selection conditions may be set such that if the waiting time is less than TW1, local information provided by retail stores within a range of distance D1 from the reserved boarding stop is selected, and if the waiting time is between TW1 and TW2, at least one of local information provided by retail stores within a range of distance D2 from the reserved boarding stop and local information provided by restaurants within a range of distance D1 is selected.

For example, in the example shown in FIG. 6, bus stop #1, where bus stop terminal 4-1 is installed, is the boarding point, and there are retail stores and restaurants in the vicinity of bus stop terminal 4-1. There are also retail stores and restaurants in the vicinity of bus stop #2, which is adjacent to bus stop #1 and corresponds to bus stop terminal 4-2. In this case, for example, if the waiting time is less than TW1, local information corresponding to retail stores in the vicinity of bus stop #1 is selected as presented information. If the waiting time is equal to or greater than TW1 but less than TW2, local information corresponding to retail stores in the vicinity of bus stop #1 as well as retail stores in the vicinity of bus stop #2 is selected as presented information. Furthermore, if the waiting time is equal to or greater than TW2 but less than TW3, local information corresponding to restaurants in the vicinity of bus stop #1 and restaurants in the vicinity of bus stop #2 is selected as presented information.

Also, suppose that local information about the area surrounding a stop adjacent to the boarding stop is selected and presented as presented information, and the user becomes interested and visits a store or other establishment corresponding to this local information. In this case, it may be more efficient for the user to board vehicle 3 from the stop nearest to the store or establishment, rather than the original boarding stop included in the reservation result. Therefore, when local information about the area surrounding a stop adjacent to the boarding stop is presented as presented information, the reservation terminal may display a message that accepts reservation changes. Examples of messages that accept reservation changes and details about reservation changes will be described later.

Note that distances (distance thresholds) such as D1 and D2 and waiting time thresholds such as TW1 and TW2 may be set for each boarding stop, or may be set as common values regardless of boarding stop. Furthermore, the method for determining the values and thresholds described above is merely an example, and the method for determining the values and thresholds is not limited to the above example. For example, general stay times may be determined for types of establishments, such as tourist spots and museums, in addition to retail stores and restaurants, and these may be included in the selection criteria.

In addition, while Figure 8 shows waiting times divided into three or more stages, this is not limited to this, and may be divided into two stages, for example, less than TW1 and TW1 or more. In addition, in Figure 8, both type and distance from the boarding stop are changed as selection conditions depending on the range of waiting times, but only one of them may be changed. For example, the presentation rule information may be defined so that when the waiting time is less than TW1, local information provided by facilities and places less than a certain distance from the boarding stop is selected regardless of type, and when the waiting time is TW1 or more, local information provided by facilities and places more than a certain distance from the boarding stop is selected regardless of type. Furthermore, the presentation rule information may be defined so that when the waiting time is less than TW1, local information provided by retail stores is selected regardless of distance, and when the waiting time is TW1 or more, local information provided by restaurants is selected regardless of distance.

In the example shown in Figure 8, local provided information of retail stores and restaurants near the boarding location is selected, but this is not limited to this. The presentation rule information may also be defined to select local provided information of facilities and places near the destination. In this case, since it is not necessary to consider the distance from the boarding stop depending on the waiting time, the amount of information in the presented information may be changed depending on the waiting time, as described above. For example, the number of local provided information to be selected may be determined depending on the waiting time, or, as described above, presentation data for each amount of information may be defined as presentation data for the local provided information so that presentation data is selected depending on the waiting time. Alternatively, if the amount of information in the presentation data varies depending on the local provided information, the local provided information may be selected so that the amount of information in the presentation data satisfies the constraint on the amount of information depending on the waiting time.

When the presentation rule information is defined to select local information about facilities and places around the destination, i.e., when local information about facilities and places around the destination is used as presentation information, the presentation information may include not only local information about facilities and places around the destination alighting stop, but also local information about facilities and places around stops adjacent to the alighting stop. In other words, the service determination unit 12 may include information about facilities or places closer to stops adjacent to the alighting stop than to the alighting stop in the presentation information. For example, in the example shown in Figure 6, bus stop #11 is the destination, retail stores and restaurants are located around bus stop #11, and retail stores, museums, and restaurants are located around bus stop #10, which is adjacent to bus stop #11 and located just before stop #11 on the route of vehicle 3. In this case, for example, the presentation rule information may be defined so that locally provided information about retail stores and restaurants in the vicinity of bus stop #11 is selected as the presented information, or locally provided information about retail stores, museums, and restaurants in the vicinity of bus stop #10, which is adjacent to bus stop #11, is also selected as the presented information. This can encourage users to wander around.

In addition, instead of or in addition to the local information provided by retail stores, museums, and restaurants in the vicinity of bus stop #10, the presentation rule information may be defined so that local information provided by restaurants in the vicinity of bus stop #12, which is adjacent to bus stop #11 and located one stop beyond bus stop #11 on the operating route of vehicle 3, is selected as the presented information. Alternatively, the presentation rule information may be defined so that local information provided by facilities and places in the vicinity of bus stop #11 is not selected as the presented information, and local information provided by facilities and places in the vicinity of at least one of bus stops #10 and #12 is selected as the presented information, thereby actively encouraging users to wander around. Furthermore, when the presentation rule information is defined so that local information provided by facilities and places in the vicinity of a bus stop adjacent to the disembarking stop is selected as the presented information, the reservation terminal may accept reservation changes when the presented information is presented, just as when local information provided by a bus stop adjacent to the boarding stop is presented as the presented information.

The presentation rule information may determine the number of pieces of local information provided by the service provider to be selected depending on the waiting time. For example, if the waiting time is less than TW1, local information provided by the service provider corresponding to two retail stores is selected, and if the waiting time is between TW1 and TW2, local information provided by the service provider corresponding to four retail stores is selected. Alternatively, the service determination unit 12 may select local information provided by the service provider with less than a certain amount of presentation data when the waiting time is less than a threshold, and select local information provided by the service provider with more than a certain amount of presentation data when the waiting time is equal to or greater than the threshold. Alternatively, the service determination unit 12 may determine to reduce the data by deleting part of the presentation data in the selected local information when the waiting time is less than the threshold, and may determine to present all of the presentation data in the selected local information when the waiting time is equal to or greater than the threshold. Furthermore, both the selection conditions for at least one of type and distance and the amount of information may be determined for each waiting time.

Furthermore, when selecting locally provided information about facilities and places around the destination as the presented information, if the reservation terminal is a user terminal 5, the presentation rule information may be defined so that locally provided information about facilities and places around the destination is selected based on both the waiting time and the boarding time, instead of the waiting time. In this case, presentation rule information is defined for when the presentation information is sent to the user terminal 5 and when it is sent to the bus stop terminal 4. When the reservation terminal is a user terminal 5, the presented information is displayed on the user terminal 5, so the user can check the presented information not only during the waiting time but also during the boarding time. For this reason, for example, the presentation rule information may be defined so that the amount of presented information is determined based on the waiting time plus the boarding time. Alternatively, the amount of presented information may be determined based on the boarding time, without taking the waiting time into consideration when determining the amount of information. For example, when the presentation information is sent to a vehicle terminal 34, the presentation rule information may be defined so that locally provided information about facilities and places around the destination is selected with an amount of information based on the boarding time.

In addition, presentation rule information may be defined so that a mixture of local information provided about facilities and places around the boarding location and local information provided about facilities and places around the destination is selected as presentation information. In this case, for example, local information provided about facilities and places around the boarding location may be selected based on waiting time, and local information about facilities and places around the destination may be selected based on boarding time or waiting time.

Figure 9 is a diagram showing another example of presentation rule information according to this embodiment. In the example shown in Figure 9, the presentation rule information indicates the locally provided information to be selected for each waiting time and boarding time. For example, as shown in Figure 9, the locally provided information to be selected includes information numbers for each waiting time and boarding time. For example, an operator or other person determines which locally provided information to select for each waiting time and boarding time based on the type, location, etc. of the locally provided information, and defines this as presentation rule information. In the example shown in Figure 9, the presentation rule information is defined for each bus stop. Note that the example shown in Figure 9 indicates the locally provided information to be selected for each waiting time and boarding time. However, even if locally provided information is selected based on the waiting time without taking boarding time into consideration, the locally provided information to be selected may be defined similarly to the example shown in Figure 9. Furthermore, the presentation rule information may define selection conditions for each waiting time and boarding time, similar to the example shown in Figure 8. Figures 8 and 9 are merely examples, and the specific format and content of the presentation rule information are not limited to the examples shown in Figures 8 and 9.

The presentation rule information may also be determined using past performance data. For example, multiple data sets indicating boarding stops, waiting times, and valid local-provided information among the presented information may be acquired, and the presentation rule information in table format may be determined by performing statistical processing using the acquired multiple data sets. Valid local-provided information is, for example, local-provided information for which the user actually visited a corresponding facility or location after the presentation information including the relevant local-provided information was transmitted. Invalid local-provided information is local-provided information for which the user did not actually visit a corresponding facility or location. The facility or location actually visited by the user may be estimated, for example, based on the location information of the user terminal 5 after the presentation information was transmitted. If the presentation information includes a coupon, it may be estimated by obtaining the coupon usage history from the store where the coupon was used. Once the facility or location actually visited by the user can be estimated, the local-provided information corresponding to the estimated facility or location can be identified. For example, the presentation rule information may be determined by dividing waiting times into multiple stages, counting valid local-provided information for each combination of boarding stops and waiting times, and selecting a predetermined number of local-provided information in descending order of the counting results. Additionally, the presentation rule information may be determined by grouping valid local information based on at least one of type and boarding stop, counting valid local information for each group, and selecting the local information from the group with the largest counting result.

Presentation rule information may also be determined in a similar manner using a dataset of the boarding stop, destination, and waiting time, and the results of whether the local information provided as presented information was valid. Alternatively, presentation rule information may also be determined in a similar manner using a dataset of the destination, boarding time, and waiting time, and the results of whether the local information provided as presented information was valid, or presentation rule information may also be determined in a similar manner using a dataset of the destination, boarding time, and the results of whether the local information provided as presented information was valid.

The presentation rule information may also be determined by machine learning using past performance data. That is, the presentation rule information may be a trained model generated through supervised learning. For example, multiple datasets described above may be acquired, and a trained model may be generated through supervised learning using the acquired datasets. For example, if a dataset is acquired that includes boarding stops, waiting times, and results indicating whether the regionally provided information presented as presentation information was effective, the boarding stops and waiting times are feature quantities (input data), and information indicating which regionally provided information was effective among the regionally provided information presented as presentation information becomes correct answer data corresponding to the feature quantities. As described above, the feature quantities may be the boarding stop, destination, and waiting time, or the destination, boarding time, and waiting time, or the destination and boarding time. Furthermore, as described above, the regionally provided information may be grouped based on at least one of type and boarding stop, and the results indicating whether the regionally provided information belonging to each group was effective may be used as correct answer data for each group. The trained model may be generated by the service determination unit 12 in the service providing device 1, by a learning unit (not shown) in the service providing device 1, or by a learning device (not shown) separate from the service providing device 1.

Any algorithm can be used for supervised learning, but for example, a neural network model can be used. A neural network consists of an input layer consisting of multiple neurons, an intermediate layer (hidden layer) consisting of multiple neurons, and an output layer consisting of multiple neurons. The intermediate layer can be one layer, or two or more layers.

Figure 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a neural network. For example, in a three-layer neural network like the one shown in Figure 10, when multiple inputs are input to the input layer (X1-X3), the values are multiplied by weight W1 (w11-w16) and input to the intermediate layer (Y1-Y2), and the result is further multiplied by weight W2 (w21-w26) and output from the output layer (Z1-Z3). This output result varies depending on the values of weight W1 and weight W2.

In this embodiment, the relationship between features and correct data is learned by adjusting the weights W1 and W2 so that the output from the output layer when features are input approaches the correct data. Note that the machine learning algorithm is not limited to neural networks.

When inferring, i.e., when determining the information to be presented, the service determination unit 12 inputs features extracted from the reservation results into the trained model to obtain valid local information, and determines the obtained valid local information as the information to be presented. When using results on a group basis as accurate data, inputting features extracted from the reservation results into the trained model makes it possible to obtain valid groups, and then determines the local information selected from the local information belonging to the valid group as the information to be presented. This selection may be made based on the amount of information, distance (distance from the boarding stop), or other information, and may be made in any manner.

Returning to the description of FIG. 5, after step S8, the service providing device 1 generates presentation information (step S9). Specifically, the presentation information generation unit 13 generates presentation information based on the determination result received from the service determination unit 12 and outputs the generated presentation information to the transmission/reception unit 11 along with the reservation result. The presentation information generation unit 13 may also output the waiting time, or the waiting time and boarding time, along with the reservation result to the transmission/reception unit 11. Here, an example is shown in which the presentation information is transmitted to the reservation terminal along with the reservation result, but the reservation result and the presentation information may be transmitted at different times. For example, the presentation information generation unit 13 generates presentation information including presentation data of the regional provision information corresponding to the determination result received from the service determination unit 12, among the regional provision information exemplified in FIG. 7. In this case, the waiting time, or the waiting time and boarding time, may be displayed together with the reservation result, or may be displayed together with the presentation information, or may be displayed together with both the reservation result and the presentation information.

The service providing device 1 transmits the generated presentation information to the reservation terminal (step S10). Specifically, the transmitter/receiver 11 transmits the presentation information along with the reservation result to the reservation terminal via the operation management device 2 or directly. The service providing device 1 also transmits the generated presentation information to the vehicle terminal 34 (step S11) ( Figure 5 illustrates the case where the presentation information is transmitted directly to the vehicle terminal 34). Specifically, the transmitter/receiver 11 transmits the presentation information to the vehicle terminal 34 via the vehicle-mounted device 31. Note that in Figure 5, the service providing device 1 also transmits the presentation information to the vehicle terminal 34. However, this is not limited to this. For example, if the ride time is short and the presentation information is not presented to the user on the vehicle terminal 34, the presentation information does not need to be transmitted to the vehicle terminal 34. Furthermore, the presentation information transmitted to the vehicle terminal 34 and the presentation information transmitted to the reservation terminal may be the same or different. For example, if local information about the area surrounding the destination is transmitted to the reservation terminal as presentation information, the presentation information may also be transmitted to the vehicle terminal 34. Additionally, if regional information about the area surrounding the boarding location is sent to the reservation terminal as presented information, regional information about the area surrounding the destination may also be sent to the vehicle terminal 34 as presented information.

The reservation terminal presents the received presentation information to the user (step S12). Presentation to the user may be performed, for example, by at least one of display and sound output, or by printing on paper. The vehicle terminal 34 presents the received presentation information to the user (step S13). Presentation to the user on the vehicle terminal 34 may be performed, for example, by at least one of display and sound output. Note that, as described above, if the reservation terminal is a bus stop terminal 4, presentation information corresponding to multiple users may be displayed in a split-screen or time-sharing manner. Similarly, on the vehicle terminal 34, presentation information corresponding to multiple users may be displayed in a split-screen or time-sharing manner.

Figures 11 and 12 are diagrams showing an example of a display screen for presented information on a reservation terminal in this embodiment. In the example shown in Figure 11, the reservation results are displayed in area 201, the waiting time (waiting time until boarding) is displayed in area 202, and the presented information is displayed in area 203. In this example, bus stop K, which is bus stop #1, is the boarding point, and the waiting time is 12 minutes. Here, for example, the presentation rule information shown in Figure 8 is used, and TW1 is assumed to be 15 minutes. In this case, for example, as shown in Figure 11, advertisements for retail stores around bus stop K are displayed as local information in area 203.

12, similar to the example shown in FIG. 11, the reservation result is displayed in area 201, and the waiting time is displayed in area 202. Also, in the example shown in FIG. 12, presented information is displayed in areas 204 and 205. In the example shown in FIG. 12, the waiting time is 1 hour and 10 minutes, which is longer than the example shown in FIG. 11. Assume that the presentation rule information illustrated in FIG. 8 is used, and TW2 is 50 minutes. In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, area 204 displays locally provided information about restaurants near bus stop K, and area 205 displays locally provided information about restaurants near bus stop G, which is adjacent to bus stop K. Also, as shown in FIG. 12, presented information may be generated so that button 206 for making a restaurant reservation is displayed. When the user presses button 206 by operating the reservation terminal, the display transitions to the restaurant reservation screen. Also, in FIG. 12, area 205 displays a map to the restaurant. In this way, a map to the facility or location corresponding to the locally provided information may be displayed as presented information. The map may be included in the presentation data of the local information provided, or may be generated by the presentation information generation unit 13 based on the location of the facility or location and map information stored in a map information storage unit (not shown) and added to the presentation data. In FIG. 12, a button 206 for making a store reservation and a map are displayed in area 205, but a button for making a store reservation and a map may also be displayed in area 204. As shown in FIG. 12, if the waiting time is longer than in the example shown in FIG. 11, the amount of information may be increased by increasing the amount of local information provided.

12, because local information about facilities or places near stops adjacent to the boarding stop is displayed, a reservation change button 207 that accepts reservation changes is also displayed. When the user operates the reservation terminal to press the reservation change button 207, the reservation terminal again accepts input of reservation-related information, similar to the process of accepting the initial reservation, and transmits the reservation information to the service providing device 1. That is, if the service determination unit 12 determines that information about facilities or places closer to stops adjacent to the boarding stop than the boarding stop is to be included in the presented information, the service determination unit 12 may generate display information for causing the reservation terminal to display a message accepting reservations for vehicle 3, and the transceiver unit 11 may transmit the display information to the reservation terminal. The display information is, for example, information for displaying the reservation change button 207, as described above, but the display method is not limited to this example. In this way, by displaying the reservation change button 207 that accepts reservation changes, if the user is interested in the presented information, it becomes easier for the user to change the route they are reserving, thereby promoting user mobility.

When accepting input of reservation information again, information corresponding to the current reservation results is presented as default values, and the user may change any items they wish to change. At this time, as shown in area 205 of FIG. 12, if local information about the area surrounding bus stop G, which is adjacent to the boarding location corresponding to the current reservation results, is presented, bus stop G may be pre-entered as the boarding location on the screen accepting input of reservation information. In the example shown in FIG. 12, local information based on the boarding location is presented, but even when local information based on the destination is presented, reservation changes may be accepted when local information about the area surrounding a bus stop adjacent to the destination stop is presented.

Furthermore, when a reservation is changed, the waiting time may change, and the boarding time may also change. For this reason, when displaying the reservation results based on the changed reservation information along with the waiting time, the service providing device 1 may also display the waiting time (or waiting time and boarding time) and a button for canceling the change. This allows the user to easily cancel the reservation change if the result of the reservation change is undesirable for the user, such as if the reservation change increases the waiting time.

Furthermore, when regional information corresponding to a bus stop adjacent to the boarding stop is presented, the waiting time when changing the boarding location to the adjacent stop may be presented in advance. That is, when the service determination unit 12 determines, from the boarding stop, to include information about facilities or places close to a bus stop adjacent to the boarding stop in the presented information, the service determination unit 12 may determine the waiting time when boarding from the boarding stop as the reservation waiting time, obtain the route change waiting time, which is the waiting time when changing the boarding stop to a bus stop adjacent to the boarding stop, generate waiting time display information for displaying the reservation waiting time and route change waiting time on the reservation terminal, and the transceiver unit 11 may transmit the waiting time display information to the reservation terminal. Similarly, when regional information corresponding to a bus stop adjacent to the disembarking stop is presented, the waiting time (or waiting time and boarding time) when changing the destination to the adjacent stop may be presented in advance. In this way, presenting the waiting times (or waiting times and boarding times) for multiple routes in advance makes it easier for the user to decide whether to change their reservation.

Figure 13 shows an example of a display screen for presented information on a reservation terminal in this embodiment when presenting waiting times for multiple routes. In the example shown in Figure 13, the reservation result and waiting time are displayed in area 208, the waiting time when a reservation change, i.e., when a route change, is displayed in area 209, a reservation change button 210 for accepting the reservation change is displayed, and presented information is displayed in areas 211 and 205. In this way, the waiting time when the nearest bus stop in the local information displayed in areas 205 and 211, respectively, is changed to a boarding stop and a disembarking stop, respectively, may be displayed. Also, while the example shown in Figure 13 shows an example in which the user is presented with the waiting time when either the boarding stop or the alighting stop is changed, the waiting time may also be presented for routes in which both the boarding stop and the alighting stop are changed.

When the waiting time after the route change (route change waiting time) is presented to the user, upon receiving the reservation information, the service determination unit 12 generates reservation information after the route change as provisional reservation information in accordance with the determined presentation information and transmits the generated provisional reservation information to the operation management device 2 via the transmission/reception unit 11. The operation management device 2 arranges a vehicle 3 based on the provisional reservation information in the same manner as when the reservation information is received, and transmits the provisional reservation result to the service provision device 1. Note that the operation management device 2 does not treat the provisional reservation result as a confirmed reservation and does not reflect it in the actual arrangement of a vehicle 3. Upon receiving the provisional reservation result via the transmission/reception unit 11, the service determination unit 12 calculates the waiting time after the route change based on the provisional reservation result. The service determination unit 12 outputs the waiting time after the route change to the presentation information generation unit 13 along with the result of determining the presentation information based on the reservation information. When transmitting the presentation information, reservation results, etc. to the transmission/reception unit 11, the presentation information generation unit 13 also outputs the waiting time after the route change to the transmission/reception unit 11. As a result, the waiting time after the route change is presented on the reservation terminal. Similarly, the travel time after the route change may be presented to the user.

Next, the hardware configuration of the service providing device 1 of this embodiment will be described. In the service providing device 1 of this embodiment, a program (computer program) describing the processing to be performed by the service providing device 1 is executed on the computer system, causing the computer system to function as the service providing device 1. Figure 14 is a diagram showing an example configuration of a computer system that realizes the service providing device 1 of this embodiment. As shown in Figure 14, this computer system includes a control unit 101, an input unit 102, a memory unit 103, a display unit 104, a communication unit 105, and an output unit 106, which are connected via a system bus 107.

In FIG. 14, the control unit 101 is a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes a program describing the processing of the service providing device 1 of this embodiment. The input unit 102 is composed of, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, etc., and is used by the user of the computer system to input various information. The memory unit 103 includes various types of memory, such as RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory), and a storage device, such as a hard disk, and stores the programs to be executed by the control unit 101, necessary data obtained during processing, etc. The memory unit 103 is also used as a temporary storage area for programs. The control unit 101 and the memory unit 103, for example, constitute a processing circuit. The processing circuit may be a single circuit or multiple circuits. The display unit 104 is composed of a display, LCD (Liquid Crystal Display Panel), etc., and displays various screens to the user of the computer system. The input unit 102 and the display unit 104 may be integrated and realized as a touch panel, etc. The communication unit 105 is a receiver and transmitter that performs communication processing. The output unit 106 is a printer, speaker, etc. Note that FIG. 14 is an example, and the configuration of the computer system is not limited to the example in FIG. 14. For example, the computer system does not need to be equipped with the output unit 106.

Here, we will explain an example of the operation of the computer system until the program of this embodiment is ready to be executed. In a computer system configured as described above, the program is installed into the storage unit 103 from, for example, a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM inserted in a CD (Compact Disc)-ROM drive or DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)-ROM drive (not shown). When the program is executed, the program is read from the storage unit 103 and stored in the main memory area of the storage unit 103. In this state, the control unit 101 executes the processing of the service providing device 1 of this embodiment in accordance with the program stored in the storage unit 103.

In the above explanation, the program describing the processing in the service providing device 1 is provided on a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM as a recording medium. However, this is not limiting. Depending on the configuration of the computer system and the capacity of the program to be provided, for example, a program provided via a transmission medium such as the Internet via the communications unit 105 may also be used.

The program of this embodiment causes a computer system to, for example, acquire the free time of a user who will be using a vehicle arranged by reservation, and use the free time to determine services to be provided to the user during the free time, which services relate to an area including the operating area in which the vehicle operates, and to perform processing to provide the determined services to the user.

The service determination unit 12, presentation information generation unit 13, and registration processing unit 14 shown in FIG. 1 are realized by the control unit 101 shown in FIG. 14 executing programs stored in the storage unit 103 shown in FIG. 14. The storage unit 103 shown in FIG. 14 is also used to realize the service determination unit 12, presentation information generation unit 13, and registration processing unit 14. The transmission/reception unit 11 shown in FIG. 1 is realized by the communication unit 105 shown in FIG. 14. The local provision information storage unit 15 is part of the storage unit 103 shown in FIG. 14. The service providing device 1 shown in FIG. 1 may be realized by multiple computer systems. For example, the service providing device 1 may be realized by a cloud system.

The operations management device 2 shown in FIG. 3 is also realized by a computer system. For example, the dispatch processing unit 21 shown in FIG. 3 is realized by the control unit 101 shown in FIG. 14 executing a program stored in the memory unit 103 shown in FIG. 14. The memory unit 103 shown in FIG. 14 is also used to realize the dispatch processing unit 21. The transmission/reception unit 23 shown in FIG. 3 is realized by the communication unit 105 shown in FIG. 14. The operation plan memory unit 22 and vehicle information memory unit 24 shown in FIG. 3 are part of the memory unit 103 shown in FIG. 14. The operations management device 2 shown in FIG. 3 may be realized by multiple computer systems. For example, the operations management device 2 may be realized by a cloud system. As described above, the service providing device 1 and the operations management device 2 may be integrated.

The bus stop terminal 4 shown in FIG. 2 is also realized by a computer system. For example, the reservation information generation unit 41 shown in FIG. 2 is realized by the control unit 101 shown in FIG. 14 executing a program stored in the memory unit 103 shown in FIG. 14. The memory unit 103 shown in FIG. 14 is also used to realize the reservation information generation unit 41. The transmission/reception unit 42 shown in FIG. 2 is realized by the communication unit 105 shown in FIG. 14. The information presentation unit 43 shown in FIG. 2 is realized by at least one of the display unit 104 and the output unit 106 shown in FIG. 14. The input acceptance unit 45 shown in FIG. 2 is realized by the input unit 102 shown in FIG. 14. As described above, the ID acquisition unit 44 shown in FIG. 2 is realized by, for example, a card reader. The user terminal 5, like the bus stop terminal 4, is also realized by a computer system. Note that if the service provision device 1 accepts reservations via a web page, the program for realizing the functions of the user terminal 5 may be, for example, a general-purpose program for browsing web pages. Also, if an app is installed on the user terminal 5 and the process of accepting reservations is performed, the above program is the program of that app.

The vehicle-mounted device 31 shown in FIG. 4 is also realized by a computer system. For example, the reservation matching unit 313 shown in FIG. 4 is realized by the control unit 101 shown in FIG. 14 executing a program stored in the memory unit 103 shown in FIG. 14. The memory unit 103 shown in FIG. 14 is also used to realize the reservation matching unit 313. The transmission/reception unit 311 shown in FIG. 4 is realized by the communication unit 105 shown in FIG. 14. The reservation result memory unit 312 shown in FIG. 4 is part of the memory unit 103 shown in FIG. 14. The vehicle terminal 34 shown in FIG. 4 is also realized by a computer system. The reception unit 341 shown in FIG. 4 is realized by the communication unit 105 shown in FIG. 14. The presentation unit 342 shown in FIG. 4 is realized by at least one of the display unit 104 and the output unit 106 shown in FIG. 14. The vehicle terminal 34 may be a display terminal to which a reception function has been added, such as a display or monitor, or may also be a display terminal equipped with a speaker.

As described above, the service providing device 1 of this embodiment determines the information to be presented to the user based on the free time of the user using vehicle 3, which is an example of a moving body in an on-demand mobility system, i.e., the free time of the user using vehicle 3 arranged by reservation. This makes it possible to make effective use of the user's free time in relation to the use of the on-demand mobility system.

Embodiment 2.
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a service providing system according to the second embodiment. The service providing system 100a according to this embodiment includes a service providing device 1a and an operation management device 2a. The operation management device 2a is a control device that manages the operation of mobile objects. In this embodiment, the mobile objects include a mobile sales vehicle 301, a mobile toilet vehicle 302, and a mobile trash can vehicle 303 in addition to the same vehicles 3-1 to 3-n as in the first embodiment. Components having the same functions as in the first embodiment are assigned the same reference numerals as in the first embodiment, and redundant explanations will be omitted. The following mainly describes the differences from the first embodiment.

In Figure 15, one mobile sales vehicle 301, one mobile toilet vehicle 302, and one mobile trash can vehicle 303 are shown, but the number of each of the mobile sales vehicle 301, the mobile toilet vehicle 302, and the mobile trash can vehicle 303 may be one or more. Note that in Figure 1, the service providing device 1a and the operation management device 2a are provided separately, but as in embodiment 1, the service providing device 1a may be provided within the operation management device 2a. In other words, the operation management device 2a may also have the functionality of the service providing device 1a.

Mobile sales vehicle 301 is a vehicle used for mobile sales, mobile toilet vehicle 302 is a vehicle equipped with a toilet, and mobile trash can vehicle 303 is a vehicle equipped with a trash can. Vehicle 3 provides users with a transportation service, while mobile sales vehicle 301, mobile toilet vehicle 302, and mobile trash can vehicle 303 are examples of mobile objects that provide additional services in addition to transportation. Hereinafter, mobile sales vehicle 301, mobile toilet vehicle 302, and mobile trash can vehicle 303 are also referred to as additional service vehicles. Note that the targets of operation and management of operation management device 2a do not necessarily include all of mobile sales vehicle 301, mobile toilet vehicle 302, and mobile trash can vehicle 303; as described below, it is sufficient that the additional service vehicles used in the services provided by service provision system 100a are included. Note that at least some of vehicles 3-1 to 3-n, mobile sales vehicle 301, mobile toilet vehicle 302, mobile trash can vehicle 303, and bus stop terminal 4 may be included in service provision system 100a.

The service providing device 1a is similar to the service providing device 1 of embodiment 1, except that it has a service determining unit 12a and an arrangement request generating unit 16 instead of the service determining unit 12 and the presentation information generating unit 13.

The service determination unit 12a uses the available time of the user attempting to use vehicle 3 to determine the service to be provided to the user of vehicle 3, and outputs the determination result to the arrangement request generation unit 16. In this embodiment, the service to be provided to the user includes the arrangement of an additional service vehicle. For example, the service determination unit 12a uses the waiting time and boarding stop, which are examples of available time, to determine the additional service vehicle to be arranged and the location where the additional service vehicle will be arranged, and outputs the determination result to the arrangement request generation unit 16. Furthermore, as described below, the service determination unit 12a may determine the additional service vehicle to be arranged based on the boarding time, which is an example of available time.

For example, the service determination unit 12a may decide to dispatch a mobile sales vehicle 301 to the boarding stop if the waiting time is equal to or greater than a first threshold. Furthermore, the service determination unit 12a may decide to dispatch a mobile trash can vehicle 303 to the boarding stop if the waiting time is equal to or greater than a second threshold. Furthermore, by setting the first threshold and the second threshold to the same value, it may be decided to dispatch both the mobile sales vehicle 301 and the mobile trash can vehicle 303 to the boarding stop. Furthermore, the service determination unit 12a may decide to dispatch a mobile toilet vehicle 302 to the boarding stop if the waiting time is equal to or greater than a third threshold.

The dispatch request generation unit 16 performs processing to dispatch an additional service vehicle that provides additional services to the user based on the determination result by the service determination unit 12a. For example, the dispatch request generation unit 16 generates a dispatch request requesting the dispatch of an additional service vehicle based on the determination result received from the service determination unit 12a, and outputs the request to the transmission/reception unit 11. The transmission/reception unit 11 transmits the dispatch request received from the dispatch request generation unit 16 to the operation management device 2a. The dispatch request includes, for example, the type of additional service vehicle to be dispatched and the location to which the vehicle is to be dispatched. The dispatch request may also include information identifying a reservation corresponding to the additional service vehicle. The information identifying the reservation corresponding to the additional service vehicle may be a user ID, or all or part of the reservation results. The service determination unit 12a may determine the additional service vehicle to be dispatched based on the waiting time and the boarding time, or may determine the additional service vehicle to be dispatched based on the boarding time without using the waiting time. The additional service vehicle is an example of an additional service vehicle and is not limited to a vehicle. Furthermore, the mobile vehicle used by the operation management device 2a to provide transportation services to users and the additional service mobile vehicle may be the same type of mobile vehicle or different types of mobile vehicle. For example, if the mobile vehicle used by the operation management device 2a to provide transportation services to users is a ship rather than a vehicle 3, vehicles such as a mobile sales vehicle 301, a mobile toilet vehicle 302, or a mobile trash can vehicle 303 may be used as the additional service mobile vehicle.

Figure 16 is a diagram showing an example configuration of an operations management device 2a according to this embodiment. The operations management device 2a is similar to the operations management device 2 according to embodiment 1, except that it includes a dispatch processing unit 21a instead of the dispatch processing unit 21. In this embodiment, the operation plan storage unit 22 also stores operation plans for additional service vehicles, and the vehicle information storage unit 24 also stores vehicle information for additional service vehicles. Also, in this embodiment, when the transmission/reception unit 23 receives a dispatch request from the service providing device 1a, it outputs the request to the dispatch processing unit 21a.

The arrangement processing unit 21a performs reservation processing for a vehicle 3 based on the reservation information in the same manner as in embodiment 1, and when it receives an arrangement request transmitted from the service providing device 1a from the transmission/reception unit 23, it arranges for an additional service vehicle based on the operation plan for the additional service vehicle stored in the operation plan memory unit 22, the arrangement request, and the vehicle information for the additional service vehicle stored in the vehicle information memory unit 24. The arrangement processing unit 21a updates the operation plan to reflect the results of the arrangement, stores the updated operation plan in the operation plan memory unit 22, and transmits the operation plan to the corresponding additional service vehicle via the transmission/reception unit 23. The arrangement processing unit 21a may also output vehicle information for the arranged additional service vehicle to the transmission/reception unit 23, and the transmission/reception unit 23 may transmit the vehicle information to the service providing device 1a.

Additional service vehicles may be autonomous vehicles, vehicles driven by a driver, or a mixture of these. Like vehicle 3, additional service vehicles transmit vehicle information indicating their current location to the operations management device 2a.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. Figure 17 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation related to service provision in the service provision system 100a of this embodiment. Steps S3 to S7 shown in Figure 17 are the same as steps S3 to S7 in embodiment 1. After step S6, the service provision device 1a transmits the reservation results to the reservation terminal at any timing (step S20). As a result, the reservation terminal displays the reservation results.

After steps S3 to S7, the service providing device 1a determines the additional service vehicle to be arranged based on the waiting time (step S21). In detail, the service determination unit 12a determines the additional service vehicle to be arranged based on, for example, the waiting time calculated in step S7 and the dispatch rule information. The additional service vehicle is arranged to be dispatched to, for example, the user's boarding stop. The dispatch rule information is an example of rule information that indicates the correspondence between waiting time (or waiting time and boarding time) and the service to be provided. Note that the dispatch rule information may also be information that indicates the correspondence between boarding time and the additional service vehicle to be arranged. In this case, the dispatch rule information is an example of rule information that indicates the correspondence between boarding time and the service to be provided. When the additional service vehicle to be arranged is determined based on the boarding time, the additional service vehicle may be arranged to be dispatched to the boarding stop or the disembarking stop. The dispatch rule information is, for example, information in table format, but is not limited to this.

Figure 18 is a diagram showing an example of dispatch rule information in this embodiment. In the example shown in Figure 18, the dispatch rule information specifies that if the waiting time is less than TW11, no additional service vehicle is dispatched; if the waiting time is between TW11 and TW12 (TW12 > TW11), a mobile sales vehicle 301 is dispatched; and if the waiting time is TW13 or greater (TW13 > TW12), a mobile sales vehicle 301 and a mobile trash can vehicle 303 are dispatched. Note that in the example shown in Figure 18, the result of determining the additional service vehicle to be dispatched also includes cases where no additional service vehicle is dispatched. In this way, if the waiting time is long, a mobile sales vehicle 301 is dispatched to the boarding stop, allowing the user to browse products, shop, etc. on the mobile sales vehicle 301 during the waiting time. Furthermore, if there is a long waiting time, a mobile sales vehicle 301 and a mobile trash can vehicle 303 can be arranged, allowing users to purchase, for example, a drink while they are waiting, and the trash left behind after drinking the drink can be collected by the mobile trash can vehicle 303, eliminating the need for users to carry their trash around with them.

Note that the example shown in FIG. 18 is just one example, and a two-stage determination may be made, for example, such that if the waiting time is less than TW11, no additional service vehicle is arranged, and if the waiting time is TW11 or more, a mobile sales vehicle 301 and a mobile trash can vehicle 303 are arranged. Furthermore, without being limited to this, if the waiting time is less than TW11, no additional service vehicle is arranged, and if the waiting time is TW11 or more, a mobile sales vehicle 301 is arranged, and the mobile trash can vehicle 303 does not have to be arranged. In this case, the mobile trash can vehicle 303 does not have to be included in the management of the operations management device 2a. Furthermore, a two-stage determination may be made, for example, such that if the waiting time is less than TW11, a mobile sales vehicle 301 is arranged, and if the waiting time is TW11 or more, a mobile sales vehicle 301 and a mobile trash can vehicle 303 are arranged.

Furthermore, if the products sold by the mobile sales van 301 can be classified into multiple categories, the mobile sales van 301 may be classified into a type according to the products sold, and the type may also be specified according to the waiting time. For example, suppose there are mobile sales vans 301 that sell goods and mobile sales vans 301 that provide food and drink that can be consumed on the spot. In this case, the type of mobile sales van 301 may also be specified, such that if the waiting time is less than TW11, no additional service vehicle is arranged; if the waiting time is between TW11 and TW12, a mobile sales van 301 that sells goods is arranged; and if the waiting time is TW13 or more, a mobile sales van 301 that provides food and drink and a mobile trash can truck 303 are arranged.

Figure 19 is a diagram showing another example of dispatching rule information according to this embodiment. In the example shown in Figure 19, the dispatching rule information determines which additional service vehicles to dispatch based on the waiting time and boarding time. Specifically, the dispatching rule information shown in Figure 19 determines that if the waiting time is less than TW11, no additional service vehicles will be dispatched; if the waiting time is between TW11 and TW12 and the boarding time is less than TR11, a mobile sales vehicle 301 will be dispatched; and if the waiting time is between TW11 and TW12 and the boarding time is TR11 or greater, a mobile sales vehicle 301 and a mobile toilet vehicle 302 will be dispatched. Furthermore, the dispatching rule information shown in Figure 19 determines that if the waiting time is TW13 or greater and the boarding time is less than TR11, a mobile sales vehicle 301 and a mobile trash can vehicle 303 will be dispatched; and if the waiting time is TW13 or greater and the boarding time is TR11 or greater, a mobile sales vehicle 301, a mobile toilet vehicle 302, and a mobile trash can vehicle 303 will be dispatched.

19, the additional service vehicle to be arranged is determined based on the waiting time and the boarding time. However, this is not limited to this. The additional service vehicle to be arranged may also be determined based on the boarding time, regardless of the waiting time. That is, the service determination unit 12a may obtain the usage time, which is the time the user is traveling using the mobile device, and use the usage time to determine the service to be provided to the user. For example, the dispatch rule information may be defined so that if the boarding time is less than the threshold value TR11, no additional service vehicle is arranged, and if the boarding time is TR11 or more, a mobile toilet vehicle 302 is arranged. If the boarding time is long, the mobile toilet vehicle 302 is dispatched to the boarding stop, eliminating the need for the user to search for a toilet before boarding, improving convenience. Furthermore, if the mobile toilet vehicle 302 is arranged for a long boarding time, the mobile toilet vehicle 302 may be dispatched to the disembarking stop. Furthermore, the dispatch rule information may be defined so that if the boarding time is less than TR11, a mobile sales vehicle 301 is arranged, and if the boarding time is TR11 or more, both the mobile sales vehicle 301 and the mobile toilet vehicle 302 are arranged. Furthermore, the dispatch rule information may be defined so that if the travel time is less than TR11, a mobile sales vehicle 301 and a mobile trash can vehicle 303 are dispatched, and if the travel time is TR11 or more, a mobile sales vehicle 301, a mobile toilet vehicle 302, and a mobile trash can vehicle 303 are dispatched.

Figures 18 and 19 are merely examples, and the specific format and content of the dispatch rule information are not limited to the examples shown in Figures 18 and 19. The service providing device 1a may also receive vehicle information indicating the current location of an additional service vehicle dispatched in response to a dispatch request from the operations management device 2a, and transmit the vehicle information to the reservation terminal. In particular, the transceiver 11 may receive vehicle information from the operations management device 2a and transmit the received vehicle information to the reservation terminal. Upon receiving the vehicle information, the reservation terminal displays the current location of the additional service vehicle. This improves user convenience. The current location of the additional service vehicle may also be displayed on a map. For example, the location of the mobile toilet vehicle 302 may not be displayed if the reservation terminal used to make the reservation for the mobile toilet vehicle 302 is the bus stop terminal 4, but may be displayed if the reservation terminal used to make the reservation for the mobile toilet vehicle 302 is the user terminal 5. This improves privacy.

Returning to the explanation of Figure 17, after step S21, the service providing device 1a generates an arrangement request for an additional service vehicle (step S22). In particular, the arrangement request generation unit 16 generates an arrangement request for an additional service vehicle based on the determination result by the service determination unit 12a, and outputs the request to the transceiver unit 11. The transceiver unit 11 of the service providing device 1a transmits the arrangement request received from the arrangement request generation unit 16 to the operation management device 2a (step S23).

When the operation management device 2a receives the arrangement request, it performs an arrangement process for an additional service vehicle (step S24). In detail, the transmission/reception unit 23 receives the arrangement request from the service providing device 1a and outputs the received arrangement request to the arrangement processing unit 21a. When the arrangement processing unit 21a receives the arrangement request from the transmission/reception unit 23, it performs a process to arrange for an additional service vehicle based on the operation plan for the additional service vehicle stored in the operation plan memory unit 22, the arrangement request, and the vehicle information for the additional service vehicle stored in the vehicle information memory unit 24.

The user may also be able to select whether or not to dispatch an additional service vehicle. For example, when the service determination unit 12a determines an additional service vehicle to be dispatched, the service determination unit 12a transmits to the reservation terminal via the transceiver unit 11, along with the reservation result, a notification that the determined additional service vehicle will be dispatched, and display information for accepting input requesting that the additional service vehicle not be dispatched. The display information for accepting input requesting that the additional service vehicle not be dispatched may, for example, be information for displaying a button indicating that the vehicle is not desired, but is not limited to this. The reservation terminal displays that the additional service vehicle will be dispatched and, based on the display information, displays a display for accepting input requesting that the additional service vehicle not be dispatched. If a user operates the reservation terminal to request that the vehicle not be dispatched, the reservation terminal transmits cancellation information to the service providing device 1a indicating that the additional service vehicle arrangement is canceled. Upon receiving the cancellation information, the service providing device 1a transmits the cancellation information to the operation management device 2a, thereby canceling the arrangement of the additional service vehicle arranged in the arrangement request. If multiple additional service vehicles are scheduled for dispatch, the user may be able to select a vehicle they do not want to have dispatched. For example, if the reservation terminal displays that mobile sales vehicle 301 and mobile toilet vehicle 302 will be dispatched, buttons for requesting cancellation of dispatch of each of mobile sales vehicle 301 and mobile toilet vehicle 302 may be displayed.

In the example shown in Figure 15, the service determination unit 12a determines the additional service vehicle without determining the presentation information as described in embodiment 1. However, as in the modified example described below, the presentation information to be presented to the user may be determined based on the waiting time, as in embodiment 1, and the additional service vehicle to be arranged may also be determined based on the waiting time.

20 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a service provision system according to a modified example of the present embodiment. The service provision system 100b according to the modified example illustrated in FIG. 20 includes a service provision device 1b and an operation management device 2a. Components having the same functions as those in the configuration example illustrated in FIG. 15 or in embodiment 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 15 or embodiment 1, and redundant description will be omitted. The service provision device 1b includes the service provision device 1 of embodiment 1, to which the dispatch request generation unit 16 of the service provision device 1a illustrated in FIG. 15 has been added, and a service determination unit 12b has been included instead of the service determination unit 12 of embodiment 1. The service determination unit 12b has both the function of the service determination unit 12 of embodiment 1 and the function of the service determination unit 12a of the service provision device 1a illustrated in FIG. 15. This allows the service provision device 1b according to the modified example illustrated in FIG. 20 to provide both the provision of presentation information and the arrangement of an additional service vehicle. For example, when the dispatch rule information illustrated in FIG. 18 is used, if the waiting time is less than TW11, an additional service vehicle is not dispatched, but presentation information according to the waiting time is presented to the user, as in embodiment 1.

The service determination unit 12b may also change the type of service to be provided depending on the waiting time. For example, the service determination unit 12b may determine the type of service to provide the service of presenting presentation information as described in embodiment 1 if the waiting time is less than a threshold value, and provide the service of arranging an additional service vehicle as described in this embodiment if the waiting time is equal to or greater than the threshold value.

The service providing devices 1a, 1b and the operation management device 2a of this embodiment are also realized by computer systems. For example, the service determination unit 12a and the arrangement request generation unit 16 shown in FIG. 15 are realized by the control unit 101 shown in FIG. 14 executing a program stored in the memory unit 103 shown in FIG. 14. The service determination unit 12a and the arrangement request generation unit 16 are also realized by the memory unit 103 shown in FIG. 14. The arrangement processing unit 21a shown in FIG. 16 is realized by the control unit 101 shown in FIG. 14 executing a program stored in the memory unit 103 shown in FIG. 14. The arrangement processing unit 21a is also realized by the memory unit 103 shown in FIG. 14. The service determination unit 12b shown in FIG. 20 is realized by the control unit 101 shown in FIG. 14 executing a program stored in the memory unit 103 shown in FIG. 14. The service determination unit 12b is also realized by the memory unit 103 shown in FIG. 14. The service providing devices 1a and 1b and the operation management device 2a may each be realized by multiple computer systems. The service providing devices 1a and 1b and the operation management device 2a may also be realized by a cloud system. As described above, the service providing device 1a and the operation management device 2a may be integrated. Furthermore, the service providing device 1b and the operation management device 2a may also be integrated.

As described above, in this embodiment, an additional service vehicle is arranged based on at least one of the waiting time and the ride time (usage time). This allows for effective use of a user's free time when using the on-demand mobility system. An additional service vehicle may also be arranged based on the ride time, thereby improving user convenience. In the configuration examples shown in Figures 15 and 20, the operation management device 2a manages both the operation of vehicle 3 and the operation of the additional service vehicle, but this embodiment is not limited to this example. The operation management device 2a may only manage the operation of vehicle 3, and a separate operation management device may be provided to manage the operation of the additional service vehicle. In this case, the operation plan and vehicle information for the additional service vehicle may be stored in the separate operation management device. The operation management device 2a may transmit an arrangement request for an additional service vehicle received from the service providing device 1a, 1b to the separate operation management device, which may then arrange for the dispatch of an additional service vehicle that matches the arrangement request based on the operation plan and vehicle information. The operation management device that manages the operation of additional service vehicles may be part of the service provision systems 100a and 100b, or may be a system separate from the service provision systems 100a and 100b.

Embodiment 3.
21 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a service providing system according to a third embodiment. A service providing system 100c according to this embodiment includes a service providing apparatus 1c and an operation management apparatus 2. Components having the same functions as those in the first embodiment are assigned the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and redundant explanations will be omitted. The following mainly describes the differences from the first embodiment.

In this embodiment, the services provided to users include real-time information provided by local residents, tourist guides, and more. In other words, users can obtain the information they want by communicating with local residents in their spare time.

Instead of the service determination unit 12, presentation information generation unit 13, and local provision information storage unit 15, the service providing device 1c includes a service determination unit 12c, an access information generation unit 18, and a local resident information storage unit 17.

In this embodiment, the registration processing unit 14 acquires local resident information, which is information about each local resident, from the terminal device 6 via the transmission/reception unit 11 and registers the local resident information by storing the local resident information in the local resident information storage unit 17. The local resident information includes, for example, resident identification information, which is identification information for the local resident, and at least one of the following: the category (classification) of information that can be provided, the geographical range in which information can be provided, and a knowledge rank indicating the degree of knowledge about the area including the operation area. Note that the local resident information only needs to include resident identification information, and the specific content is not limited to this. For example, the local resident information may include availability information (such as days of the week and time periods) indicating when the resident is available for real-time communication with the user. Furthermore, for example, the local resident information may include information indicating foreign language ability (such as whether or not the resident can converse in English). Residents for whom corresponding local resident information is registered are also referred to as registered residents below.

Categories of information that can be provided include, but are not limited to, at least one of restaurants (gourmet), shopping, sports, souvenirs, hot springs, cultural facilities, art, history, nature, and anime (anime set in the area). For example, if the operating area of vehicle 3 is a tourist destination, categories may include individual tourist spots, or restaurants may be further subdivided into Japanese, Western, Italian, etc. The geographical area for which information can be provided may be indicated by vehicle 3 stops, by tourist areas such as District A and District B, or by part of an address (place name). The knowledge rank is information indicating at least one of the amount and depth of knowledge about the area, and may be determined by each local resident's self-assessment, the number of times a service has been provided to users using the service providing system 100c of this embodiment, the presence or absence of a qualification, or a combination of these. Examples of qualifications include, but are not limited to, qualifications obtained through a regional test, a tourism test, or a history or heritage test.

When the service determination unit 12c receives a reservation result from the operation management device 2 via the transmitter/receiver 11, as in embodiment 1, it determines a service to provide to the user corresponding to the reservation information based on the reservation information corresponding to the reservation result. In this embodiment, the service to be provided to the user is communication with local residents, more specifically, real-time communication. Note that real-time here includes not only cases where there is no delay at all, but also cases where there is a certain degree of delay. For example, if the available time (i.e., at least one of the waiting time and the riding time) is equal to or greater than a threshold, the service determination unit 12c determines to provide the user with communication with local residents as a service, and selects a local resident corresponding to the user from the registered local residents. Note that the service determination unit 12c may also select a local resident corresponding to the user from the registered local residents without taking available time into consideration.

Specifically, using the reservation information and the local resident information stored in the local resident information storage unit 17, the system determines from among the registered residents which local resident will communicate with the user in real time, and outputs the determination result to the access information generation unit 18. The determination result is indicated, for example, by resident identification information, but is not limited to this. For example, the service determination unit 12c selects a local resident corresponding to the user from among the registered local residents based on at least one of the user's purpose (purpose of riding or purpose of the user visiting the area including the service area) and the destination, which is inferred from the destination in the reservation information. The user's purpose may be inferred from the destination included in the reservation information, or may be input by the user using a reservation terminal, and the reservation terminal may include the purpose in the reservation information. Purposes include, for example, but are not limited to, sightseeing, dining, sports, business, etc.

When selecting a local resident based on a purpose, for example, the above-mentioned categories (tourism, dining, sports, business, etc.) are set in the local resident information, and the correspondence between the purpose and the category is determined in advance. The service determination unit 12c references this correspondence and determines the category corresponding to the user's purpose. The service determination unit 12c then extracts local resident information that matches the determined category from the local resident information stored in the local resident information storage unit 17, and selects one piece of local resident information from the extracted local resident information, thereby selecting a local resident corresponding to the user. Any selection method may be used when selecting one piece of local resident information from the extracted local resident information. For example, the method may select the local resident information sequentially in the order of registration of registered local residents, or a random selection method. Furthermore, if the local resident information includes a knowledge rank, local resident information with an even higher knowledge rank may be extracted, and then the local resident information may be selected from the extracted information. The service providing system 100c may also receive evaluation results of the corresponding local residents from users who have used the service in the past, generate evaluation information based on the evaluation results, add the evaluation information to the local resident information, and select local resident information based on the evaluation information. Furthermore, if the local resident information includes response time information, the service providing system 100c may also select local resident information based on the response time information.

When selecting a local resident according to a destination, for example, the destination and local resident information may include the above-mentioned geographical range (the geographical range for which information can be provided), and the correspondence between the destination and the geographical range may be determined in advance. The service determination unit 12c references this correspondence and determines the geographical range corresponding to the user's destination. The service determination unit 12c then extracts local resident information that matches the determined geographical range from the local resident information stored in the local resident information storage unit 17, and selects one piece of local resident information from the extracted local resident information, thereby selecting a local resident corresponding to the user. The selection method for selecting one piece of local resident information from the extracted local resident information is the same as in the example described above. Alternatively, the correspondence between the destination and a category may be determined in advance, and a local resident may be selected based on the category included in the local resident information, as in the case of selecting a local resident according to a purpose.

The reservation information may also include, as specified information, at least one of the following: the category for which the user desires information to be provided, the geographical area for which the user desires information to be provided, and the desired knowledge level of local residents. In this case, the items included in the specified information are included in the local resident information, and the service determination unit 12c selects a local resident corresponding to the user by extracting local resident information that matches the specified information and selecting one piece of local resident information from the extracted local resident information. The selection method for selecting one piece of local resident information from the extracted local resident information is the same as in the example described above. Alternatively, the reservation information may include information specifying a local resident with whom the user wishes to communicate. This allows the user to specify a specific local resident, for example, a local resident with a good reputation who can provide high-quality information, or a local resident who made a good impression on the user when they served as a tour guide in the past. This makes it possible to match local residents who better match the user's needs.

In addition, the determined local resident may not be able to communicate in real time. For this reason, once the service determination unit 12c selects a local resident corresponding to the user, it may generate request information indicating a request for real-time communication with the terminal device 6 corresponding to that local resident and transmit the generated request information to the terminal device 6. In this case, if the service determination unit 12c receives a response from the terminal device 6 via the transmission/reception unit 11 indicating that the local resident is available, it may confirm that the local resident is the local resident corresponding to the user and output the determination result to the access information generation unit 18. If the service determination unit 12c receives a response from the terminal device 6 via the transmission/reception unit 11 indicating that the local resident is not available, or if no response is received after a certain period of time has passed, the service determination unit 12c cancels the selection of the local resident, selects another local resident, and similarly transmits the request information described above and performs the same process. The service determination unit 12c may repeat these processes until a local resident who is available is found.

In the example above, one piece of local resident information was selected, but multiple corresponding local residents may also be selected. In this case, the service decision unit 12c selects a predetermined number of pieces of local resident information.

The access information generation unit 18, which is a service processing unit, generates access information for the determined local resident to access the user based on the determination result received from the service determination unit 12c, and outputs the generated access information to the transmission/reception unit 11. The access information is information for connecting the terminal device 6 of the local resident selected (determined) by the service determination unit 12c with the reservation terminal used by the user to make the reservation, so that the user and the local resident can communicate. Upon receiving the access information, the transmission/reception unit 11 transmits the access information to the terminal device 6 corresponding to the determined local resident. Note that the identification information of the terminal device 6 corresponding to the local resident may be included in the local resident information, or the correspondence between the resident identification information and the identification information of the terminal device 6 may be stored separately. Furthermore, by including an email address in the resident identification information, the transmission/reception unit 11 may transmit the access information by email.

The access information is information for connecting the reservation terminal used by the user to the terminal device 6 of the selected local resident via the Internet, a mobile phone network, etc., so that the user and the local resident can communicate via video and audio. It may be expressed by a uniform resource locator (URL) or other method. The access information may also be sent to the reservation terminal, or the reservation terminal may automatically connect upon access from the terminal device 6 without requiring access information. While an example of a video and audio conversation between the user and the local resident has been described here, this is not a limitation. The user and the local resident may also communicate via audio only, or they may communicate via text, such as in a chat. While an example of connecting the reservation terminal and the local resident's terminal device 6 has been described here, this is not a limitation. The vehicle terminal 34 and the local resident's terminal device 6 may be connected, allowing the user and the local resident to communicate via the vehicle terminal 34 and the terminal device 6. In this case, the service determination unit 12c notifies the local resident of the user's planned boarding time by also transmitting the user's planned boarding time to the terminal device 6.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. Figure 22 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation related to service provision in the service provision system 100c of this embodiment. As shown in Figure 22, the terminal device 6 transmits local resident information to the service provision device 1c (step S31). The local resident information is generated based on input from local residents.

The service providing device 1c registers the local resident information (step S32). In detail, the transmitting/receiving unit 11 receives the local resident information from the terminal device 6 and outputs it to the registration processing unit 14, which then registers the local resident information by storing it in the local resident information storage unit 17. Steps S3 to S6 are the same as in embodiment 1. Although not shown in the figure, after step S6, the service providing device 1c transmits the reservation results to the reservation terminal at any time. As a result, the reservation terminal displays the reservation results.

The service providing device 1c determines a corresponding local resident based on the user's purpose (step S33). In detail, the service determination unit 12c determines the purpose based on the reservation information, extracts local resident information corresponding to the purpose, determines the corresponding local resident by selecting a predetermined number of pieces of local resident information from the extracted local resident information, and outputs the determination result to the access information generation unit 18. The predetermined number may be one or more. Note that in the example shown in FIG. 22, a process of determining a corresponding local resident based on the user's purpose is performed in step S33, but the method of determining a corresponding local resident is not limited to this example, and the service determination unit 12c may determine a local resident corresponding to the user using any of the methods described above.

The service providing device 1c generates access information (step S34). In detail, the access information generation unit 18 generates access information for the terminal device 6 to connect to the reservation terminal, and outputs the generated access information to the transmission/reception unit 11.

The transmitter/receiver 11 of the service providing device 1c transmits the access information to the terminal device 6 (step S35). The terminal device 6 performs connection processing with the reservation terminal based on the access information (step S36). This initiates real-time communication between the user and local residents via the reservation terminal and terminal device 6.

In Figure 22, the processing from step S33 onwards is performed after step S6, but this is not limited to this; the processing from step S33 onwards may also be performed after step S3. The timing for performing the processing from step S33 onwards may be any timing as long as it is after step S3, and is not limited to the example shown in Figure 22.

As described above, the service provider device 1c may transmit access information to the vehicle terminal 34, thereby enabling real-time communication between the user and local residents via the vehicle terminal 34 and the terminal device 6. For example, if the ride time is equal to or greater than a threshold, the service determination unit 12c may determine to provide the user with a service that allows communication with local residents, and select a local resident corresponding to the user from among registered local residents. The access information generation unit 18 then generates access information for connecting the terminal device 6 of the local resident selected by the service determination unit 12c with the vehicle terminal 34, which is an example of a mobile terminal installed in a vehicle arranged by reservation, so that the user and the local resident can communicate. The transmitter/receiver 11 then transmits the access information to the vehicle terminal 34. The local resident may also board the vehicle 3 and communicate directly with the user. In this case, the service determination unit 12c may similarly use the ride time to determine whether to provide the service. In this case, the access information generation unit 18 generates access information for connecting the local resident selected by the service determination unit 12c to board the vehicle 3 arranged by reservation. In this case, the access information includes, for example, information requesting the local resident to board vehicle 3 and the location where the local resident will board vehicle 3. The transmitter/receiver 11 then transmits the access information to the local resident's terminal device 6.

In addition, when the service decision unit 12c receives reservation information, regardless of the boarding time, it may decide to provide the user with a service that allows them to communicate with local residents, and select a local resident corresponding to the user from the registered local residents.

In addition, in the above example, real-time communication between the user and local residents took place remotely, but this is not limited to this; the selected local resident may also directly visit the user's boarding stop to communicate with the user. As mentioned above, the selected local resident may also communicate with the user by riding in the vehicle 3 with the user. In this case, if vehicle 3 is an unmanned vehicle, the local resident riding in the vehicle may also serve as a safety driver to handle manual driving in the event of an emergency. Having a local resident act as the safety driver for vehicle 3 not only has the benefit of fostering community between the user and local residents, but is also expected to have a cost-saving effect.

When a local resident communicates directly with the user, the access information generation unit 18 generates access information including information indicating the meeting point with the user and information indicating the scheduled boarding time. The meeting point is, for example, a boarding stop. That is, the access information generation unit 18 generates information for moving the local resident selected by the service determination unit 12c to the boarding stop for communication. By checking the access information via the terminal device 6, the local resident can move to the boarding stop and talk directly with the user. Furthermore, when a local resident boards vehicle 3, the local resident may board vehicle 3 before arriving at the boarding stop. In this case, the access information includes information indicating the time and location at which the local resident boards vehicle 3.

The service determination unit 12c may also change the means of communication between local residents corresponding to the user depending on the free time. For example, the service determination unit 12c may decide whether to use remote communication depending on the free time, such as implementing remote communication when the free time is less than a threshold value, and having local residents communicate directly with the user when the free time is equal to or greater than the threshold value. The service determination unit 12c may also change the number of local residents to select, such as selecting one local resident when the free time is less than a threshold value, and selecting multiple local residents when the free time is equal to or greater than the threshold value.

The service determination unit 12c may also determine the type of service to be provided depending on the available time. For example, the type of service may be determined so that if the available time is less than a threshold, a service that presents display information as described in embodiment 1 is provided, and if the available time is equal to or greater than the threshold, a service that provides real-time communication between the user and local residents as described in this embodiment is provided. Furthermore, the function described in embodiment 2 may be added, and the type of service may be determined so that if the available time is less than the threshold, a service that arranges an additional service vehicle as described in embodiment 2 is provided, and if the available time is equal to or greater than the threshold, a service that provides real-time communication between the user and local residents as described in this embodiment is provided. Furthermore, the service determination unit 12c may select one of three services, namely, a service that presents display information, a service that arranges an additional service vehicle, and a service that provides real-time communication with local residents, depending on the available time. The method of determining the type of service depending on the available time is not limited to the above example.

In addition, in the example described above, the service determination unit 12c starts processing to provide the user with a real-time communication service with local residents when the user makes a reservation, but the trigger is not limited to the user's reservation. For example, when the service providing device 1c detects that the user is approaching the bus stop terminal 4, it may determine a corresponding local resident, and the determined local resident may speak to the user over the bus stop terminal 4.

23 is a sequence diagram showing another example of the operation related to service provision in the service provision system 100c of this embodiment. Steps S31 and S32 are the same as those in the example shown in FIG. 22. The bus stop terminal 4 is equipped with a sensor, such as a camera or a motion sensor, and the bus stop terminal 4 transmits information acquired by the sensor as monitoring information to the service provision device 1c (step S41). For example, if the sensor is a camera, the bus stop terminal 4 transmits video acquired by the camera as monitoring information to the service provision device 1c. For example, if the sensor is a motion sensor, the bus stop terminal 4 may transmit monitoring information indicating that a person has been detected to the service provision device 1c when a person is detected, or may periodically transmit monitoring information indicating whether a person has been detected to the service provision device 1c. The sensor may be installed near a bus stop other than the bus stop terminal 4. Furthermore, the bus stop terminal 4 may transmit monitoring information indicating that a user has approached a bus stop to the service provision device 1c when the user touches a touch panel or the like of the bus stop terminal 4.

When the service providing device 1c detects that a user has approached a bus stop based on the monitoring information (step S42), it determines a corresponding local resident (step S43). Specifically, in step S42, the transmitter/receiver 11 receives the monitoring information and outputs the received monitoring information to the service determination unit 12c. If the sensor is a camera, the service determination unit 12c performs image analysis of the video of the monitoring information to determine whether a person, i.e., a user, has approached the bus stop. If the monitoring information indicates that a person has approached, the service determination unit 12c receives the monitoring information and detects that the user has approached the bus stop. For example, the service determination unit 12c determines whether the user is located within a range where the vehicle's distance from the bus stop is equal to or less than a threshold, and if it determines that the user is located within the range, it selects a local resident corresponding to the user from registered local residents.

In step S43, the service determination unit 12c determines the corresponding local resident by selecting a local resident who will communicate with the user in real time from among the registered local residents and transmits the determination result to the access information generation unit 18. In the example shown in FIG. 23, unlike the example shown in FIG. 22, the service providing device 1c has not received reservation information, so the service determination unit 12c selects a local resident from the registered local residents using any method without using the reservation information. For example, the method may be a method of selecting local residents sequentially in the order in which they were registered, or a method of selecting randomly, or if the local resident information includes a knowledge rank, the knowledge rank may be used in the selection. Furthermore, if the service providing system 100c generates evaluation information based on the above-mentioned past evaluation results and adds the evaluation information to the local resident information, the evaluation information may be used in the selection. The method of selecting a local resident is not limited to these.

The service providing device 1c generates access information (step S44). In detail, the access information generating unit 18 generates access information for connecting the local resident's terminal device 6 determined by the service determining unit 12c with the bus stop terminal 4 installed at the bus stop so that the user and the local resident can communicate, and outputs the generated access information to the transmitting/receiving unit 11.

The service providing device 1c transmits the access information to the terminal device 6 (step S45). Specifically, the transmitter/receiver 11 transmits the access information to the terminal device 6 corresponding to the local resident determined by the service determination unit 12c. This results in a connection process between the terminal device 6 and the bus stop terminal 4 (step S46). After step S46, the local resident speaks to the user through the bus stop terminal 4, thereby starting a conversation between the user and the local resident. Through this conversation, the local resident may suggest recommended facilities or places, thereby guiding the destination entered by the user when reserving the vehicle 3 to a destination that benefits the local resident or the area. The user may determine the destination of the vehicle 3 based on the suggestion from the local resident. After this conversation, step S3 is performed as in embodiment 1. Although not shown, steps S4 to S6 are then performed as in embodiment 1. After step S6, the reservation result is transmitted to the bus stop terminal 4. Furthermore, after step S6, the processing from step S33 onward may or may not be performed as in FIG. 22.

The service providing device 1c of this embodiment is also realized by a computer system. For example, the service determination unit 12c and the access information generation unit 18 shown in FIG. 21 are realized by the control unit 101 shown in FIG. 14 executing a program stored in the storage unit 103 shown in FIG. 14. The storage unit 103 shown in FIG. 14 is also used to realize the service determination unit 12c and the access information generation unit 18. The local resident information storage unit 17 shown in FIG. 21 is part of the storage unit 103 shown in FIG. 14. The service providing device 1c may be realized by multiple computer systems. The service providing device 1c may be realized by a cloud system. The service providing device 1c and the operation management device 2 may be integrated.

As described above, in this embodiment, users are provided with a service that allows them to communicate in real time with local residents. This allows users to make effective use of their free time when using the on-demand mobility system. Furthermore, real-time communication with local residents allows for the provision of more detailed information and services than in embodiment 1. Local residents can also advertise in real time, allowing them to attract customers in a timely manner, such as advertising at a time when there are few customers at their store. Furthermore, by having elderly people and other people who have difficulty going out register as local residents, it is possible to create contact points with society. Furthermore, by employing local residents, it is possible to create jobs in rural areas.

Incidentally, by adding the presentation information generation unit 13 of embodiment 1 to the service providing device 1c of this embodiment and making the service determination unit 12c also function as the service determination unit 12 of embodiment 1, both the real-time communication service with local residents of this embodiment and the presentation information presentation service of embodiment 1 may be provided to the user. Furthermore, by adding the dispatch request generation unit 16 of embodiment 2 to the service providing device 1c of this embodiment and making the service determination unit 12c also function as the service determination unit 12a of embodiment 2, both the real-time communication service with local residents of this embodiment and the additional service vehicle arrangement service of embodiment 2 may be provided to the user. Similarly, by adding both the functions described in embodiment 1 and embodiment 2 to the service providing device 1c of this embodiment, both the real-time communication service with local residents of this embodiment, the presentation information presentation service of embodiment 1, and the additional service vehicle arrangement service of embodiment 2 may be provided to the user.

Embodiment 4.
24 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a service providing system according to the fourth embodiment. A service providing system 100d according to the fourth embodiment includes a service providing apparatus 1d and an operation management apparatus 2. Components having the same functions as those in the first embodiment are assigned the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and redundant explanations will be omitted. The following mainly describes the differences from the first embodiment.

In this embodiment, the services to be provided to a user are determined based on attribute information indicating the user's attributes in addition to free time. Attribute information includes, for example, information indicating at least one of the user's gender, age, number of people (including the user and any companions riding in vehicle 3 with the user), group attributes (family, couple, etc.), status, etc. Age may be the age itself, a generation such as teens or twenties, or a classification such as child or adult. Group indicates the attributes of a group consisting of the user and their companions. Status may be, for example, but is not limited to, whether at least one of the user and their companions looks cold or hot.

The service providing device 1d can acquire attribute information based on, for example, video captured by a camera device 9 capturing images of the area around the bus stop. The camera device 9 may be installed in the bus stop terminal 4 or in a location separate from the bus stop terminal 4. Furthermore, the user may input attribute information into the reservation terminal when entering reservation information, and the reservation terminal may then transmit the attribute information to the service providing device 1d. Furthermore, the user may input attribute information using the user terminal 5 when registering to reserve a vehicle 3. Furthermore, various sensors, such as a human presence sensor and a temperature sensor, may be used instead of or in addition to the camera device 9. For example, a human presence sensor can detect whether people (user, companions) are present near the bus stop. Furthermore, for example, a temperature sensor can detect the air temperature and the body surface temperatures of the user and companions, thereby acquiring information for determining whether at least one of the user and companions appears cold or hot. Attribute information may also be acquired using a combination of these acquisition methods.

The service providing device 1d is similar to the service providing device 1 of embodiment 1 except that it includes a service determining unit 12d instead of the service determining unit 12. The service determining unit 12d determines the service to be provided to the user based on attribute information in addition to available time. When attribute information is transmitted from a reservation terminal, the service determining unit 12d determines the service to be provided to the user using the available time and attribute information received via the transmitting/receiving unit 11. When attribute information is obtained based on video captured by the imaging device 9, the service determining unit 12d receives camera video captured by the imaging device 9 via the transmitting/receiving unit 11 and performs image processing on the camera video to obtain the attribute information.

The service determination unit 12d extracts the user, or the user and accompanying persons, by detecting people near bus stops from camera footage, for example. For example, if there is only one person near the bus stop, it determines that the detected person is the user who reserved vehicle 3. If there are multiple detected people, it analyzes the behavior of the detected person and determines that the person who is estimated to have performed the reservation operation is the user. Furthermore, if the detected other people are near the person estimated to be the user or are estimated to be conversing with the estimated user, it determines these people as the user's accompanying persons, and can estimate the number of people riding in vehicle 3. Furthermore, the service determination unit 12d analyzes images of the person estimated to be the user to estimate gender, age, etc. Furthermore, if it is estimated that there is a accompanying person, it estimates whether the person is a family, a couple, or something else by estimating the gender, age, and behavior of the user and accompanying person (e.g., holding hands). Furthermore, the service determination unit 12d can estimate the state of the estimated user, or the user and accompanying persons, through image analysis.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. Figure 25 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation related to service provision in the service provision system 100d of this embodiment. Figure 25 shows an example of acquiring attribute information from camera footage. Steps S1 to S3 are the same as in embodiment 1. After step S3, the service provision device 1d receives camera footage from the imaging device 9 (step S51). Note that while Figure 25 shows an example in which the service provision device 1d receives camera footage from the imaging device 9, the bus stop terminal 4 may receive camera footage from the imaging device 9 and then transmit the camera footage to the service provision device 1d.

Steps S4 to S7 are the same as in embodiment 1. After step S7, the presentation information is determined based on the waiting time and attribute information (step S8a). In detail, the service determination unit 12d selects local-provided information based on the waiting time, as in embodiment 1, and then selects from the selected local-provided information to present as presentation information based on the attribute information. For example, the service determination unit 12d may store attribute correspondence information that corresponds one or more attributes of gender, age, and group to the selected local-provided information, and use the attribute correspondence information to select local-provided information corresponding to the attribute indicated by the attribute information. Alternatively, for example, the local-provided information may include recommended target information indicating recommended targets, such as recommended for women, families, couples, young people, and children, so that the service determination unit 12d can select local-provided information corresponding to the attribute information using the recommended target information.

Steps S9 to S11 are the same as in embodiment 1. Also, while Figure 25 shows an example of acquiring attribute information from camera footage, as described above, attribute information may also be input by the user, in which case the attribute information is transmitted from the user terminal 5 to the service providing device 1d.

24 and 25 show an example in which the service provided to the user is the presentation of presentation information, as in embodiment 1. However, attribute information may also be taken into consideration when arranging an additional service vehicle, as in embodiment 2, or when providing a real-time communication service with local residents, as in embodiment 3. Also, attribute information may be taken into consideration when providing a service that combines two or more of the services described in embodiments 1 to 3. For example, when the service determination unit 12a of embodiment 2 arranges an additional service vehicle, after determining to arrange a mobile sales vehicle 301 based on the waiting time, if the user's condition is hot, a mobile sales vehicle 301 that provides cold drinks may be arranged, and if the user's condition is cold, a mobile sales vehicle 301 that provides hot drinks may be arranged. Alternatively, if the user's condition is detected as being that they are holding trash, a mobile trash can truck 303 may be arranged. The correspondence between attribute information and the additional service vehicle to be arranged may be stored as attribute correspondence information. Furthermore, the service determination unit 12c of embodiment 3 may use attribute information when determining the corresponding local resident. For example, local resident information may include age, gender, etc., and based on this information, correspondence between attribute information and corresponding local residents may be determined in advance and stored as attribute correspondence information, or local resident information may include compatible attributes.

The service providing device 1d of this embodiment is also realized by a computer system. For example, the service determining unit 12d shown in FIG. 24 is realized by the control unit 101 shown in FIG. 14 executing a program stored in the storage unit 103 shown in FIG. 14. The storage unit 103 shown in FIG. 14 is also used to realize the service determining unit 12d. The service providing device 1d may be realized by multiple computer systems. The service providing device 1d may be realized by a cloud system. The service providing device 1d and the operation management device 2 may be integrated.

As described above, in this embodiment, attribute information is taken into consideration when determining the services to be provided to a user. This makes it possible to provide more appropriate services, i.e., services that meet the user's needs, compared to when attributes are not taken into consideration.

Embodiment 5.
26 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a service providing system according to a fifth embodiment. A service providing system 100e according to this embodiment includes a service providing apparatus 1e and an operation management apparatus 2. Components having the same functions as those in the first embodiment are assigned the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and redundant explanations will be omitted. The following mainly describes the differences from the first embodiment.

In this embodiment, incentives (rewards) are paid to local residents based on their performance to encourage them to register for services provided to users. For example, as in the example shown in FIG. 26, if the service provided to a user is the presentation of local information, a unit price for each piece of local information may be determined, and incentives may be paid based on the number of pieces of local information registered. In addition, incentives may be paid based on the user's performance in using the local information. A user's performance in using the local information may include, for example, at least one of the user's performance in referencing the information and the user's performance in visiting facilities or places corresponding to the provided information. For example, if the local information includes a link to a web page related to a facility or place, the number of times the web page is accessed by the user from the link may be counted, and an incentive may be paid based on the number of times, thereby improving the quality of presented data such as advertisements. Alternatively, if the presented data includes a coupon, the number of times the coupon is used may be counted, and an incentive may be paid based on the number of times.

Also, if the reservation terminal is a user terminal 5, location information of the user terminal 5 may be obtained, and if the user moves to a location corresponding to the local information provided by the presented information, it may be determined that the user has used the local information, the number of times the user has used it may be counted, and an incentive may be paid according to the number of times. Incentives may also be paid by combining two or more of the above-mentioned methods.

The service providing device 1e is similar to the service providing device 1 of embodiment 1, except that it additionally includes a usage history determination unit 51, a usage history storage unit 52, and a payment amount determination unit 53. The usage history determination unit 51 acquires, via the transmission/reception unit 11, information indicating the usage history by users of the regionally provided information presented as presented information, and determines the usage history of each piece of regionally provided information presented as presented information based on the acquired information. The usage history determination unit 51 stores the acquired history as history information in the usage history storage unit 52. Furthermore, when the usage history determination unit 51 receives new information indicating the usage history by users of regionally provided information for which history information is already stored in the usage history storage unit 52, it updates the history information stored in the usage history storage unit 52 to the received information.

The performance information includes, for example, information indicating at least one of the following: the number of times a user has referenced the local-provided information (the data presented in the local-provided information), the number of times a coupon has been used, and the number of times a user has visited a facility or location corresponding to the local-provided information. Performance information, for example, is the number of times the information has been used, but it may also be the ratio of the number of times the information has been used to the number of times it was presented to the user, and is not limited to the number of times it has been used. The usage performance determination unit 51, for example, acquires presentation information presented for each user (user terminal 5) from the presentation information generation unit 13, and acquires information indicating the user's usage of the local-provided information (the data presented in the local-provided information) presented as presentation information from the user terminal 5 via the transmission/reception unit 11. As described above, the information indicating the user's usage of the local-provided information presented as presentation information includes, for example, information indicating that a web page was referenced from a link, location information of the user terminal 5, and information indicating that a coupon was used. Instead of being acquired from the user terminal 5, the information indicating that a coupon was used may be acquired from the terminal of the facility where the coupon was used. Additionally, the usage history determination unit 51 may acquire information indicating usage history by receiving input from an operator or the like, and update the history information in the area-provided information.

Note that, although an example is described here in which performance information is stored for each piece of local information, the usage performance determination unit 51 may also refer to the local information stored in the local information storage unit 15, obtain the registrant corresponding to the local information, and store performance information in the usage performance storage unit 52 for each registrant, i.e., each local resident.

The usage history storage unit 52 stores history information for each piece of local information provided. The payment amount determination unit 53 calculates the amount of incentive to be paid to each local resident based on the local resident's history regarding the local information provided. Specifically, the payment amount determination unit 53 determines the payment amount to be paid as an incentive for each local resident based on at least one of the history information stored in the usage history storage unit 52 and the local information stored in the local information storage unit 15. For example, when paying incentives based on the number of registrations, the payment amount determination unit 53 references the local information stored in the local information storage unit 15, counts the number of registrations for each registrant, and determines the payment amount by multiplying the number of registrations by a set unit price. However, this is not limited to this, and payment amounts may be determined in stages, such as a uniform first amount for five or fewer registrations and a uniform second amount (higher than the first amount) for six to ten or fewer registrations.

In addition, when paying incentives based on usage history, the payment amount determination unit 53 determines the usage history for each registrant based on the usage history information stored in the usage history storage unit 52 and the local information stored in the local information storage unit 15, and determines the payment amount by multiplying the usage history by a specified unit price. If usage information is stored for each registrant, the payment amount determination unit 53 determines the payment amount by multiplying the usage history indicated in the usage information for each registrant by a specified unit price. Incentives may be paid for two or more types of usage, including the number of registrations, usage of local information references, usage of coupons, and usage of facilities or locations corresponding to the local information. The payment amount determination unit 53 may calculate payment amounts corresponding to the two or more types of usage and calculate the total of the calculated payment amounts for each registrant. Incentives are not limited to monetary payments; they may also be points awarded in a point program, goods, or discounts on specified products or services. After determining the payment amount, the service providing device 1e may perform a settlement process to make payments to local residents.

Furthermore, while FIG. 26 illustrates an example in which a function for calculating the incentive payment amount is added to embodiment 1, the present invention is not limited to this. A function for calculating the incentive payment amount may also be added to embodiments 3 and 4. Furthermore, when embodiment 1 is combined with one or more of embodiments 2 to 4, a function for calculating the incentive payment amount may also be added. In the case where a local resident communicates with a user as in embodiment 3, for example, the payment amount determination unit 53 calculates the amount of incentive to be paid to the local resident based on the communication record. The communication record may be, for example, the number of communications. In the case where a local resident communicates in real time, the payment amount determination unit 53 may further determine the payment amount using at least one of the knowledge rank and the evaluation information described in embodiment 3. For example, the unit price may be set so that the higher the knowledge rank, the higher the unit price. Alternatively, the unit price may be set so that the better the evaluation result indicated by the evaluation information, the higher the unit price. At least one of the knowledge rank and the evaluation information may be reflected in the payment amount by other methods.

The service providing device 1e of this embodiment is also realized by a computer system. For example, the usage history determination unit 51 and payment amount determination unit 53 shown in FIG. 26 are realized by the control unit 101 shown in FIG. 14 executing a program stored in the memory unit 103 shown in FIG. 14. The memory unit 103 shown in FIG. 14 is also used to realize the usage history determination unit 51 and payment amount determination unit 53. The usage history memory unit 52 shown in FIG. 26 is part of the memory unit 103 shown in FIG. 14. The service providing device 1e may be realized by multiple computer systems. The service providing device 1e may be realized by a cloud system. The service providing device 1e and the operation management device 2 may be integrated.

As described above, in this embodiment, local residents are paid incentives based on their performance. This encourages local residents to register information and improves the quality of information provided by local residents. Furthermore, by improving at least one of the quantity and quality of information provided, convenience for users can be increased, and the motivation of local residents who cooperate in providing the service can be maintained and improved.

The configurations shown in the above embodiments are merely examples, and may be combined with other known technologies, or different embodiments may be combined with each other. Parts of the configuration may also be omitted or modified without departing from the spirit of the invention.

1, 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e Service providing device, 2, 2a Operation management device, 3, 3-1 to 3-n Vehicle, 4 Bus stop terminal, 5 User terminal, 6 Terminal device, 9 Photography device, 11, 23, 42, 311 Transmitting/receiving unit, 12, 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d Service determination unit, 13 Presentation information generation unit, 14 Registration processing unit, 15 Regional provision information storage unit, 16 Dispatch request generation unit, 17 Local resident information storage unit, 18 Access information generation unit, 21, 21a Dispatch processing unit, 22 Operation plan storage unit, 24 Vehicle information storage unit, 31 Vehicle-mounted device, 32 ID acquisition device, 33 Travel control device, 34 Vehicle terminal, 35 Equipment, 36 Location acquisition unit, 41 Reservation information generation unit, 43 Information presentation unit, 44 ID acquisition unit, 45 Input reception unit, 51 Usage history determination unit, 52 usage history storage unit, 53 payment amount determination unit, 100, 100a, 100b, 100c, 100d, 100e service provision system, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 208, 209, 211 area, 206 button, 207, 210 reservation change button, 301 mobile sales vehicle, 302 mobile toilet vehicle, 303 mobile trash can vehicle, 312 reservation result storage unit, 313 reservation matching unit, 341 receiving unit, 342 presentation unit.

Claims (29)

a service determination unit that acquires free time of a user who uses a mobile object arranged by reservation and traveling on a route including a plurality of stops, and determines, using the free time, services to be provided to the user during the free time, the services relating to an area including a service area in which the mobile object is operated;
a service processing unit that performs processing to provide the determined service to the user based on a result of the determination by the service determination unit;
Equipped with
the free time includes at least one of a waiting time during which the user waits for the arrival of the arranged mobile object and a use time during which the user uses the mobile object;
the service determination unit determines presentation information to be presented to the user using the available time;
the service processing unit generates the presentation information based on the determination result;
a transmitting/receiving unit that transmits the presentation information to the reservation terminal used by the user for the reservation,
The reservation terminal displays the presented information,
the moving body is a vehicle,
the service determination unit determines the presentation information so that, when the waiting time is less than a threshold value, the presentation information is information about a facility or place within a first range, which is a range of distances from a boarding stop where the user boards the vehicle up to a first distance, and, when the waiting time is equal to or greater than a threshold value, the presentation information is information about a facility or place within a second range, which is a range of distances from the boarding stop up to a second distance longer than the first distance;
The second range is set to include a stop adjacent to the boarding stop,
when the service determination unit determines, from the boarding stop, that information about a facility or place near a stop adjacent to the boarding stop be included in the presented information, it generates display information for causing the reservation terminal to display a message accepting a change to the vehicle reservation,
The service providing device is characterized in that the transmitting and receiving unit transmits the display information to the reservation terminal. a service determination unit that acquires free time of a user who uses a mobile object arranged by reservation and traveling on a route including a plurality of stops, and determines, using the free time, services to be provided to the user during the free time, the services relating to an area including a service area in which the mobile object is operated;
a service processing unit that performs processing to provide the determined service to the user based on a result of the determination by the service determination unit;
Equipped with
the free time includes at least one of a waiting time during which the user waits for the arrival of the arranged mobile object and a use time during which the user uses the mobile object;
the service determination unit determines presentation information to be presented to the user using the available time;
the service processing unit generates the presentation information based on the determination result;
a transmitting/receiving unit that transmits the presentation information to the reservation terminal used by the user for the reservation,
The reservation terminal displays the presented information,
the moving body is a vehicle,
the service determination unit determines the presentation information so that, when the waiting time is less than a threshold value, the presentation information is information about a facility or place within a first range, which is a range of distances from a boarding stop where the user boards the vehicle up to a first distance, and, when the waiting time is equal to or greater than a threshold value, the presentation information is information about a facility or place within a second range, which is a range of distances from the boarding stop up to a second distance longer than the first distance;
The second range is set to include a stop adjacent to the boarding stop,
When the boarding stop determines that information about a facility or place near a stop adjacent to the boarding stop should be included in the presented information, the service determination unit determines the waiting time when boarding from the boarding stop as a reservation waiting time, acquires a route change waiting time that is the waiting time when the boarding stop is changed to a stop adjacent to the boarding stop, and generates waiting time display information for displaying the reservation waiting time and the route change waiting time on the reservation terminal,
The service providing device is characterized in that the transmitting and receiving unit transmits the waiting time display information to the reservation terminal. The service providing device described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the transceiver unit further transmits the presentation information to a mobile terminal mounted on the mobile body and capable of displaying the presentation information. The service providing device described in claim 3, characterized in that the service determination unit determines the amount of information to be presented using the available time. The service providing device described in claim 4, characterized in that the service determination unit determines the amount of information to be presented using the waiting time and the usage time. The service providing device described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the service determination unit determines the presented information based on the purpose for which the user is using the mobile object. The service providing device described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the service determination unit obtains the end location where the user's movement by the mobile object for the reservation ends, and further determines the presentation information using the end location. The service providing device described in claim 7, characterized in that the service determination unit estimates the user's purpose based on the end location and determines the presented information based on the purpose. a service determination unit that acquires free time of a user who uses a mobile object arranged by reservation and traveling on a route including a plurality of stops, and determines, using the free time, services to be provided to the user during the free time, the services relating to an area including a service area in which the mobile object is operated;
a service processing unit that performs processing to provide the determined service to the user based on a result of the determination by the service determination unit;
Equipped with
the free time includes at least one of a waiting time during which the user waits for the arrival of the arranged mobile object and a use time during which the user uses the mobile object;
the service determination unit determines presentation information to be presented to the user using the available time;
the service processing unit generates the presentation information based on the determination result;
the service determination unit acquires an end location where the user's movement by the mobile object in the reservation ends, and further determines the presentation information using the end location;
the moving body is a vehicle, and the end location is a stop where the user gets off,
The service providing device is characterized in that the service determination unit includes information about facilities or places that are closer to a stop adjacent to the alighting stop than the alighting stop in the presentation information. generating display information for causing the reservation terminal used by the user to display a display for accepting changes to the vehicle reservation;
10. The service providing device according to claim 9, wherein the display information is transmitted to the reservation terminal. When the service determination unit determines from the alighting stop that information about a facility or place near a stop adjacent to the alighting stop should be included in the presented information, the service determination unit determines the waiting time when boarding from the alighting stop as a reservation waiting time, and acquires a route change waiting time that is a waiting time when the alighting stop is changed to a stop adjacent to the alighting stop,
generating waiting time display information for displaying the reservation waiting time and the route change waiting time on the reservation terminal used by the user for the reservation;
10. The service providing device according to claim 9, wherein the waiting time display information is transmitted to the reservation terminal. a service determination unit that acquires free time of a user who uses a mobile object arranged by reservation and traveling on a route including a plurality of stops, and determines, using the free time, services to be provided to the user during the free time, the services relating to an area including a service area in which the mobile object is operated;
a service processing unit that performs processing to provide the determined service to the user based on a result of the determination by the service determination unit;
Equipped with
the free time includes at least one of a waiting time during which the user waits for the arrival of the arranged mobile object and a use time during which the user uses the mobile object;
the service determination unit determines presentation information to be presented to the user using the available time;
the service processing unit generates the presentation information based on the determination result;
the service determination unit acquires an end location where the user's movement by the mobile object in the reservation ends, and further determines the presentation information using the end location;
The service determination unit determines the presentation information to be presented to the user by selecting the local information provided by local residents in the area including the operating area in which the mobile vehicle operates. a payment amount calculation unit that calculates, for each of the local residents, an amount of an incentive to be paid to the local resident based on the performance of the local resident regarding the area-provided information;
The service providing device according to claim 12, further comprising: a service determination unit that acquires free time of a user who uses a mobile object arranged by reservation and traveling on a route including a plurality of stops, and determines, using the free time, services to be provided to the user during the free time, the services relating to an area including a service area in which the mobile object is operated;
a service processing unit that performs processing to provide the determined service to the user based on a result of the determination by the service determination unit;
Equipped with
the free time includes at least one of a waiting time during which the user waits for the arrival of the arranged mobile object and a use time during which the user uses the mobile object;
the service processing unit performs processing for arranging an additional service mobile object that provides an additional service to the user based on the determination result by the service determination unit;
The service providing device is characterized in that the service determination unit uses the available time to determine the additional service mobile object to be arranged and the location where the additional service mobile object is to be arranged. The additional service vehicle includes a mobile sales vehicle that performs mobile sales,
The service providing device described in claim 14, characterized in that the service determination unit decides to arrange for the mobile sales vehicle to be sent to a starting location where the user's movement by the mobile body will begin if the waiting time is equal to or greater than a first threshold value. The additional service vehicle includes a mobile trash can vehicle carrying a trash can;
The service providing device according to claim 14, characterized in that the service determination unit determines to dispatch the mobile trash can truck to a starting location where the user's movement by the mobile object begins when the waiting time is equal to or greater than a second threshold value. The additional service vehicle includes a mobile toilet vehicle equipped with a toilet,
The service providing device described in claim 14, characterized in that the service determination unit decides to arrange for the mobile toilet vehicle to be sent to a starting location where the user's movement by the mobile object begins when the waiting time is equal to or greater than a third threshold value. The additional service vehicle includes a mobile toilet vehicle equipped with a toilet,
The service providing device described in claim 17, characterized in that the service determination unit decides to dispatch the mobile toilet vehicle to the starting location when the waiting time is equal to or greater than a third threshold and the usage time is equal to or greater than a fourth threshold. The additional service vehicle includes a mobile toilet vehicle equipped with a toilet,
the service determination unit determines, when the usage time is equal to or greater than a threshold, to arrange for the mobile toilet vehicle to be sent to a starting location from which the user starts traveling by the mobile object;
15. The service providing device according to claim 14, wherein the service processing unit performs processing for arranging the mobile toilet vehicle based on the result of the determination by the service determination unit. a service determination unit that acquires free time of a user who uses a mobile object arranged by reservation and traveling on a route including a plurality of stops, and determines, using the free time, services to be provided to the user during the free time, the services relating to an area including a service area in which the mobile object is operated;
a service processing unit that performs processing to provide the determined service to the user based on a result of the determination by the service determination unit;
a transmitter/receiver;
Equipped with
the free time includes at least one of a waiting time during which the user waits for the arrival of the arranged mobile object and a use time during which the user uses the mobile object;
When the available time is equal to or greater than a threshold value, the service determination unit determines to provide the user with communication with local residents in an area including an operating area in which the mobile object operates, as the service, and selects a local resident corresponding to the user from the registered local residents;
the service processing unit generates access information for connecting the terminal device of the local resident selected by the service determination unit and the reservation terminal used by the user to make the reservation so that the user and the local resident can communicate with each other;
The service providing device is characterized in that the transmitting/receiving unit transmits the access information to the terminal device. a service determination unit that acquires free time of a user who uses a mobile object arranged by reservation and traveling on a route including a plurality of stops, and determines, using the free time, services to be provided to the user during the free time, the services relating to an area including a service area in which the mobile object is operated;
a service processing unit that performs processing to provide the determined service to the user based on a result of the determination by the service determination unit;
a transmitter/receiver;
Equipped with
the free time includes at least one of a waiting time during which the user waits for the arrival of the arranged mobile object and a use time during which the user uses the mobile object;
When the available time is equal to or greater than a threshold value, the service determination unit determines to provide the user with communication with local residents in an area including an operating area in which the mobile object operates, as the service, and selects a local resident corresponding to the user from the registered local residents;
the service processing unit generates access information for moving the local resident selected by the service determination unit to a starting location from which the user's movement by the mobile object starts for the communication;
The service providing device is characterized in that the transmitting and receiving unit transmits the access information to the terminal device of the local resident selected by the service determining unit. a service determination unit that acquires free time of a user who uses a mobile object arranged by reservation and traveling on a route including a plurality of stops, and determines, using the free time, services to be provided to the user during the free time, the services relating to an area including a service area in which the mobile object is operated;
a service processing unit that performs processing to provide the determined service to the user based on a result of the determination by the service determination unit;
a transmitter/receiver;
Equipped with
the free time includes at least one of a waiting time during which the user waits for the arrival of the arranged mobile object and a use time during which the user uses the mobile object;
When the usage time is equal to or greater than a threshold value, the service determination unit determines to provide the user with communication with local residents in an area including an operating area in which the mobile object operates, as the service, and selects a local resident corresponding to the user from the registered local residents;
the service processing unit generates access information that is information for allowing the local resident selected by the service determination unit to board the vehicle arranged through the reservation;
The service providing device is characterized in that the transmitting and receiving unit transmits the access information to the terminal device of the local resident selected by the service determining unit. the moving body is an autonomous vehicle,
23. The service providing device according to claim 22, wherein the local resident selected by the service determining unit also serves as a safety driver for the vehicle in which the local resident rides. a payment amount calculation unit that calculates, for each of the local residents, an amount of an incentive to be paid to the local resident based on the communication performance of the local resident;
21. The service providing device according to claim 20, further comprising: The service providing device described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the service determination unit further determines the service to be provided to the user based on attribute information indicating the attributes of the user. an operation management device that manages the operation of a mobile object arranged by a reservation from a user and traveling on a route including a plurality of stops, and performs reservation processing for the mobile object using reservation information requesting the reservation;
a service providing device;
Equipped with
the service providing device,
a service determination unit that acquires a reservation result, which is a result of the reservation process, from the operation management device, acquires a free time of the user who uses the mobile object using the reservation result, and determines a service to be provided to the user during the free time, the service relating to an area including an operating area in which the mobile object is operated, using the free time;
a service processing unit that performs processing to provide the determined service to the user based on a result of the determination by the service determination unit;
Equipped with
the free time includes at least one of a waiting time during which the user waits for the arrival of the arranged mobile object and a use time during which the user uses the mobile object;
the service processing unit performs processing for arranging an additional service mobile object that provides the additional service to the user based on the determination result by the service determination unit;
A service providing system, wherein the service determination unit uses the available time to determine the additional service mobile object to be arranged and a location where the additional service mobile object will be arranged. a reservation terminal that receives an input from the user and transmits the reservation information to the service providing device based on the received input;
Equipped with
27. The service providing system according to claim 26, wherein the service providing device transmits the reservation information received from the reservation terminal to the operation management device. A service providing method in a service providing device,
a determining step of acquiring free time of a user who uses a mobile object arranged by reservation and traveling on a route including a plurality of stops, and using the free time to determine a service to be provided to the user during the free time, the service relating to an area including a service area in which the mobile object is operated;
a processing step of performing processing to provide the determined service to the user;
Including,
the free time includes at least one of a waiting time during which the user waits for the arrival of the arranged mobile object and a use time during which the user uses the mobile object;
In the processing step, a process is performed to arrange an additional service mobile object that provides an additional service to the user based on the determination result of the determination step,
A service providing method, characterized in that in the determining step, the additional service mobile to be arranged and the location where the additional service mobile is arranged are determined using the available time. In the computer system,
a determining step of acquiring free time of a user who uses a mobile object arranged by reservation and traveling on a route including a plurality of stops, and using the free time to determine a service to be provided to the user during the free time, the service relating to an area including a service area in which the mobile object is operated;
a processing step of performing processing to provide the determined service to the user;
Execute
the free time includes at least one of a waiting time during which the user waits for the arrival of the arranged mobile object and a use time during which the user uses the mobile object;
In the processing step, a process is performed to arrange an additional service mobile object that provides an additional service to the user based on the determination result of the determination step,
The program, wherein in the determining step, the additional service mobile to be arranged and a location where the additional service mobile is arranged are determined using the available time.