TRANSPORTATION CONTROL AND REGULATION SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FOR-HIRE VEHICLES

摘要

Systems and methods for monitoring and regulating for-hire vehicles (FHV) are provided. A server receives and stores information relating to authorized vehicles (often based on medallions assigned by the local government transportation agency), algorithms and parameters for FHV fare calculation, as well as information about authorized drivers and authorized dispatchers, from one or in some cases several regulatory entities each of which covers an FHV regulatory jurisdiction (often defined using geographic boundaries although these jurisdictions may also be defined by type of service, type of vehicle or in some other way that may be established in the local area). The server receives time and/or distance data associated with an FHV trip from a device (usually a mobile device like a smart phone for example) traveling with the FHV and uses such information to calculate a fare for the trip. The server is configured to receive requests for transportation services from mobile devices, and to dispatch FHVs, either directly (by automatically sending a dispatch signal to the selected FHV) or through a third-party (such as a traditional dispatch service), to accommodate such requests. The collected real-time information may advantageously be used to optimize the utilization of FHV resources.

主权项

1. A for-hire vehicle (FHV) vehicle dispatch, fare calculation and medallion monitoring system comprising:
a server including a computer memory and a processor for calculating FHV trip fares, wherein the computer memory is configured to store at least the following information provided by a regulatory entity:
one or more fare calculation algorithms;fare calculation parameters;valid medallions granted by the regulatory entity;geographical boundaries associated with a set of fare calculation algorithms and parameters; andat least one dispatcher approved to operate within a jurisdiction of the regulatory entity; a FHV mobile device communicatively coupled to an on-board diagnostics (OBD) system of an FHV, the FHV having a valid medallion, and identification of the medallion stored in the computer memory, the FHV mobile device being configured to transmit location, time and/or distance information from the OBD system to the server; and a customer mobile device configured to transmit a request for transportation service to the server, wherein the server forwards a corresponding dispatch request to a approved dispatcher; wherein the server is configured to calculate an FHV trip fare based at least in part on the location, time and/or distance information and the information provided by the regulatory entity; and wherein the server is configured to provide access to information stored in the computer memory associated with the regulatory entity's jurisdiction to the regulatory entity.