Location-based prediction of transport services

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016335576-A1
Application number	US-201514709799-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	May 12, 2015
Priority date	May 12, 2015
Publication date	Nov 17, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A dispatch system is provided to collect and store historical passenger pick-up and drop-off data. The dispatch system can utilize the historical data to construct correlation models that identify spike pairs each comprising a spike in passenger drop-offs and an associated spike in passenger pick-ups at a given location. The spike pairs can be indicative of an event at an event location having a typical duration. The dispatch system can detect a current spike in passenger drop-offs at a respective event location, and predict an associated spike in pick-up requests after a given duration at the event location using the historical data and correlation models.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A dispatch system comprising:
one or more processors; and one or more memory resources storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the dispatch system to:
store historical data corresponding to passenger drop-offs and passenger pick-ups at a number of event locations;
in real-time, identify a current spike in passenger drop-offs for a given event at a specified one of the event locations;
based on the current spike in passenger drop-offs, predict, using the historical data, a spike in passenger pick-up requests at the specified event location and at a predicted end time for the given event; and
generate a notification for transmission to a number of transport vehicles, the notification comprising content indicating the predicted spike in passenger pick-up requests.

2 . The dispatch system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the dispatch system to:
using the historical data, construct correlation models each comprising a set of spike pairs, wherein each of the spike pairs comprises a spike in passenger drop-offs and a spike in passenger pick-ups at a respective one of the event locations; wherein the executed instructions cause the dispatch system to predict the spike in passenger pick-up requests by (i) filtering through the correlation models using the current spike in passenger drop-offs, and (ii) identifying one or more matching correlation models that matches the current spike in passenger drop-offs.

3 . The dispatch system of claim 2 , wherein each of the correlation models identifies (i) a common volume of passenger drop-offs and passenger pick-ups for each of the spike pairs, (ii) a common event location, and wherein the executed instructions cause the dispatch system to filter through the correlation models by (i) comparing the current spike in passenger drop-offs with the common volume of passenger drop-offs for each of the correlation models, and (ii) comparing the specified location of the given event with the common event location for each of the correlation models.

4 . The dispatch system of claim 3 , wherein each of the correlation models further identifies (i) a common duration between the spike pairs, and (ii) a common ratio between passenger drop-offs and passenger pick-up requests for the spike pairs, and wherein the executed instructions cause the dispatch system to predict the spike in passenger pick-up requests by (i) determining a duration after the current spike in drop-offs based on the common duration between the spike pairs for the one or more matching correlation models, and (ii) determining a volume for the predicted spike in passenger pick-up requests based on the common ratio between passenger drop-offs and passenger pick-up requests for the one or more matching correlation models.

5 . The dispatch system of claim 2 , wherein each of the correlation models further identifies a common event type, and wherein the executed instructions cause the dispatch system to filter through the correlation models by (i) determining, via a third party resource, a current event type for the current spike in passenger drop-offs, and (ii) disregarding correlation models having a different event type than the current event type.

6 . The dispatch system of claim 2 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the dispatch system to:
select a most probable correlation model from the one or more matching correlation models; and determine, from the set of spike pairs of the most probable correlation model, the predicted spike in passenger pick-up requests.

7 . The dispatch system of claim 6 , wherein the executed instructions cause the dispatch system to determine the predicted spike in passenger pick-up requests by (i) identifying an expected time period between the spike pairs in the most probable correlation model, and (ii) determining a volume for the predicted spike in passenger pick-up requests based on the spike pairs in the most probable correlation model.

8 . The dispatch system of claim 2 , wherein each of the spike pairs in each correlation model is associated with weather conditions for both the spike in passenger drop-offs and the spike in passenger pick-ups at the respective event location.

9 . The dispatch system of claim 8 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the dispatch system to:
identify current weather conditions for the current spike in passenger drop-offs at the specified event location; wherein the executed instructions cause the dispatch system to select the based on the weather conditions for the spike in passenger drop-offs of the most probable correlation model matching the identified current weather conditions.

10 . The dispatch system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the dispatch system to:
receive, from a user device, a request for a passenger pick-up within a threshold distance of the specified event location and within a threshold time of the predicted end time; determine, from location-based resources of the user device, that the user device is not currently located at the specified event location; and based on the user device not being currently location at the specified event location, generate and transmit an avoidance notification to the user device, the avoidance notification suggesting to the user to avoid the specified event location due to the predicted spike in pick-up requests at the predicted end time for the given event.

11 . The dispatch system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the dispatch system to:
prior to the predicted end time of the given event, identify a number of available transport vehicles within a predetermined distance or time from the specified event location; calculate a predicted supply shortage between the predicted spike in pick-up requests and the identified number of available transport vehicles; and transmit the notification to the identified available transport vehicles and a plurality of additional transport vehicles in anticipation of the predicted supply shortage.

12 . The dispatch system of claim 11 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the dispatch system to:
determine current traffic conditions for the respective event location; and based on the current traffic conditions, identify a plurality of optimal pick-up locations surrounding the specified event location to optimize traffic conditions at the predicted end time for the given event.

13 . The dispatch system of claim 11 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the dispatch system to:
receive confirmations from responsive transport vehicles of the identified available transport vehicles and the plurality of additional transport vehicles; receive a number of pick-up requests from the specified event location at an actual end time for the given event, each of the pick-up requests originating from a requesting user device and specifying a pick-up location; and in response to each of the pick-up requests, assign an optimal one of the responsive transport vehicles to the pick-up request.

14 . The dispatch system of claim 13 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the dispatch system to:
generate and transmit a response notification to the requesting user device, the response notific

Assignees

• Uber Technologies Inc

Inventors

• Peng Yefei

Classifications

• G08G1/202

  Dispatching vehicles on the basis of a location, e.g. taxi dispatching · CPC title

• G06Q10/06315 Primary

  Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis · CPC title