GB2399672A

GB2399672A - Communicating vehicle arrival times to a user.

Info

Publication number: GB2399672A
Application number: GB0306029A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Roger Hill
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-03-17
Filing date: 2003-03-17
Publication date: 2004-09-22
Also published as: GB0306029D0

Abstract

A system for communicating vehicle arrival times to users comprises a plurality of vehicles (3) equipped with location transmitters (12), a base station (8) and a means for receiving a user request as directed by published instructions. In use the vehicles, such as a bus, ferry, train or train, transmit a current location, preferably using GPS, to a base station. The base station calculates the predicted arrival time at a vehicle stop (2). A user can issue a request for information, either from the stop or using a personal telecommunications device, following the instructions (6) which may be displayed at the stop. Preferably, the information will be indexed by the number of the stop or by a unique telephone number obtained from the published instructions associated with the stop. The base station will transmit the information to the user by interrogating the vehicle location data. The information may be transmitted to a telecommunications device (7) as a text message or email or in response to a request from a web page. The message received by the user may be a synthesised voice message. The information may indicate the arrival time of the vehicle or as an elapsed time. The information may also display advertising.

Description

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TRAVEL COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

The present invention relates to a travel communication system.

The "law" of bus travel is that none come for ages and then three come in a group. It is particularly frustrating for the traveller to have no means of knowing how long a wait is required until a bus arrives. This discourages the use of buses.

It is known from US Patent No 5,657,010 to provide an advance notification 0 system, which notifies passengers of the impending arrival of a transportation vehicle, for example, a school bus, at a particular vehicle stop. The system includes an on board vehicle control unit (VCU) for each vehicle and a base station control unit (BSCU) for making telephone calls to passengers in order to inform the passengers when the vehicle is a certain Redefined time period and/or distance away from the l s vehicle stop. The VCU compares elapsed time and/or travelled distance to the programmed scheduled time and/or travelled distance to determine if the vehicle is on schedule. If the vehicle is behind or ahead of schedule, the VCU calls the BSCU, which then adjusts its calling schedule accordingly. Significantly, a vehicle progress report generator is employed in the BSCU for permitting a passenger to solicit from the BSCU via a telephone link a vehicle progress report relating to arrival of the vehicle at the stop. When the vehicle is approaching the stop, a time period indicating when the vehicle is to arrive is specified by the BSCU, and when the vehicle has already arrived at the stop, an arrival time is specified in the progress report.

This system is not well adapted to a rural bus service running on a low budget.

The object of the present invention is to provide a travel communication system which is economic to install and easy for the enquirer to use.

According to the invention there is provided a system for communicating transport vehicle times of arrival at stops ("vehicle arrival times"), the system comprising: À a plurality of vehicle units, each comprising a vehicle locator and a transmitter for transmitting the vehicle's location; c À e I

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À a base station adapted to: À receive and memorise vehicle position from the vehicle units, À compute vehicle arrival times and À transmit the vehicle arrival times in response to enquirer enquiry and s À published enquirer instructions for telecommunication enquiry of when a vehicle will arrive at a specific stop and for reception of such vehicle arrival time.

The preferred vehicle locator is a GPS receiver.

The enquirer instructions will normally be published at vehicle stops, such as bus, tram, train or ferry stops. However, they could be published in other places, such as in timetables, on web sites etc. The instructions will normally include means for enabling an enquirer to communicate an identification of the stop, in respect of which the enquirer is enquiring, automatically to the base station. The travel-stop identification means can be a telephone number unique to the stop or a unique code to be keyed following a telephone number. Alternatively, the telecommunication can be interactive, whereby the base station requests further information to identify the stop concerning which the enquirer is enquiring. Such request can be made and answered by a series of synthesised oral questions, to be replied to via the telephone key pad.

Alternatively, the request can be made by interactive text message or email. In the later case, the enquirer can be instructed to access a website, with an interactive form.

The form has a field for identifying the stop concerned.

The vehicle arrival time can be transmitted in real time. Further, it can be in the format of an elapsed period or a time of day, such as: "The next bus will arrive at Pier Street in four minutes time" or "The next bus will arrive at Pier Street at twenty seven minutes past eight".

Alternatively or additionally, the arrival time can be transmitted via a delayed message informing the recipient that the vehicle will arrive after the elapse of a certain period of time or at a specified approximate time of day, such as a transmission timed to arrive at twenty two minutes past eight: À 1 1 8 1 À # À 1 "The next bus will arrive at Pier Street in five minutes time, that is at twenty seven minutes past eight".

Such message can be sent by a synthesised telephone call, a text message or an email.

It is specifically envisaged that the enquiry to the base station and the reception of the information can be by the same medium, in particular, by telephone, with the enquiry being made via the keypad and the reply being received in real time by synthesised voice message. Equally, the reception can be by closely related or separate media. An example of the former is a keypad enquiry, which can be replied 0 to by a standard voice message: "Thank you for your enquiry. Our system has verified that you are ringing on a telephone able to receive a text message. The arrival time of the next bus is being checked for you now. Please hang up and you will receive a text message giving the time of arrival." The information will then be transmitted as a text message along the lines of the above examples, for instance: NXT BUS (A PIER ST IN 4 MIN.

An example of the latter is an email enquiry via an interactive form as above. This could be replied to by email.

"Thank you for you enquiry. You have given your mobile number, so that you can obtain your bus information even if your are away from your desk. We will send you a text message when there is a bus four minutes from Pier Street." Then the same text message will be sent at the appropriate time: NXT BUS (A PIER ST IN 4 MTN. C U THERE.

Where the stop is on more than one bus route, the message can be extended to indicate the route or destination of the bus, such as: "The next bus will arrive at Pier Street in four minutes time. It is travelling on route 10 to the Town Hall. It will be followed five minutes later by a bus on route 12 to the Railway Station".

The base station will preferably be adapted to synthesise the voice message in real time from stored position data relating to the nearest bus identified to be on the bus route concerned, the identification being either from a route code transmitted by I À À d I À À 1 À À the bus or from analysis from the route being taken by the bus. Since routes may coincide close to a terminus for instance, the former means of identification is preferred.

The base station may be adapted to calculate the arrival time from an average speed bus speed. This is may be an overall average or an average for a particular route or indeed a compound average speed which takes account of differing average speeds at different parts of the route. Factors such as the time of day or state of tide may be taken into consideration.

It is envisaged that the system could be enhanced by displays of the arrival times available to telephone enquirers at certain important stops. Further, the times may be accessible in other non-oral formats, such as alpha-numeric information for display in response to email interrogation.

The position communication with the buses may be enhanced with two way communication, enabling the arrival time at various stops to be displayed on board the bus itself, this information having been calculated at the base station and transmitted to the bus.

In addition to arrival time and route information, the communicated information may be enhanced with additional information, for instance explaining that details of the route and advertising, such as: "The next bus will arrive at Pier Street in four minutes time. It is travelling on route 10 to the Town Hall. From Pier Street, route 10 passes along the Harbour Key, up Fish Street to the Town Hall. At the Town Hall you can alight for refreshment at Fred's Fish and Chips".

To help understanding of the invention, a specific embodiment thereof will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of a vehicle travel communication system according to the invention; Figure 2 is a form for submitting b y email for an email enquiry of the system. 1 À # À 1

Referring to Figure I of the drawings a passenger 1 is waiting at a bus stop 2 for a bus 3 and wants to know how long the bus will take to come.

The bus stop has displayed a notice 4 with a telephone enquiry number 5, which is unique to the bus stop, taking account not only of where the stop is but the side of the road, i.e. the direction in which the bus is travelling. The instructions 6 on the notice ask the passenger to dial, on his/her own mobile telephone 7, the number to make contact with a remote base station 8. As an alternative, the enquiry number 0 need not be unique to the bus stop, provided that it is followed by a unique code to be keyed by the passenger when prompted.

The base station is in constant radio contact with the bus and indeed with many other buses. These are all equipped with GPS receivers 11 and radio transmitters 12, whereby they can communicate to the base station the current position of each of them. These transmissions are very regular, for instance each minute or even half minute, so that the base station is constantly informed where all the buses are.

When a passenger telephones the base station on the number given for the stop at which the passenger is waiting, it recognises the stop from the unique number on which it has been called. Alternatively, the passenger may be asked by a recorded message to key a further unique number identifying the bus stop.

Once the base station has identified, from its database of where all the buses are, which and where the nearest bus on the stop's route is, it synthesises at voice message to the passenger, telling him the information that he/she is asking for.

Alternatively, the base station can have a recorded message telling the passenger to expect a text message in say half a minute with the relevant information.

Referring to Figure 2, there is shown an email form displayed by a web site associated with the base station, to enable the enquirer to submit his/her enquiry.

Claims

CLAIMS: I. A system for communicating transport vehicle times of arrival

at stops ("vehicle arrival times"), the system comprising: À a plurality of vehicle units, each comprising a vehicle locator and a transmitter for transmitting the vehicle's location; À a base station adapted to: receive and memorise vehicle position from the vehicle units, À compute vehicle arrival times and transmit the vehicle arrival times in response to enquirer enquiry and l o À published enquirer instructions for telecommunication enquiry of when a vehicle will arrive at a specific stop and for reception of such vehicle arrival time.
2. A system for communicating transport vehicle times of arrival at stops as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vehicle locator is a GPS receiver.
3. A system for communicating transport vehicle times of arrival at stops as claimed in claim I or claim 2, wherein the enquirer instructions are published at vehicle stops, such as bus, tram, train or ferry stops.
4. A system for communicating transport vehicle times of arrival at stops as claimed in claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the enquirer instructions are published in timetables, and/or on web sites.
5. A system for communicating transport vehicle times of arrival at stops as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the instructions include means for enabling an enquirer to communicate an identification of the stop, in respect of which the enquirer is enquiring, automatically to the base station.

2s
6. A system for communicating transport vehicle times of arrival at stops as claimed in claim 5, wherein the travel-stop identification means is a telephone number unique to the stop or a unique code to be keyed following a telephone number.
7. A system for communicating transport vehicle times of arrival at stops as claimed in claim 5, wherein the telecommunication is interactive, whereby the base station requests further information to identify the stop concerning which the enquirer is enquiring.
8. A system for communicating transport vehicle times of arrival at stops as claimed in claim 6, wherein a request is made and answered by a series of synthesized oral questions, to be replied to via the telephone key pad.
9. A system for communicating transport vehicle times of arrival at stops as claimed s in claim 7, wherein the request is made by interactive text message or email.
10. A system for communicating transport vehicle times of arrival at stops as claimed in claim 9, wherein the enquirer is instructed to access a web-site, with an interactive form, including a field for identifying the stop concerned.
11. A system for communicating transport vehicle times of arrival at stops as claimed lo in any preceding claim, wherein the vehicle arrival time is transmitted in real time.
12. A system for communicating transport vehicle times of arrival at stops as claimed in claim 1 1, wherein the vehicle arrival time is in the format of an elapsed period or a time of day, such as: "The next bus will arrive at Pier Street in four minutes time" or IS "The next bus will arrive at Pier Street at twenty seven minutes past eight".
13. A system for communicating transport vehicle times of arrival at stops as claimed in claim 11, wherein the arrival time is transmitted via a delayed message informing the recipient that the vehicle will arrive after the elapse of a certain period of time or at a specified approximate time of day, such as a transmission timed to arrive at twenty two minutes past eight: "The next bus will arrive at Pier Street in five minutes time, that is at twenty seven minutes past eight".
14. A system for communicating transport vehicle times of arrival at stops as claimed in claim 13, wherein the message is sent by a synthesised telephone call, a text message or an email.
1 S. A system for communicating transport vehicle times of arrival at stops as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the enquiry to the base station and the reception of the information is by the same medium.
16. A system for communicating transport vehicle times of arrival at stops as claimed in claim 1 S. wherein the medium is a telephone, with the enquiry being made via the keypad and the reply being received in real time by synthesised voice message and/or a text message.
17. A system for communicating transport vehicle times of arrival at stops as claimed in any one of claim 1 to 14, wherein the enquiry to the base station and the reception of the information is by closely related or separate media.
18. A system for communicating transport vehicle times of arrival at stops as claimed in claim 17, wherein an enquiry by email is replied to by a text message.
19. A system for communicating transport vehicle times of arrival at stops as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein where the stop is on more than one bus route, the message is extended to indicate the route or destination of the bus, such as: "The next bus will arrive at Pier Street in four minutes time. It is travelling on lo route 10 to the Town Hall. It will be followed five minutes later by a bus on route 12 to the Railway Station".
20. A system for communicating transport vehicle times of arrival at stops as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the base station is adapted to synthesise the voice message in real time from stored position data relating to the nearest bus identified to be on the bus route concerned, the identification being either from a route code transmitted by the bus or from analysis from the route being taken by the bus.
21. A system for communicating transport vehicle times of arrival at stops as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the base station is adapted to calculate the arrival time from an average speed bus speed.
22. A system for communicating transport vehicle times of arrival at stops as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the system further includes displays of the arrival times available to telephone enquirers at certain important stops.
23. A system for communicating transport vehicle times of arrival at stops as claimed in as claimed in preceding claim, wherein the system further includes means for two 2s way communication with the buses with the buses, enabling the arrival time at various stops to be displayed on board the bus itself, this information having been calculated at the base station and transmitted to the bus.
24. A system for communicating transport vehicle times or arrival at stops as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the communicated information further includes additional information, for instance explaining that details of the route and advertising, such as: "The next bus will arrive at Pier Street in four minutes time. It is travelling on route 10 to the Town Hall. From Pier Street, route 10 passes along the Harbour Key, up Fish Street to the Town Hall. At the Town Hall you can alight for refreshment at Fred's Fish and Chips".
25. A system for communicating transport vehicle times of arrival at stops substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures I and 2 of the s accompanying drawings.