The present invention regards a method and a system for improving the way a user orders a taxi and more particularly the way a user can control and keep track of the entire process via a portable mobile device.

Background of the Invention

Today's method and system regarding ordering of a taxi can be unnecessarily difficult and costly for the customer. Below are some examples of issues related to ordering and managing taxi trips experienced by customers: 1 ) Cannot choose between taxis because the customer does not know which one is closest nor has the best offer just in time when he/she needs one.

2) What are the name and phone numbers for the local taxi companies? The issue escalates when traveling outside the customers' local geographic area (plus language barriers etc abroad). 3) Where is the closest taxi stop?

4) The market is saturated by local taxi companies which makes it difficult for the customer to choose.

5) When the customer calls the taxi company he/she is usually facing a difficult menu system and is often told there is a waiting queue. 6) The customer reads about assaults and crime related to taxi trips, is it safe to drive this taxi?

7) Will the taxi driver select the optimum route or will he/she take advantage of the situation that the customer is a stranger?

8) Will the taxi be here soon? If the taxi company told the customer that the taxi would be a certain place at a certain time. 9) When does the customer need to order a taxi to be at a particular place at a certain time?

10) Who can the customer ask to order a taxi for him/her?

11) The customer used to drive with the same taxi company, but they never seem to recognize him/her or provide the customer with any special offerings or service?

12) Where did the customer put his/her taxi bills that he/she needs for his/her

expense report?

It is known from US 2008/0195428 Al a method for a shared transport system and service network. This invention describes how several people can share a transport and in this way make it cheaper and more environmentally safe by the fact that fewer vehicles are used. This invention is solved by the fact that the system measures the capacity of the transportation with the demand for transportation in connection with the location of the two variables.

Further it is known from US 6756913 BI a system for automatically dispatching a taxi to the location of a client. In this invention the client requests a taxi by phoning to a dispatcher central. Further the information of the location of the client is gathered from the GPS receiver in the phone and sent to the dispatch central. From here the dispatch central sends the information to the taxi that is closest to the client at that moment.

Both of these inventions has drawbacks since the user or the client cannot follow where the taxi is and it has no opportunity to choose which taxi he or she wants to use. The user can only get a taxi belonging to the dispatcher central that he or she phoned.

Further none of these solutions gives the user the opportunity to pay using the phone or to charge the trip to business account and get the bill later.

It is also not possible for the user to keep track of where the taxi is going since none of these solutions has the ability to get information regarding where the taxi is and the shortest way to go between the pick-up destination and the end destination.

Another drawback is that with these inventions it is not possible to make bookings in advance and specify special needs that the customer might have in connection with the trip. Summary of the Invention

The objective of the present invention, as it is stated in the independent claims, is to solve the problems and drawbacks mentioned in the above. The invention regards a way a user has the ability to locate, order, select, track, pay and review completed taxi trips using a portable mobile device over the communication network. The invention provides an end-to-end journey management method and system, and it is resolving many issues in ordering and managing a taxi journey, enabling the user to take full control of the taxi journey by exchanging taxi journey information in real time with the driver of the taxi car(s). Part of the invention is also a method and system for taxi companies/owners that significantly improve the ability of the taxi driver to communicate with the taxi user to book new taxi trips. Using a mobile device over the communication network, a taxi driver without an automated taxi dispatching solution in the car is using the invention to communicate directly with the taxi user and exchange journey management information in real time.

Further the present invention describes a users can fully manage all taxi trips in real time, from ordering to payment and expense reporting, and the user of the taxi is in charge. Technical features such as vehicle tracking using GPS, mobile maps, route calculation software, address search, payment solutions, etc. is assembled to enable the user to effectively manage the journey.

The present invention includes the following characteristics:

• A program located on the taxi user' portable device like a mobile phone or similar automating the taxi journey ordering and management methods. The program implements the taxi user interface for real time ordering, selection, tracking and payment of the taxi journey. The "Detail Description" section describes the user interface.

• A program located on the taxi driver portable device like a mobile phone, GPS terminal or similar automating the taxi journey methods. The program implements the taxi driver interface for real time booking of the taxi as described in the "Detailed Description" section provided that the taxi driver does not have an automated dispatch system already in the car.

• Real time communication methods between the taxi user and the taxi driver enabling information to be exchanged automatically and in real time. This includes information such as: taxi geographic location, taxi

company/owner/user information, customer information, and other information required to implement the features of the invention. The real time

communication method is implemented though a program located on a server and a standardized programmable interface enabling either an automated dispatching solution or the above taxi driver portable device to communicate in real time with the taxi user portable device. The "Detail Description" section describes the interfaces.

• A set of taxi services methods enabling businesses and public services

companies to contract their taxi services to one or more preferred taxi company. All employees must subscribe and use the invention enabling the business to consistently use the preferred taxi company for all taxi trips in the entire business. This method provides the business with new purchasing characteristics, enabling the business to receive more competitive offers from taxi companies. Brief Description of the Drawings

Overview

Figure 1 show an embodiment of the technical solution where the taxi driver communicates directly with the taxi customer.

Figure 2 shows an embodiment of the technical solution, where the system uses an already existing dispatch central.

Taxi user interface

The subsequent drawings describe one example of the taxi user interface part of the invention described in figure 1 and 2. Figure 3 shows the start-up screen belonging to the customer in an embodiment of present invention.

Figure 4 shows one of the screens of an embodiment of the ordering procedure of the present invention. Figure 5 shows how the user can type in the address he or she wants to be picked up.

Figure 6 shows the next step in the ordering procedure, where the user types in the address of the destination.

Figure 7 shows the step where the message containing the customers' information is sent to the taxies and the customer waits for the reply from the taxies. Figure 8 shows the screen after the taxis have returned an answer to the request sent by the customer.

Figure 9 shows the screen after the customer has chosen a taxi. Figure 10 shows how it is possible for the customer to track the taxi.

Figure 11 shows when the customer has arrived at the destination and is ready to pay the fare.

Figure 12 shows the login window for the driver of the taxi. Taxi driver interface

Figure 13 shows the pause mode window for the taxi. Figure 14 shown the screen when the taxi is waiting for a booking. Figure 15 shows the screen where the request from the customer has been sent.

Figure 16 shows the screen after the taxi driver has accepted the request from the customer.

Figure 17 shows the screen that appears after the driver has picked up the customer.

Figure 18 shows the screen displayed when the taxi has arrived at the requested end destination. Figure 19 shows the screen after the customer has accepted the amount. Detailed Description

Technical overview

Figure 1 shows a solution where there are no dispatch central involved in the communication between the taxi and the customer.

Figure 2 shows an embodiment of the technical solution, where the system uses an interface to an existing automated dispatch central. As it can be seen here the request of the customer is sent e.g. via logging in to the web site or using a portable device connected to a telecommunication network. The request is sent via e.g. the internet or the telecommunication network to the central database. The request is than further sent to the existing dispatching database which redirects it to the existing data terminal situated in the taxi. All the communication between the taxi and the customer is sent back and forth through the same communication channels.

It can be seen here that the user enters his or hers information regarding and sends the request in the same manner as in figure 2, via the internet or the telecommunication network to the central database.

The difference is that the central database instead of sending the request to the existing dispatch database sends it to a local database controlling the area from where the request was sent. This database further sends the request to the taxies in the area via the internet or the telecommunication network. All communication between the customer and the taxi is communicated in the same way.

Taxi user interface

Figure 3 shows an embodiment of the start-up screen of the present invention. Here it can be seen how a third generation mobile phone are equipped with a link to the program. After downloading, activating and entering the program, a screen comes up that contains e.g. three different choices. The first choice is the ordering of a taxi. This can be done by pressing the order a taxi button, 301. Further the customer can look at already made orders that is pre-booked by pressing the open orders button, 302, or the customer can look at or adjust the settings of the program by pressing the settings button, 303, or it is possible to look at the history of travels that are booked earlier, by pressing the travel history button, 304.

After pressing the "order a taxi" button, 301, the customer enters into the stage of ordering a taxi. Figure 4 shows one of the screens of the ordering procedure of the present invention, here it can be seen how it is possible to enter in the current location of the customer or the location of where he or she wants to be picked up by the taxi. It can further be seen how it is possible to enter the location by typing it in or by deciding the current location by using e.g. GPS. Further it is also possible to decide the location by using

triangulation of ground stations.

It is also possible to either search the internet for the address of the desired destination or it can be either picked out of the users' favourite catalogue or by using the map to find the location.

Figure 5 shows how the user can type in the address he or she wants to be picked up at and he or she has further the possibility to decide if this trip is a business or private trip by marking of one of the radio buttons, 501 or 502.

Further it can be seen that when the user starts typing in the address of where he or she wants to be picked up, suggestions of the address appears in a roll down window.

When the wanted address is typed in the user can push the "Next" button, 503, to enter the next window of the ordering step of the present invention. If the customer for some reason wants to quit the ordering procedure he or she can push the cancel button, 504.

In figure 6 it is possible to see the next step in the ordering procedure this is where the user types in the address of the destination to where the customer wants to go. This is done in the same way as for the typing in of the address of where the customer wants to be picked up.

Further it is possible to make a decision that this is an booking in advance, by entering the date, 601, and the time, 602, of when he or she wants to be picked up or alternatively wants to be at the destination. If nothing is chosen here the date and the time is either the current one or not activated. It is also possible to enter in if you have some special needs, like if you are a user of a wheelchair or if you require a larger taxi for several people or similar by choosing this from the roll down window, 603.

If all the necessary and the required information is typed in this finalises the ordering procedure and the portable communication device are now ready to send the order by pushing the "Send order" button, 604. Even here it is possible to cancel the order by pressing the cancel button.

In figure 7 the next step in the procedure is shown. This is the step where the message containing the customers' information is sent via the steps shown in either figure 1 or figure 2. During this step the portable unit, e.g. in the form of a mobile phone, is waiting, shown by the message 703, for a reply from the different taxies that are in the vicinity of the customer. The progress of the search is shown by a banner, 701, at the end of the screen marked "searching for taxi...", that fills with colour representing how far in this process this step has come. Further the preferred route, 702, usually the quickest, between the two destinations are shown e.g. by a continuous line connecting the two end destinations together. The two end destinations can be made easily distinguishable from each other by using different symbols for each destination, e.g. using a continuously coloured dot as the from-address and a circle, 704, as the to-address or some similar symbols. The portable unit is in a standby mode during this stage of the step which is indicated by the "Please wait..." sign in the bottom of the screen. Regardless of this it is still possible to cancel the order by pressing the "Cancel order" button.

Figure 8 shows the next step in the process. This is after the taxis have returned an answer to the request sent by the customer. The process of answering the request form the customer and the steps the taxi driver has to go through are described later in regards to figures 10 - 17.

When the taxies have returned an answer to the request a screen appears on the portable unit containing information regarding how far the different taxies are from the pick - up destination, 801. Here it can be seen which taxi companies that has answered and how far they are from the pick-up location is shown in minutes. The customer can choose the taxi he or she wants to use by either pressing the icon or by manoeuvring up and down and press the "Select taxi" button 802. This finishes the select step of the ordering procedure.

Figure 9 shows the next step in the procedure, in this procedure the customer has chosen a taxi and it is possible for him or her to see where the taxi is and how long it is until it is at the pick-up destination. The Taxi is shown in the map on the portable device as e.g. a black square, 901. Further it is possible to see which route it will take, this appears e.g. as a dotted black line.

Further it is possible to see how long it is until the taxi is at the pick-up destination and how far it is to the destination from the pick-up site. This information is shown in minutes at the bottom of the screen, 902.

It is also possible to see which company the taxi belongs to and the registration mark of that particular taxi. All this information is shown in the bottom of the screen, 903.

As a further service it is possible to call that particular taxi by pressing the button called "Call Taxidriver", 904.

In figure 10 it is possible to follow the track the taxi, 1001, takes, which makes it possible to make sure that the taxi doesn't take a longer more expensive route.

Further it is also possible to see how many minutes it is to the end destination, 1001. It is also possible to exit this step by pushing the "Exit" button, 1002, if the tracking of the taxi is not necessary.

Figure 11 shows the last step in the procedure for the customer. In this step the customer have arrived at the destination and is ready to pay the fare. A window, 1101, appears on the customers screen with the information regarding how much it is to pay. It is possible to get further information in regards to the fare by pressing the "Detailed receipt" button 1102 on the screen.

If the fee is agreed upon the customer presses the "Confirm Payment" button, 1103 and the amount is charged to the account of choice, that being either a personal registered account, a business account, either instantly using a mobile payment solution or via an post paid invoice sent to the customer. This solution makes it possible for a person on a business trip to charge his or hers taxi expenses directly to the business without having to save all the receipts and report it later.

Taxi driver interface Figure 12 shows the login window for the driver of the taxi. Here it is possible to type in the username, 1205, belonging to the taxi permit and the password, 1206, in connection to it. If the needed information is typed in correctly the driver presses the "login" button, 1207, if a mishap occurred the driver can press the "clear" button to clear up all the typed in information in the two fields and start over. Further it is possible to register a permit owner by pressing the "register permit owner" button, 1202, or the owner can join an already existing permit by pressing the "join a permit" button, 1203. After pressing one of these two buttons the driver or the owner of the permit are guided to another screen (not shown) where it is possible to enter in all the necessary information that is needed to register or join a permit. The driver can choose any of the buttons by manoeuvring to the desired button and press the "select" button, 1201.

Further it is also possible to go back a by pressing the "Menu" button 1204.

After the driver has entered the username and the correct password and pressed the login button, he or she is guided to the screen shown in figure 13. In this mode the program is in pause mode shown by the information window, 1303. When the program is in this mode the taxi does not receive any queries from customers. This mode can be used if the driver e.g. has a lunch break or something similar.

If the driver wants to go out of this mode he or she can press the "exit pause" button, 1301 which brings him or her to the screen shown in figure 14. It is also possible to enter the menu of the program from this window. This is done by pressing the "Menu" button, 1302, by pressing the "Menu" button, 1302, the driver can get connection to e.g. the following choices: Logout, Pause mode, Edit taxi information, trip statistics, show current and expected demand and information regarding the program. In figure 14 it is shown the screen when the taxi is waiting for a booking. This is confirmed by the information window "waiting for booking", 1401. This information is further shown in the bottom of the screen, 1402, where it is stated that the taxi for the moment is in waiting mode. It is also possible here to enter the menu if this is desirable.

Figure 15 shows the screen where the request from the customer has been sent. The banner 1501 shows that a new customer has sent a request for a taxi, and how long the driver has to accept the request. Further it is possible to see where the taxi is at the moment. This is described in this embodiment of the invention as a black dot, 1502. Further the pick-up location of the customer is in this embodiment shown as a red dot, 1504, and the end destination of the customer is described as a green dot, 1505. The map further shows the easiest way of travelling to the different destinations by e.g. a black dotted line showing the way the taxi has to travel to pick up the customer and a red line that shows the way the taxi has to travel to the end destination. The taxi driver accepts the request for a taxi by pressing the button marked "Accept", 1503, which further shows the remainder of the time until the request expires.

Figure 16 shows the screen after the taxi driver has accepted the request from the customer and is on the way to pick him or her up. It is possible to see where the taxi is on the map at all times and how long it is until the taxi arrives at the pick-up destination. This information is displayed in the banner, 1601, in the top of the screen. The placement of the taxi is displayed by the black dot 1602.

Further it is possible to get information about the trip by pushing the button marked "Show Info" 1603. By pressing this button it is possible to get information e.g. about the destinations in question, if there is some special request involved with the trip and if it is a business trip or a private trip and e.g. the name of the customer.

Figure 17 shows the screen that appears after the driver has picked up the customer. Here it can be seen by the banner, 1701, how far it is to the end destination in minutes.

Further it can be seen that the symbol for the taxi itself on the map has changed from a black dot to a black square, 1702. This is to make it easier to distinguish which mode the program is in. This is further enhanced by the fact that the banners have different colours that make it easy to see the difference between them.

It is also possible in this mode to show the information regarding the trip by pressing the button "Show Info", 1603, shown in the bottom right hand of the screen. Figure 18 shows the screen displayed when the taxi has arrived at the requested end destination. As it can be seen by the banner, 1801, the localisation device e.g. a GPS has registered that the taxi, 1803, is in the close vicinity of the address and the taxi driver is encouraged to confirm this by pressing the "Confirm" button, 1802, in the bottom of the screen. When the taxi driver has pressed this button the cost for the trip is sent to the customer as shown in figure 11.

In figure 19, after the customer has accepted the amount, the driver gets the information from the banner, 1901, that the payment is confirmed and the driver has to press the "OK" button 1902 within a given time limit, in this embodiment shown in seconds next to the "OK button, for the entire trip to be completely finished. After this button has been pressed the program goes e.g. back to the screen shown in figure 14, waiting for another request for a taxi from a customer.

Taxi sharing features

A further embodiment of the present invention is taxi sharing services used by public services companies, businesses and private customers who needs to minimize costs of taxi services.

Taxi sharing services are can be multiple pick-up addresses with single drop-off address, such as in-advance patient taxi, in-advance or recurring school taxi, ad-hoc, in- advance or recurring business travel to work, events, etc. organized and ordered simultaneously, in-advance private trip organized and ordered simultaneously such as buddies planning to go to an event/outing.

Taxi sharing services are can also be single pick-up address with multiple drop-off addresses, such as in-advance patients taxi returns, in-advance or recurring school taxi returns, ad-hoc common travel when problems in public transportation, in-advance organization of private returns ordered simultaneously, ad-hoc, in-advance or recurring business travel back from work, events, etc.

Or it can be multiple pick-up addresses with multiple drop-off addresses, such as ad-hoc or in-advance single order to/from specific addresses in shared mode. Further the present invention opens for an easier way of using a discount system compared to the state of the art solutions. In these solutions the customer has a card that is connected to a discount. The customer has to physically use that card to get the discounts.

In the present invention it is possible to have discounts directly connected to the ID of the customer and are used automatically without the customer having to do anything extra.

In another embodiment of the invention it is possible to order the taxi on an information kiosk placed on e.g. an airport, a train station or similar. The information kiosk can be an unmanned, free-standing terminal which can be operated personally by the customer in regards to a set of instructions shown on the screen. Firstly there is an information page with a guide to the process of how to order a taxi. The customer starts the program and the information kiosk finds the closest taxies, the customer chooses which taxi he or she wants on the basis of e.g. vehicle distance, price of request, service ratings, reliability records and vehicle specifications. When the order has gone thru, the customer receives a ticket or similar which is printed out for the kiosk or sent on an

SMS which contains information regarding which taxi is coming, e.g. the number of the taxi, and a reference number of the order, how long it is until the taxi arrives and directions to where the taxi will pick up the customer.

The customer can either pay for this service directly at the information kiosk using either a card or another form for payment, or the price for the service at the kiosk can be included in the fare of the taxi. A preferred situation is that the customer has to pay a small deposit in case he or she decides not to use the taxi after all. This also prevents misuse of the system like deliberate wrong ordering of a taxi.

A further consequence of the present invention, which is enabling the customer to choose the most favourable taxi in real time, is that it is easier to create competition between the different taxi companies, one such solution is in the form of a market where not only the customers can place an order for a taxi either thru a call centre or thru the mobile system described above or thru the kiosk, but also a place where companies, travel agencies, hospitals or there like can place orders for deals on taxi fares and where different taxi companies can give bids on these orders.