Method and System for Managing Vehicle Travel

Abstract

Methods and systems for facilitating efficient travel management are disclosed. Exemplary embodiments comprise a processor configured to make selections from among a plurality of vehicle travel modes based on a vehicle travel mode selection rule using, at least in part, received travel plan information. In a preferred embodiment, this selection can be based on any of a number of factors, including monetary costs and carbon emissions associated with different vehicle travel mode options.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for managing vehicle travel, the system comprising:
 a processor configured execute a travel management software application, the travel management software application configured to:
 receive vehicle travel plan data that represents a plan for a user to travel by vehicle; 
 determine a distance for the vehicle travel plan based at least in part on the received vehicle travel plan data; 
 retrieve vehicle travel mode data for a plurality of vehicle travel modes based at least in part on the received vehicle travel plan data; 
 process the received vehicle travel plan data based at least in part on (i) the determined distance and (ii) the retrieved vehicle travel mode data to thereby compute a plurality of data values for a plurality of parameters, each parameter data value being associated with a vehicle travel mode; and 
 based on the processing operation, including the computed parameter data values, select a vehicle travel mode, from among a plurality of vehicle travel modes, that satisfies (i) the vehicle travel plan and (ii) a vehicle travel mode selection rule, wherein the vehicle travel mode selection rule comprises a weighted function having a monetary cost component and at least one other component; and 
   wherein the vehicle travel modes comprise at least two members of the group consisting of a rental vehicle travel mode, a fleet vehicle travel mode and a reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the vehicle travel modes comprise a fleet travel mode and a reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode, and wherein the travel management software application is further configured to:
 retrieve fleet vehicle travel mode data for a fleet vehicle travel mode option that satisfies the vehicle travel plan based at least in part on the received vehicle travel plan data; 
 retrieve reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode data for a reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode option that satisfies the vehicle travel plan based at least in part on the received vehicle travel plan data; 
 compute a monetary cost for the fleet vehicle travel mode option based on the vehicle travel plan data and the retrieved fleet vehicle travel mode data; 
 compute a data value for the another parameter for the fleet vehicle travel mode option based on the vehicle travel plan data and the retrieved fleet vehicle travel mode data; 
 compute a normalized cost for the fleet vehicle travel mode option as a weighted combination of the computed monetary cost and the computed another parameter data value for the fleet vehicle travel mode option; 
 compute a monetary cost for the reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode option based on the vehicle travel plan data, the determined distance, and the retrieved reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode data; 
 compute a data value for the another parameter for the reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode option based on the vehicle travel plan data and the retrieved reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode data; 
 compute a normalized cost for the reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode option as a weighted combination of the computed monetary cost and the computed another parameter data value for the reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode option; and 
 make a selection as between the fleet vehicle travel mode option and the reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode option according to the vehicle travel mode selection rule based on the computed normalized costs for the fleet and reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode options. 
 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2  further comprising:
 a memory for access by the processor, the memory configured to store a plurality of data structures that comprise data about a plurality of reimbursable personal vehicles for a plurality of users, the data including data related to the another parameter and reimbursement rate data for the reimbursable personal vehicles; and 
 wherein the travel management software application is further configured to (1) access the memory to retrieve the data related to the another parameter and reimbursement rate data for the reimbursable personal vehicle of the user, (2) compute the monetary cost for the reimbursable personal vehicle mode option based on the vehicle travel plan data, the determined distance, and the retrieved reimbursement rate data, and (3) compute the another parameter data value for the reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode option based on the vehicle travel plan data and the retrieved data related to the another parameter. 
 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3  wherein the memory is further configured to store a data value representative of a sunk cost associated with the fleet vehicle travel mode option; and
 wherein the travel management software application is further configured to (1) access the memory to retrieve the sunk cost data value, and (2) compute the monetary cost for the fleet vehicle travel mode option based at least in part on the retrieved sunk cost data value. 
 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 2  wherein the memory is further configured to store a data value representative of a sunk cost associated with the fleet vehicle travel mode option; and
 wherein the travel management software application is further configured to (1) access the memory to retrieve the sunk cost data value, and (2) compute the monetary cost for the fleet vehicle travel mode option based at least in part on the retrieved sunk cost data value. 
 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 2  wherein the vehicle travel plan data comprises an origin and a destination, wherein the fleet vehicle travel mode option corresponds to travel via a fleet vehicle from the origin to the destination in accordance with the vehicle travel plan, and wherein the reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode option corresponds to travel by a reimbursable personal vehicle from the origin to the destination in accordance with the vehicle travel plan. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6  wherein the travel management software application is further configured to receive the vehicle travel plan data as input from a user. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7  further comprising:
 a memory for access by the processor, wherein the memory is configured to store a user profile associated with the user; and 
 wherein the travel management software application is further configured to retrieve at least a portion of the vehicle travel mode data from the user profile. 
 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8  wherein the user profile is configured to store data representative of the reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode option for the user. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the processor is further configured to execute a calendar software application, and wherein the processor is further configured to execute the travel management software application in response to input received from a user through the calendar software application such that the travel management software application receives the vehicle travel plan data in response to user input via a graphical user interface accessed through the calendar software application. 
     
     
         11 . A method for managing vehicle travel, the method comprising:
 receiving vehicle travel plan data that represents a plan for a user to travel by vehicle;   determining a distance for the vehicle travel plan based at least in part on the received vehicle travel plan data;   retrieving, from a memory, vehicle travel mode data for a plurality of vehicle travel modes based at least in part on the received vehicle travel plan data;   processing the received vehicle travel plan data based at least in part on (i) the determined distance and (ii) the retrieved vehicle travel mode data to thereby compute a plurality of data values for a plurality of parameters, each parameter data value being associated with a vehicle travel mode; and   based on the processing, including the computed parameter data values, selecting a vehicle travel mode, from among a plurality of vehicle travel modes, that satisfies (i) the vehicle travel plan and (ii) a vehicle travel mode selection rule, wherein the vehicle travel mode selection rule comprises a weighted function having a monetary cost component and at least one other component;   wherein the vehicle travel modes comprise at least two members of the group consisting of a rental vehicle travel mode, a fleet vehicle travel mode and a reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode; and   wherein the method steps are performed by a processor.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the vehicle travel modes comprise a fleet travel mode and a reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode;
 wherein the retrieving step comprises:
 the processor retrieving fleet vehicle travel mode data for a fleet vehicle travel mode option that satisfies the vehicle travel plan based at least in part on the received vehicle travel plan data; and 
 the processor retrieving reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode data for a reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode option that satisfies the vehicle travel plan based at least in part on the received vehicle travel plan data; 
 
 wherein the processing step comprises:
 the processor computing a monetary cost for the fleet vehicle travel mode option based on the vehicle travel plan data and the retrieved fleet vehicle travel mode data; 
 the processor computing a data value for the another parameter for the fleet vehicle travel mode option based on the vehicle travel plan data and the retrieved fleet vehicle travel mode data; 
 the processor computing a normalized cost for the fleet vehicle travel mode option as a weighted combination of the computed monetary cost and the computed another parameter data value for the fleet vehicle travel mode option; 
 the processor computing a monetary cost for the reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode option based on the vehicle travel plan data, the determined distance, and the retrieved reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode data; 
 the processor computing a data value for the another parameter for the reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode option based on the vehicle travel plan data and the retrieved reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode data; and 
 the processor computing a normalized cost for the reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode option as a weighted combination of the computed monetary cost and the computed another parameter data value for the reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode option; and 
 
 wherein the selecting step comprises:
 the processor making a selection as between the fleet vehicle travel mode option and the reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode option according to the vehicle travel mode selection rule based on the computed normalized costs for the fleet and reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode options. 
 
 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12  further comprising:
 the memory storing a plurality of data structures, wherein the data structures comprise data about a plurality of reimbursable personal vehicles for a plurality of users, the data including data related to the another parameter and reimbursement rate data for the reimbursable personal vehicles; and 
 wherein the step of retrieving reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode data comprises the processor accessing the memory to retrieve the data related to the another parameter and reimbursement rate data for the reimbursable personal vehicle of the user; and 
 wherein the step of computing the monetary cost for the reimbursable personal vehicle mode option comprises the processor computing the monetary cost for the reimbursable personal vehicle mode option based on the vehicle travel plan data, the determined distance, and the retrieved reimbursement rate data; and 
 wherein the step of computing the another parameter data value for the reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode option comprises the processor computing the another parameter data value for the reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode option based on the vehicle travel plan data and the retrieved data related to the another parameter. 
 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  further comprising:
 the memory storing a data value representative of a sunk cost associated with the fleet vehicle travel mode option; and 
 wherein the step of retrieving fleet vehicle travel mode data comprises the processor accessing the memory to retrieve the sunk cost data value; and 
 wherein the step of computing the monetary cost for the fleet vehicle mode option comprises the processor computing the monetary cost for the fleet vehicle travel mode option based at least in part on the retrieved sunk cost data value. 
 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12  further comprising:
 the memory storing a data value representative of a sunk cost associated with the fleet vehicle travel mode option; and 
 wherein the step of retrieving fleet vehicle travel mode data comprises the processor accessing the memory to retrieve the sunk cost data value; and 
 wherein the step of computing the monetary cost for the fleet vehicle mode option comprises the processor computing the monetary cost for the fleet vehicle travel mode option based at least in part on the retrieved sunk cost data value. 
 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12  wherein the vehicle travel plan data comprises an origin and a destination, wherein the fleet vehicle travel mode option corresponds to travel via a fleet vehicle from the origin to the destination in accordance with the vehicle travel plan, and wherein the reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode option corresponds to travel by a reimbursable personal vehicle from the origin to the destination in accordance with the vehicle travel plan. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16  wherein the receiving step further comprises the processor receiving the vehicle travel plan data as input from a user. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17  further comprising:
 the memory storing a user profile associated with the user; and 
 wherein the vehicle travel mode data retrieving step comprises the processor retrieving at least a portion of the vehicle travel mode data from the user profile. 
 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  wherein the user profile stores data representative of the reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode option for the user. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 11  further comprising:
 the processor executing a calendar software application; and 
 the processor performing the receiving, determining, retrieving, processing, and selecting steps in response to input received from a user through the calendar software application such that the processor receives the vehicle travel plan data in response to user input via a graphical user interface accessed through the calendar software application. 
 
     
     
         21 . A method for managing vehicle travel comprising:
 receiving a destination, date, start time and end time as vehicle travel plan data for a vehicle travel plan;   determining a plurality of data values indicative of how a plurality of parameters are affected by the vehicle travel plan data with respect to a plurality of different vehicle travel modes, the vehicle travel modes comprising at least two selected from the group consisting of a rental vehicle travel mode, a reimbursable personal vehicle travel mode and a fleet vehicle travel mode;   comparing the determined data values for the different vehicle travel modes; and   selecting a vehicle travel mode from among the plurality of vehicle travel modes based on the comparing step using a vehicle travel mode selection rule; and   wherein the receiving, determining, comparing and selecting steps are performed by a processor.