Network system for multi-leg transport

Abstract

A multi-leg transport system receives a transport request and determines a number of transfer locations between the origin location and the destination. The system selects a first provider to transport the user from the origin location to a transfer location and remotely monitors the position of the user as the user travels to the transfer location. In response to determining that the travel time to the transfer location is within a threshold, the system selects a second provider to transport the user from the transfer location to either the next transfer location or the destination for the transport request.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A network computer system for managing an on-demand transport service, comprising:
 one or more processors; and   a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the network computer system to perform operations comprising:
 receiving, over one or more networks, data corresponding to a transport request from a device of a user, the transport request including an origin location in a first geographic region and a destination in a second geographic region; 
 determining a plurality of transfer locations for the transport request, including a first transfer location and a second transfer location between the origin location and the destination for the transport request; 
 selecting, from one or more candidate providers, a first provider to transport the user from the origin location to the first transfer location where the user boards a second transportation vehicle that travels between the first transfer location and the second transfer location along a second route; 
 remotely monitoring position data for the user or the second transportation vehicle as the user travels along the second route to the second transfer location; 
 determining a second travel time on the second route to the second transfer location based on the position data; and 
 in response to determining that the second travel time is within a second threshold amount of time, selecting a third provider to transport the user from the second transfer location to the destination for the transport request. 
   
     
     
         2 . The network computer system of  claim 1 , wherein determining the second travel time includes querying one or more mapping resources to determine a distance between the position of the user and the second transfer location. 
     
     
         3 . The network computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the second travel time is an estimated time to arrival at the second transfer location. 
     
     
         4 . The network computer system of  claim 1 , wherein selecting the third provider to transport the user includes arranging for the third provider to rendezvous with the user at the second transfer location. 
     
     
         5 . The network computer system of  claim 1 , wherein a number of transfer locations is chosen by the user as part of the transport request. 
     
     
         6 . The network computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of transfer locations are determined based on at least one of a distance between the origin location and the destination, an estimated travel time between the origin location and the destination, costs for the transport request, or supply provisioning data for the on-demand transport service for the first geographic region and the second geographic region. 
     
     
         7 . The network computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the device is equipped with a location-based resource, and the position of the user is remotely monitored through a service application running on the device that accesses the location-based resource. 
     
     
         8 . The network computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the position of the user is remotely monitored by monitoring the position of a vehicle of the respective provider transporting the user. 
     
     
         9 . The network computer system of  claim 1 , wherein selecting the first provider includes communicating data corresponding to the user, the origin location, and the first transfer location to a computing device of the first provider. 
     
     
         10 . The network computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the transfer locations, including the first transfer location and the second transfer location, are selected based at least on real-time data indicative of supply and demand for the on-demand transport service in each of the geographic regions or sub-regions. 
     
     
         11 . A network computer system for managing an on-demand transport service, comprising:
 one or more processors; and   a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the network computer system to perform operations comprising:
 receiving, over one or more networks, data corresponding to a transport request from a device of a user, the transport request including an origin location in a first geographic region and a destination in a second geographic region; 
 determining a plurality of route options between the origin location and the destination, the plurality of route options including at least one multi-leg trip option; 
 transmitting the plurality of route options to the device to be presented to the user; and 
 receiving a selection of one of the plurality of route options from the device. 
   
     
     
         12 . The network computer system of  claim 11 , wherein the multi-leg trip option specifies a plurality of transfer locations between the origin location and the destination for the transport request, the plurality of transfer locations including a first transfer location and a second transfer location. 
     
     
         13 . The network computer system of  claim 12 , wherein the memory stores further instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the network computer system to perform operations comprising:
 in response to receiving the selection of the multi-leg trip option, selecting, from one or more candidate providers, a first provider to transport the user from the origin location to the first transfer location where the user boards a second transportation vehicle that travels between the first transfer location and the second transfer location.   
     
     
         14 . The network computer system of  claim 13 , wherein the memory stores further instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the network computer system to perform operations comprising:
 remotely monitoring position data for the user or the second transportation vehicle as the user travels to the second transfer location;   determining a second travel time to the second transfer location based on the position data; and   in response to determining that the second travel time is within a second threshold amount of time, selecting a third provider to transport the user from the second transfer location to the destination for the transport request.   
     
     
         15 . The network computer system of  claim 11 , wherein determining the plurality of route options includes determining a distance and/or time between the origin location and the destination of the transport request and generating the multi-leg trip option upon determining that either the distance or the time exceeds a threshold limit. 
     
     
         16 . The network computer system of  claim 11 , wherein the memory stores further instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the network computer system to perform operations comprising:
 estimating costs for each of the plurality of route options; and   transmitting the costs to the device to be displayed with the plurality of route options.   
     
     
         17 . The network computer system of  claim 11 , wherein determining the plurality of route options includes taking into account user preferences from a service requester profile for the user, the user preferences including a maximum number of transfers the user will accept, whether the user prefers lower total cost trips or faster trips, or any time or cost limits for trips. 
     
     
         18 . The network computer system of  claim 11 , wherein the transport request does not specify that the transport request is for a multi-leg trip.