Mitigating surge pricing in ridesharing services
AssigneeRideSage Inc.
InventorsPaul Lo, Andrew Tsukahira, Henry Vogel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Some embodiments are directed to a server component providing to a client device information which a traveler may use to determine when various ridesharing services have surge pricing in effect for a ride, enabling the traveler to mitigate the effect of surge pricing on the price of the ride. Some embodiments are directed to a server component causing one or more ridesharing services to be passively monitored, and automatically notifying a traveler when surge pricing for a ride is discontinued, so that a traveler need not check and re-check with the ridesharing service(s).
Claims10
A computing system, comprising:
- at least one server component, coupled to at least one communications network, the at least one server component being programmed to:
- receive a request for a ride via the at least one communications network, from a client device associated with a traveler;
- in response to receiving the request, identify one or more candidate ridesharing services to provide the ride;
- determine whether each of the one or more candidate ridesharing services then has surge pricing in effect for the ride;
- in response to determining that at least one candidate ridesharing service then has surge pricing in effect for the ride, send to the client device via the at least one communications network an indication that the at least one candidate ridesharing service then has surge pricing in effect for the ride;
- receive from the client device via the at least one communications network a selection of a candidate ridesharing service from the at least one candidate ridesharing service to provide the ride;
- and
- send a request for the ride via the at least one communications network to the selected ridesharing service.
A computing system, comprising:
- at least one server component, coupled to at least one communications network, the at least one server component being programmed to:
- receive a request, for a ride, via the at least one communications network, from a client device associated with a traveler;
- in response to receiving the request, identify a plurality of candidate ridesharing services for the ride, and determine whether each of the plurality of candidate ridesharing services then has surge pricing in effect for the ride;
- in response to determining that at least one candidate ridesharing service then has surge pricing in effect for the ride, cause each at least one candidate ridesharing service to be periodically queried to determine when each at least one candidate ridesharing service discontinues surge pricing for the ride;
- send to the client device, via the at least one communications network, an indication that a particular candidate ridesharing service has discontinued surge pricing for the ride;
- and
- send a request for the ride via the at least one communications network to the particular candidate ridesharing service.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.