Patent ID: 8688532
Filing Date: 2014-04-01
Classification: G01C,G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method of organizing the sharing of vehicle trips, the steps comprising: (a) receiving a ride request at a central facility via a communications network from one or more riders, wherein the ride request includes a rider location and a rider destination; (b) identifying a beginning waypoint and an ending waypoint usable by global positioning system (GPS) receivers or GPS maps for vehicle travel, wherein at least one of the waypoints is obtained by a vehicle after the actuation of a vehicle device; (c) determining a vehicle route based on the beginning and ending waypoints using a telematics unit or a computer having computing resources; (d) choosing a rider whose rider location or rider destination is geographically closest to the determined vehicle route using the telematics unit or the computer; (e) accessing the criminal history, credit history, or both for the driver, the rider, or both using databases accessible by the central facility; (f) if the accessed history is acceptable, transmitting the beginning and ending waypoints, a rider location, and a rider destination from a call center to the vehicle telematics unit over a wireless carrier system; (g) presenting the rider location and rider destination of the chosen rider to the driver via an in-vehicle display or a vehicle audio system; and (h) if the driver accepts, sending a notification from a vehicle telematics unit via the communications network to the chosen rider alerting the chosen rider of the acceptance.