Patent ID: 7127411

Claim:
An improved transportation scheduling system for scheduling a plurality of trips T 1 –T n using a plurality of vehicles V 1 –V n , each of said plurality of vehicles having a trip manifest, said system comprising: (a) means for generating a useability matrix that determines which of said plurality of vehicles V 1 –V n , is useable with each of said plurality of trips T 1 –T n ; (b) means for determining a best trip of said plurality of trips T 1 –T n to be scheduled next; (c) means for determining a best vehicle from said plurality of vehicles V 1 –V n for accommodating said best trip; (d) means for determining a best insertion pair into said trip manifest of said best vehicle for said best trip and updating said trip manifest to include said best insertion pair; (e) means for updating said useability matrix to reflect the scheduling of said best trip on said best vehicle and removing said best trip from said plurality of trips T 1 –T n ; and (f) means for repeating steps (a)–(e) until all of the trips in said plurality of trips T 1 –T n have been scheduled.