Patent ID: 7478055

Claim:
A method of automatically conducting an auction for bidding on a location-specific service through at least one communication network, said method comprising: receiving, by an auction management system over a communication network, a bid request for bids on providing a service, the bid request being transmitted via a global positioning system (GPS)-enabled terminal and including at least positional information related to a geographic location for rendering of the service; executing, by the auction management system, an auction program that automatically solicits bids responsive to the bid request over a communication network; receiving, by the auction management system over a communication network, bids in response to the auction program, each bid including: positional information representing a current geographic location of a prospective service provider associated with that bid, the current geographic location being automatically determined via a GPS-enabled terminal; and current situational information specific to the prospective service provider, the current situational information including automatically-gathered information, other than the positional information, relevant for determining any potential delay associated with rendering of the service by the prospective service provider; and analyzing tbe bids, by the auction management system, to identify at least one favorable bid based on the positional information and on the current situational information of each bid, and identifying a group of at least one successful bidder associated with at least one of the at least one favorable bid.