Patent ID: 6850898

Claim:
A method for allocating electric vehicles, comprising the steps of: sensing charge levels and location of the vehicles; transmitting the charge levels and vehicle location information to a computer system at a central station; tracking the charge levels and the vehicle location information at the computer system; processing at the computer system the vehicle location information for a vehicle due to arrive at a port to provide an estimated arrival time of the vehicle at the port; defining a vehicle search group for each port including vehicles at the port, vehicles having estimated arrival times at the port within a predetermined time interval, and including into the vehicle search group of a port vehicles that are located at a charging facility at the port and have ha a charging time period due to expire within a predefined time period; having a user enter an expected distance of an intended trip; selecting a group of vehicles from the vehicle search group in response to vehicle charge levels and based on the vehicle location information, each vehicle having a charge level adequate for the expected distance of the intended trip; and allocating to a user a vehicle having a highest level of charge in the selected group.