International Business Machines Corporation

Naveen Lamba

Rick A Hamilton, Ii

James W Seaman

Colin Fung Wan Lim

Vinodh K Swaminathan

Brian M O'Connell

Gary Paul Noble

Colin George Harrison

Benjamin G Morris

Duncan A Ashby

Mathieu Joseph Robert Glachant

A client-side on-board computing device is partitioned into a trusted computing module, and a private computing platform. When a metric report is required, the private computing platform retrieves an original data file and transfers the original data file to the trusted computing module. The original data file includes a global positioning system coordinate stream and time information. Communication between the private computing platform and the trusted computing module is via an unencrypted serial link. The private computing platform applies at least one billing algorithm to the original data file to determine a billing charge. The private computer platform signs and hashes the billing charge using a private key of a public-private endorsement key pair to create a signed metric report. The private computer platform forwards the signed metric report to the trusted computing module via the unencrypted serial link. The trusted computing module then forwards the signed metric report by the trusted computing module to a billing authority.

Vehicle usage-based tolling privacy protection architecture

Methods, including service methods, articles of manufacture, systems, articles and programmable devices are provided for randomly setting a travel fee. A usage attribute of vehicle traffic travelling upon a toll thoroughfare is observed and compared to a threshold. As a function of comparing the attribute to the threshold, a plurality of different toll rates are randomly assigned to each of a plurality of vehicles, each of the vehicles either travelling upon the toll thoroughfare or potentially entering the toll thoroughfare. An occupant of a vehicle is notified of a toll rate randomly assigned, and fees or credits associated with travel by the occupant's vehicle are charged (levied or awarded) at the randomly assigned toll rate.

Random and deterministic travel fees

Methods, including service methods, articles of manufacture, systems, articles and programmable devices are provided for charging travel fees or awarding benefits as a function of vehicle occupancy. Variable travel fee schedules include a plurality of different rate values, each rate value associated with ride-sharing service points of a vehicle infrastructure and vehicle occupancy counts. Occupants within a vehicle traveling via a vehicle infrastructure are counted, the counting generating discrete occupant counts correlated with the ride-sharing service points. Subsets of variable travel fee schedule rate values are selected as a function of association with discrete occupant counts and correlated ride-sharing service points. Owners, occupants or other parties associated with the vehicle are accordingly charged a travel fee or awarded a benefit as a function of the rate value subset and an amount of the vehicle traveling.

Variable rate travel fee based upon vehicle occupancy

Methods, including service methods, articles of manufacture, systems, articles and programmable devices are provided for charging a travel fee as a function of an ease of access to a travel option. A plurality of travel options is provided and ranked as a function of different environmental-friendliness values. Each of a plurality of different rates are set for each of the travel options, the rates set progressively lower as a function of a ranking of the travel option environmental-friendliness values. In response to a traveler selecting and using one of the travel options, an ease of access of the traveler to the selected travel option is determined and a travel fee charged as a function of the rate set for the selected travel option and the determined ease of access of the traveler to the selected travel option.

Travel fee rate setting based upon travel mode and convenience

Variable thoroughfare toll rates are applied in anticipation of an event impacting traffic flow. An event occurrence is identified and determined to cause a change in a normal traffic flow amount on an impacted section of a thoroughfare. A traveler is notified of the impacted section of the thoroughfare in association with an impacted section-choice toll rate, a bypass choice in association with a bypass-choice toll rate, and a future time period duration for an application of the bypass-choice and impacted section-choice rates. A notified traveler is charged a toll for using the thoroughfare as a function of the bypass-choice rate in response to choosing to travel upon the presented bypass choice, or as a function of an impacted section-choice toll rate in response choosing to travel upon the presented impacted section choice.

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Haymarket, VA, United States of America

Naveen Lamba