Google patents system allowing advertisers to pay for taxi rides to advertised location

Google has filed for a patent on an interesting transportation system. The system would allow advertisers to offer free or lower cost taxi rides to their location. The service would be usable by restaurants, shops, clubs, and other entertainment locations.

The patent covers "transportation-aware physical advertising conditions." It would link user habits, likes, and preferences along with location data gathered from mobile networks, GPS, and WiFi to let advertisers modify ads based on the user preferences.

The idea is to get customers to take advantage of more location-based offers. The patent covers a system that would be able to determine where the user is, the best route to take, and the best mode of transportation. The free or low cost travel to the location to take advantage of the local offers would be something that people on vacation would likely be interested in.

The patent also has a real time system in place that would allow the advertiser to compare the cost of getting a user to their location against the possible profits once the user is there. Google thinks that the system could be appealing to businesses that may not be located where the prime high traffic areas of a city are located. These off prime location businesses could still woo customers from the prime areas with free or discounted transportation.

SOURCE: CBR Online