Driver’s Choice and System Outcomes in Congested Traffic Networks

Our study is investigating the effects of spatial orientation in the representative scenario of congested traffic in the Zurich metropolitan area. Each driver has planned his itinerary with the help of an off-the-shelf navigation device and sticks to his shortest route. The research question is: How much will the traffic situation improve if part of the drivers use real-time navigation information (such as may be available via smartphone)? Our experiments reveal differences in respect of the load on the road network and the mean daily travel times of the drivers. The key result is that all drivers benefit even when only part of them navigate by using current traffic information. Further results quantify the time savings that each of the two classes of drivers achieves, and also how the entirety of drivers benefit from certain shares of informed drivers.