Citation

Knorr F, Chmura T, Schreckenberg M. Transp. Res. F Traffic Psychol. Behav. 2014; 27: 44-55.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.trf.2014.09.003

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Choosing a route is a complex task, especially since the roads' capacities are limited and road users non-cooperatively seek to optimize their own trip. This article present the results of three in-laboratory route choice experiments. In all experiments the participants had to choose repeatedly between a high-capacity toll-road and a toll-free main road. We investigate the role of pre-trip information on the resulting route usage dynamics. Besides the absence of a stable equilibrium point (Wardrop's User Equilibrium), we found that the participants improve their decisions over the course of time as a result of learning. Additional information appears only useful if only a limited number of participants possess such information. Moreover, we found gender-related differences in the observed road usage patterns: female participants were more likely to choose the toll road than male participants.