The interaction between departure time and route switching in response to experienced congestion in a traffic commuting system is investigated using an experimental approach in which actual commuters interact over a period of seven weeks in a simulated commuting system. This experiment extends previous observational work along this line by incorporating the route choice dimension, which is essential to an understanding of user choice dynamics in congested urban systems. Another important feature of this experiment is the consideration of two groups of commuters with different information availability levels interacting in the same system, thereby allowing the analysis of the effect of information on user behaviour and performance. The implications of the findings for the design of information-related strategies for the relief of congestion in urban networks are also discussed. This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1203, Demand Forecasting and Trip Generation-Route Choice Dynamics.
Abstract