Role of Travel Time Information on Day-to-Day Route Choice Behavior Based on Real-World Experiments

It is widely believed that travel time information leads to reductions in traffic congestion and thereby improves network efficiency. An important research topic within travel behavior research is therefore how car drivers choose their routes, specifically when they receive travel time information. This research aims to obtain insights in the role of travel information on day-to-day route choice behavior using route choice data obtained from two real-world experiments. In the first experiment, individuals had to make five different trips for several days, choosing between two route alternatives. In the second experiment, individuals also received pre-trip travel time information. The analysis focuses on route switching and choice evolution at both the aggregated and disaggregated levels. At the aggregated level, it is found that switching propensity decreases more abruptly over time when information is provided. Overall, 67% of the switches are made in compliance with this information. Furthermore, information seems to be most influential if route alternatives have similar travel times. At the disaggregated level, six individual choice evolution profiles are identified, varying from switch-aversive to switch-sensitive behavior. An individual might reveal different profiles on the different origin and destination (OD)-pairs. When no travel time information is provided, shifts in revealed profiles from one OD-pair to another vary significantly among individuals. These shifts are more ‘bundled’ in response to travel time information. These results provide a deeper understanding of the role of travel time information on real- world route choice behavior. This is helpful when applying travel time information as an effective travel demand management measure.