An Analysis of Driver's Pre-trip and En-route Route Choice Behavior under Travel Time Information: Experimental Results

To enhance the efficiency of dynamic traffic information system, the mechanism for the driver's reviewing and revising his/her route in the middle of a trip, based on traffic condition and provided information, must be clarified. The aim of this research work is to analyze driver's en-route path switch behavior under the provision of travel time information by using laboratory-like experiment. The basic findings obtained in this study are as follows: 1) As a result of the provision of dynamic traffic information, the driver's route choice mechanism may change greatly, becoming less dependent on the travel result between origin and crossroads at which he/she reviews his/her route choice. 2) It is likely that the driver's route choice mechanism is influenced by the accuracy of provided information. In particular, a tendency has been observed that the route choice mechanism becomes strongly dependent on information if highly accurate information is provided continuously.