Evaluating Traveler Information Effects on Commercial and Noncommercial Users

Incidents often account for nearly half of traffic congestion in urban areas and add uncertainty to transportation networks. The costs of incident-induced congestion, often in the form of delays, are borne by motorists and commercial carriers or associated businesses. In fact, a higher burden is borne by commercial carriers, given their higher costs and value of time. Dynamic traveler information about incidents disseminated through electronic media can benefit users. The extent of benefits associated with dynamic traveler information and whether network delays increase or decline were explored when (a) travelers can observe incidents, (b) commercial truck percentages increase in traffic, (c) truck drivers divert to alternate routes in the same way motorists do, as opposed to having lower diversion rates, and (d) commercial trucks have a higher value of time compared with passenger vehicles. With a behavioral route diversion model, the movement of commercial trucks and passenger vehicles in a simple transportation network was simulated. The results show how dynamic traveler information may or may not benefit commercial and noncommercial users under different scenarios.