Simulation Modelling: Recurrent Congestion

In Chapter 4, a theoretical framework was proposed, in which the impact of information provision and road-pricing could be analysed. Chapters 5 to 10 explored this framework in various directions. In these chapters it was assumed in the static model that some of the road users (theinformed ones) are perfectly aware of the stochastic traffic conditions, while others (the uninformed ones) are unaware of actual traffic conditions, and base their decision-making on expected network conditions. Furthermore, it was assumed that all decision-makers are behaving rationally, that is, maximising some utility measure. In Chapters 11 and 12, a couple of distinct characteristics of decision-making in transport networks is acknowledged that were not taken into account in the models in the previous chapters. First, decision-making is dynamic rather than static, dynamic in the sense that road users generally take travel decisions from day-to-day. Second, the assumption of perfect rationality of road users might be questioned. In the psychology literature, alternative decision-making models have been proposed that might provide a more realistic representation of the actual traveller’s choice process.