Modeling the impact of on-line navigation devices in traffic flows

We consider a macroscopic multi-population traffic flow model on networks accounting for the presence of drivers (or autonomous vehicles) using navigation devices to minimize their instantaneous travel cost to destination. The strategic choices of each population differ in the degree of information about the system: while part of the agents knows only the structure of the network and minimizes the traveled distance, others are informed of the current traffic distribution, and can minimize their travel time avoiding the most congested areas. In particular, the different route choices are computed solving eikonal equations on the road network and they are implemented at road junctions. The impact on traffic flow efficiency is illustrated by numerical experiments. We show that, even if the use of routing devices contributes to alleviate congestion on the whole network, it also results in increased traffic on secondary roads. Moreover, the generalized use of real-time information can even deteriorate the efficiency of the network.