Closing Roads, Increased Efficiency

http://features.csmonitor.com/environment/2008/10/06/does-closing-roads-cut-delays/

This article talks about real world examples of the discussion we had in class about adding more efficient routes actually decreasing the overall efficiency of the system. Through the use of google maps they saw by closing "faster" routes and forcing people to use the "slower" routes, traffic as a whole generally moved quicker. This is based on the concepts of Braess Paradox, defined in class as adding resources can actually make the Nash Equillibrium worse. They also consider in the article whether eliminating such things as traffic lights and the like would eventually help the flow of traffic. It is a very interesting way to consider things, because it goes against intuition to assume that more and better resources will hurt the overall system.

Your description sounded like they made it so Google Maps lied to its users so they could observe the results. Instead, they just used it for mapping.

If they could, however, get Google to run an experiment where they lie to the user in an attempt to maximize the social welfare, I wonder how well that would work. Since people don't generally use it for routes they take all the time, it may not be so helpful unless non routine driving trips are more common than the ones done everyday.

This is something we examined when I worked in Buffalo for Senator Chuck Schumer. There is a horrible horrible freeway in Buffalo right on the waterfront called Interstate 190 and it prevents public access to the lakefront. Many people are in favor of removing the freeway, but there is a strong contingent of people that use the freeway on a daily basis and so are very against its removal. Proponents of freeway removal cited studies like this one which argue that traffic efficiency on the whole increases when a major arterial is removed because the traffic is evenly distributed and absorbed amongst dozens of other options. It was something I had never considered before, but now, thanks to this class, makes absolutely perfect sense and strengthens my view that the freeway should be removed.

Then again, I don't use I-190 every day - maybe if I did I would have to be against the removal!

In Singapore, there is a road system of which major highways have gantries installed such that cars passing under the gantries have to pay for the road use. This was suppose to reduced highway usage, however, people chose to travel through other routes and resulting in heavy jams in other routes instead. Intervention does not always lead to better efficiency.