Hybrid route choice model incorporating latent cognitive effects of real-time travel information using physiological data

The proliferation of information systems is enabling drivers to receive en route real-time travel information, often from multiple sources, for making informed routing decisions. A robust understanding of route choice behavior under information provision can be leveraged by traffic operators to design information and its delivery systems for managing network-wide traffic. However, most existing route choice models lack the ability to consider the latent cognitive effects of information on drivers and their implications on route choice decisions. This paper presents a hybrid route choice modeling framework that incorporates the latent cognitive effects of real-time information and the effects of several explanatory variables that can be measured directly (i.e., route characteristics, information characteristics, driver attributes, and situational factors). The latent cognitive effects are estimated by analyzing drivers’ physiological data (i.e., brain electrical activity patterns) measured using an electroencephalogram (EEG). Data was collected for 95 participants in driving simulator experiments designed to elicit realistic route choices using a network-level setup featuring routes with different characteristics (in terms of travel time and driving environment complexity) and dynamic ambient traffic. Averaged EEG band powers in multiple brain regions were used to extract two latent cognitive variables that capture driver’s cognitive effort during and immediately after the information provision, and cognitive inattention before implementing the route choice decision. A Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes model was used to test the effects of several explanatory factors on the latent cognitive variables, and their combined impacts on route choice decisions. The study results highlight the significant effects of driver attributes and information characteristics on latent cognitive effort and of route characteristics on latent cognitive inattention. They also indicate that drivers who are more attentive and exert more cognitive effort are more likely to switch from their current route by complying with the information provided. The study insights can aid traffic operators and information service providers to incorporate human factors and cognitive aspects while devising strategies for designing and disseminating real-time travel information to influence drivers’ route choices.