USDOT Region V Regional University Transportation Center

The NEXTRANS Center, a Region V Regional University Transportation Center headquartered at Purdue University, and NAVTEQ will collaborate on research of mutual interest.

NEXTRANS is conducting a study on quantifying the benefits of real-time traffic information systems which will use NAVTEQ's map and traffic data source. The study seeks to understand route choice behavior of commuters under real-time information provision. This research will bridge the key gap in terms of adequately understanding the role of human behavior in real-world contexts by conducting field tests. This is because traveler response to the real-time information provided is a fundamental determinant of the evolution of the traffic system and benefits thereof. We seek to address this issue by conducting field experiments in which the role of human behavior is analyzed through careful experiment design to understand the potential benefits of real-time information to travelers. It is imperative to have reliable traffic data and GIS maps to conduct such experiments and this is where collaboration with NAVTEQ proves valuable to the study.

NAVTEQ will provide the map database, live traffic data feed and historical traffic pattern data for Indiana as well as related technical help for the experiments. In summary, the ability to explicitly quantify the human behavior dimension provides a broader set of parameters to private sector entities like NAVTEQ relative to the evolution of the travel information market