Use and impacts of travel time information in Finland

The objective of the study was to investigate the use and impacts of travel time information in Finland, especially in the largest cities. The information was collected by internet survey during May 2013. A representative sample of 1018 drivers responded the questionnaire. The most important motivation to acquire travel time information was to be able to optimize the route choice. In addition, drivers were interested in the reasons for the delays in traffic. Travel time information was estimated to have greatest impacts on the timing of the trip and the route choice. In addition, it was reported to affect travel comfort. The most common sources of travel time related information were still radio and various VMSs, however, the use of personal devices and hence applications providing real-time traffic information have increased during the past few years, and those newer sources were considered as important as the more traditional ones by those who used them. The users also estimated travel time information quite valuable for them, especially on longer trips and in capital area.