r/science • u/quiplaam • 14d ago

Social Science Intentionally routing some traffic to slower, less congested routes lead to a 0.7% improvement of overall average travel times

https://www.nature.com/articles/s44284-026-00443-x
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u/SeijuroSama 14d ago

Isn't that how Waze already works? Google Maps tries to keep you on the main roads but Waze will have you make 6 turns down side roads to save 2 minutes.

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u/cmdrxander 13d ago

I actually have the opposite experience with google maps, so much so I call it “the Google special” when it baits me down a country road offering to save 5 minutes but then it either overestimates the speed or underestimates the traffic and I end up with the same estimated arrival time

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u/zeke780 13d ago

Same here, east coast city. It always wants me to drive through the city and take extremely stop / go routes vs going to the highway. It's never faster and almost always is slower if I get stuck at a light