Drivers’ compliance with social route recommendations: Stated intentions vs actual behaviour

In order to understand and explain the driver’s route choice behaviour under social routing recommendations, namely recommendations aimed at achieving system-level goals, this paper investigates the records obtained from an experiment involving a mobile navigation app that combines route choices stated by drivers before trips (stated intentions) with their actual behaviour during the trips. We compare the driver’s stated intentions and actual behaviour, examining how the possibility of diversion from the stated choice may help to predict the actual compliance rate. Furthermore, we analyse the factors affecting social routing behaviour and show that drivers’ route choice before starting the trip, the probability to deviate from the chosen route, and the actual compliance, depend on time sacrifice, sociodemographic factors, and certain driving habits.