If you ignore your 'assigned' commute time and just drive whenever, you might actually be helping the whole city get to work faster.
We usually assume traffic reservation systems require total compliance to function. This mathematical model shows that 'noncompliant' drivers can improve overall system performance in extreme scenarios by inadvertently smoothing out traffic peaks in ways the planners didn't anticipate.
Reservation scheme for congestion management during morning commute: Considering noncompliance
SSRN · 6471165
Noncompliance --- the failure of commuters to travel within their reserved time interval --- poses a fundamental challenge to reservation-based travel demand management (TDM) schemes that rely on precise supply--demand matching. We develop an analytical framework for a reservation scheme that systematically conceptualizes and incorporates noncompliance into both scheme design and equilibrium analysis. The authority divides the morning peak into a shoulder--central--shoulder interval structure an