Thinking about travel time as a more effective measure of distance, this animation shows how highway congestion affects travel times from Utrecht to other major Dutch cities. Distances are replaced by average travel times for each traject, based on 2005 data provided by the client.
From Monday 00:00 to Friday 23:50, the animation reveals the changing shape of the network: expanding in different directions during rush hours, then contracting back to its original form at night.
Travel times animation during a work week.
Monday versus Friday congestion
In this animation travel times during Monday (blue) and Friday (green) are compared.
It is easy to see that in the morning, Monday’s congestion is much higher than Friday’s. In the afternoon, Friday’s congestion starts earlier than on Monday and it is also much higher.