State of the art: route choice decisions in transportation systems

Abstract

Route choice has traditionally been regarded as a fundamental decision-making process aimed at minimizing individual travel costs within transportation systems. However, increasing network complexity, heterogeneous user preferences, and the widespread use of advanced information technologies have transformed route choice into a multidimensional problem closely associated with environmental sustainability, infrastructure efficiency, and overall social welfare. Consequently, route choice is no longer limited to time- or distance-based preferences but represents a dynamic decision-making process shaped by multiple interacting factors. Although the existing literature extensively examines economic costs, engineering constraints, environmental impacts, behavioral responses, investment considerations, and regulatory frameworks, these determinants are often analyzed in isolation. The absence of a comprehensive synthesis integrating these factors within a unified analytical perspective represents an important gap in the literature. Motivated by this limitation, this study provides a structured and interdisciplinary review that synthesizes the principal determinants influencing route choice decisions. The findings indicate that route choice cannot be explained solely by rational cost minimization. Instead, user heterogeneity, trust in information systems, environmental risks, and institutional mechanisms play a critical role in shaping route choice behavior. By consolidating fragmented findings into an integrated conceptual framework, this study provides a comprehensive reference for future research on behavioral modeling, eco-routing strategies, infrastructure investment evaluation, and evidence-based transportation policy design.