Comparing Alternative Route Planning Techniques: A Comparative User Study on Melbourne, Dhaka and Copenhagen Road Networks (Extended Abstract)

Computing multiple alternative routes from a source s to a target t has received significant research attention. However, it is unclear which of the existing approaches generates alternative routes of better quality because the quality of these alternatives is mostly subjective. Motivated by this, in this paper, we present a user study conducted on the road networks of Melbourne, Dhaka and Copenhagen comparing four of the most popular existing approaches including Google Maps. We report the average ratings received by the four approaches, and our statistical analysis shows that there is no credible evidence that the four approaches receive different ratings on average. We also discuss the limitations of this user study and recommend the readers interpret these results with caution.

Automated summary

This paper presents a user study comparing four popular approaches, including Google Maps, for generating alternative routes. The study reports average ratings received by these approaches, and finds no credible evidence of significant differences in the ratings. It also highlights the limitations of the study and cautions the interpretation of the results.