Braess's Paradox

Adding a road to a network can increase travel time for every driver. 100 cars. Congestion roads: t(x) = x × 0.6 min. Fixed roads: t = 60 min.

Connector delay:
0 min
Nash Travel Time
90
min per driver (no connector)
Route Distribution
P1: Without connector — Nash equilibrium = 90 min. Each route: 50×0.6 + 60 = 90 ✓
P2: With zero-delay connector — Nash = 120 min. All 100 use S→A→B→T: 100×0.6 + 0 + 100×0.6 = 120 ✓