Traffic congestion: Tolls
![](https://www.networkpages.nl/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/toll-booths.png)
One way to mitigate the consequences of drivers' selfish behavior, is by introducing tolls (or taxes) on certain parts of the road network. This is also known as road pricing.
A Santa Claus network
![](https://www.networkpages.nl/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/santa_claus_christmas_beard_celebration_december_festive_holding_holiday-1024x683.jpg)
Poor Santa has to travel all across the country to deliver all his presents. How does he do this?
Layered networks I: From manufacturing plants to queueing networks
![](https://www.networkpages.nl/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/FactoryLayoutShort-2-1024x456.jpg)
Manufacturing plants convert raw material into a final product. Think of cars, where the production line consists of a large number of phases to put all the different parts together into a working car. Big machines in such a plant perform the processing steps in different phases, which often have to be done in a specific order.
Traffic congestion: Pigou's example
![](https://www.networkpages.nl/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/FromCarsToFlow-1024x426.jpg)
In network congestion models, we make some simplifying assumptions that make our life easier. In a large-scale system, each individual driver contributes a tiny amount to congestion, if we assume that every car controls the same amount of traffic.
Congested Roads
![](https://www.networkpages.nl/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/traffic-jam-1.jpg)
Traffic jams are one of the biggest inconveniences in modern time. They lead to stressful situations for commuters, and cause huge economical and environmental damage. How could mathematics help?