PLoS ONE (Jan 2016)

Further We Travel the Faster We Go.

  • Levente Varga,
  • András Kovács,
  • Géza Tóth,
  • István Papp,
  • Zoltán Néda

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0148913
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 2
p. e0148913

Abstract

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The average travelling speed increases in a nontrivial manner with the travel distance. This leads to scaling-like relations on quite extended spatial scales, for all mobility modes taken together and also for a given mobility mode in part. We offer a wide range of experimental results, investigating and quantifying this universal effect and its measurable causes. The increasing travelling speed with the travel distance arises from the combined effects of: choosing the most appropriate travelling mode; the structure of the travel networks; the travel times lost in the main hubs, starting or target cities; and the speed limit of roads and vehicles.