The problem isn't that people choose routes that are strictly non-optimal, it's that they choose routes that are optimal for them - essentially using a greedy a

The problem isn't that people choose routes that are strictly non-optimal, it's that they choose routes that are optimal for them - essentially using a greedy algorithm to choose routes. This is why closing roads can actually improve traffic in certain scenarios. Google Maps won't solve this, unless it starts suggesting routes that are optimal for the network instead of the individual, which is unlikely as they cater to individual drivers. Truly optimal traffic would require central route planning of some sort.