In the past few years, the traffic problems in Lynn McKell’s hometown have gotten worse. Now, Broad Street is congested about half the time. The normal travel time to work for Lynn is only 15 minutes when Broad Street is used and there is no congestion. With congestion, however, it takes Lynn 40 minutes to get to work. If Lynn decides to take the expressway, it will take 30 minutes regardless of the traffic conditions. Lynn’s utility for travel time is: U (15 minutes) = 0.9, U (30 minutes) = 0.7, and U (40 minutes) = 0.2.
(a) Which route will minimize Lynn’s expected travel time?
(b) Which route will maximize Lynn’s utility?
(c) When it comes to travel time, is Lynn a risk seeker or a risk avoider?