  We present a comparative study of the application of a recently introduced
heuristic algorithm to the optimization of transport on three major types of
complex networks. The algorithm balances network traffic iteratively by
minimizing the maximum node betweenness with as little path lengthening as
possible. We show that by using this optimal routing, a network can sustain
significantly higher traffic without jamming than in the case of shortest path
routing. A formula is proved that allows quick computation of the average
number of hops along the path and of the average travel times once the
betweennesses of the nodes are computed. Using this formula, we show that
routing optimization preserves the small-world character exhibited by networks
under shortest path routing, and that it significantly reduces the average
travel time on congested networks with only a negligible increase in the
average travel time at low loads. Finally, we study the correlation between the
weights of the links in the case of optimal routing and the betweennesses of
the nodes connected by them.
