Metering traffic flows for perimeter control through auction-based signalling using connected vehicles

Abstract

Urban traffic congestion remains a critical challenge in modern cities, with traffic signal control systems often struggling to manage congestion during peak travel times. Perimeter control of a Protected Network (PN) has emerged as a potential solution to reducing gridlock in urban networks. This paper proposes a novel auction-based mechanism for green time allocation at signalized intersections, for effective perimeter control application. Utilising a Sealed Bid, Second Price auction framework, our approach combines real-time traffic monitoring with market-inspired mechanisms to regulate vehicle inflows into PN areas. Unlike existing methods that focus primarily on gated links, our system allocates budgets to individual traffic movements, providing greater flexibility in managing multi-directional flows. We evaluate the proposed mechanism using a test case intersection with a single controlled inflow, comparing it against a volume-based fixed-time approach. The results demonstrate that our auction-based method controls flows into the PN with improved accuracy, outperforming the volume-based approach in terms of inflow regulation, queue management and delays. The framework can be applied in real time to any generic intersection, offering a scalable solution for urban traffic management. This work bridges the gap between perimeter control and market-based intersection auctions, providing a pathway for further research on adaptive traffic management systems.