Analyzing Household Vehicle Ownership in the Japanese Local City: Case Study in Toyota City

Abstract

This study aims to understand the crucial factors affecting vehicle ownership in the local city, Japan. 14,855 household sample data in Toyota City are used as the research sample. The sample data are extracted from the 5th Person Trip Survey data in the Chukyo region. First, the unknown annual income is complemented by using an ordered probit model. Then, a trivariate ordered probit model is utilized to analyze ownership of light motor vehicles, ordinary motor vehicles, and small trucks simultaneously. To estimate unknown parameters effectively and efficiently, one type of Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods called the Gibbs Sampler algorithm is applied in this study. The significant findings suggest the following: (1) the annual income only affects the ownership of ordinary motor vehicles; (2) a household with a 60-year-old or older householder is more likely to own small trucks, compared to that with a householder below the age of 60; (3) the population density negatively affects the number of light motor vehicles and that of small trucks; (4) there is a substitution effect of vehicle ownership between light motor vehicles and small trucks.