Determinants of individual vehicle type choice and energy consumption in a heavy traffic metropolis of Southeast Asia featuring the case of Metro Manila

Sustained economic growth with insufficient public transport in metropolitan areas encourages private vehicle dependency, thereby increasing petroleum oil consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) production. One way to mitigate these issues is to encourage private vehicle users to own smaller fuel-efficient vehicles. This paper intends to explore determinants (i.e., socio-economic characteristics, travel behavior, vehicle attributes and purchasing conditions, vehicle and gas prices, and built environment characteristics) of individual vehicle type owners and energy consumption in Metro Manila. The data sample of 846 observations and a copula-based joint discrete-continuous framework were employed. The findings highlighted that individuals using bank auto loans are more likely to choose SUVs than cars, thereby consuming more energy. Furthermore, people located in high population density areas and those with road-based public transport line dense areas prefer cars to SUVs. An increase in gas and vehicle cost contributes to energy saving and discourages SUV dependency. The developed models were also applied for a “what-if” scenario analysis to quantify the competing options as an innovative perspective for crafting proactive transportation policies. Understanding the determinants of vehicle type ownership and energy consumption is the precursor of designing consistent transportation policies to mitigate petroleum oil consumption and mobile emissions.