AN INDIRECT UTILITY MODEL OF CAR OWNERSHIP AND PRIVATE CARE USE

In this paper a model is developed for the simultaneous determination of private car ownership and private car use, measured as the annual number of kilometers. This model is a micro-economic utility model, in which the fixed and variable car costs enter through the budget restriction. This allows us to do micro-simulations of increasing those costs, which is a policy issue in the Netherlands. It turns out that in this model both fixed and variable car costs are effective measures for reducing traffic (growth), the former working primarily through decreasing car ownership levels, the latter having a more direct effect on car use. © 1990.