The rapid pace of motorization is presently being felt in Metro Manila region. With the increasing trend in the households' standard of living, the demand for private cars is expected to increase also. However, the limited supply of road space cannot keep pace with increasing demand. Therefore, it is necessary to manage the growth of car ownership and use in metropolitan areas. A basic understanding of individual and household attitudes towards car ownership and patterns of car usage would enable the formulation of effective policies and plans for managing car ownership and use. Knowledge of car ownership and car use paves the way for a better understanding of the people's behavior, which will greatly affect policy formulation and analysis in the future. The research is concerned with determining the various household characteristics, which influence the decision of the households to own a car. The household's decision is modeled as a binary choice incorporating the different household and individual characteristics as explanatroy variables. It also sought to describe and explore qualitatively the nature and factors influencing car use. The study used data taken from the Metro Manila Urban Transportation Integration Study (MMUTI) Home Interview Survey (HIS) database and a Focus Group Session. The research revealed taht the major factors affecting household decision to own a car are household income,age gender, and occupational type of household head. Car use is generally limited to serve activities of the household head and traffic congestion and the quality of service of alternative modes of travel influence car usage patterns.
