Almost
Three-Quarters Have Concerns About Public Transit
Toronto, September 25th – In a random sampling of public
opinion taken by The Forum Poll™ among 944 Toronto voters, almost
three-quarters (70%) say they have concerns about public transit in Toronto. A
third (30%) say they do not have any concerns about public transit.
Respondents who identify public transit as their primary mode of
transportation (78%) are more likely than others to have concerns.
Not enough subways, overcrowding the
biggest concerns
A third (31%) say not
enough subway lines is their biggest concern, with a similar proportion (29%)
saying that overcrowding is.
About one-sixth (13%) said
they are concerned about unreliable service.
1 in 10 (10%) identified
cost of fares as a concern, while the same amount (9%) identified something
else as their biggest concern.
Few (4%) identified not
enough bus routes or infrequent service (4%) as their biggest concern.
Second biggest concerns are similar to
the first
When asked what, if
anything, was their second biggest concern, the plurality (25%) said they had
no other concerns.
One-sixth identified their
biggest concern as overcrowding (17%), not enough subway lines (15%), or the
cost of fares (15%).
1 in 10 (12%) said
unreliable service was their second biggest concern, while a similar proportion
(7%) said infrequent service.
Few (5%) identified not
enough bus routes or something else (3%).
Satisfaction with the TTC unchanged
since July
Of those that have taken
the TTC within the past month, about three-quarters (TOP3: 76%) say they are
satisfied with the TTC, similar to July (July 25: TOP3: 73%).
About one-quarter (BTM3:
24%) said they are dissatisfied with the TTC, unchanged from July (July 25:
BTM3: 26%).
Almost no one said they do not know (0%).
Satisfaction with GO very high
Of those that have taken GO
within the past month, about 9 in 10 (88%) say they are satisfied with the
service. 1 in 10 (12%) say they are dissatisfied.
No one (0%) said they do
not know.
UP satisfaction high
Of those that have taken
the UP in the past month, 8 in 10 (81%) say they are satisfied, with more than
half (54%) saying they are very satisfied.
One-fifth (19%) say they
are dissatisfied. Few (1%) say they do not know.
Wheel trans very rates highly
Of those few (n=47) that
have taken Wheel Trans in the past month, satisfaction is very high, with more
than 9 in 10 (94%) saying they are satisfied.
Few (6%) say they are
dissatisfied. No one (0%) say they don’t know.
Downtown Relief Line the Priority for a
third
A third (36%) say they
downtown relief line should be the TTC’s priority, similar to July (July 25:
37%).
One-sixth (17%) say the
Scarborough subway extension and stacked bus garage should be the priority,
unchanged from July (July 25: 18%). Almost half (43%) of those supporting this
option live in Scarborough.
One-sixth (17%) say they
support the Eglinton East LRT as the TTC’s priority, almost doubling its
support since July (July 25: 9%).
1 in 10 (7%) say Smart
Track should be the number one priority, the same as July (July 25: 8%).
Few say the number one
priority should be the Waterfront Transit LRT Network (4%), unchanged from July
(July 25: 6%).
Amongst those whose primary
mode of transportation is public transit, 4 in 10 (42%) say the priority should
be the downtown relief line.
One-fifth (20%) say they do
not know what the priority should be.
Opinion on road tolls for transit
divided
More than 4 in 10
(44%) said they would approve of new taxes, such as road tolls, if the money
raised was dedicated to transit in Toronto.
About half (47%) said
they would disapprove.
1 in 10 (8%) said
they do not know.
More than half of
primary public transit users (55%) said they approve, while only a third (35%)
of primary drivers approve.
Almost two-thirds
(59%) of primary drivers disapprove, while only a third (32%) of primary public
transit users do.
More than 4 in 10 approve of King St.
Pilot
More than 4 in 10
(TOP2: 45%) say they approve of the King St. pilot, with a quarter (BTM2: 27%)
saying they disapprove. One-fifth (19%) don’t feel strongly either way. 1 in 10
(10%) say they do not know.
4 in 10 would approve of the Pilot
becoming permanent
4 in 10 (41%) say
they approve of the King St. pilot becoming permanent, with a quarter (28%)
saying they disapprove. One-fifth (20%) don’t feel strongly either way. 1 in 10
(11%) say they do not know.
Half have used a Presto card while using
transit in Toronto
Half (50%) say
they’ve used a Presto card while using transit in Toronto, while half (50%) say
they have not.
Half approve of replacing tickets or
tokens with Presto
Half (53%) say they
approve of replacing tickets or tokens with the Presto smart card, while a
third (36%) say they disapprove. 1 in 10 (11%) say they do not know.
Tory still leads, race unchanged
Amongst decided and
leaning voters, Tory still has the support of more than half of voters (56%),
unchanged from the beginning of September (Sept 7: 55%).
Keesmaat’s support is unchanged as well, with a quarter saying they would cast
their vote for her (28%) (Sept 7: 30%).
Other candidates have
about one-sixth (16%), the same as previously (Sept 7: 15%).
Tory’s approval still steady
Half approve of the
job John Tory is doing as mayor (52%), with a third (32%) saying they
disapprove. About one-sixth (16%) say they do not know.
“We know moving
around in Toronto is going to be an issue in the municipal election,” said Dr.
Lorne Bozinoff, President of Forum Research. “How the candidates approach this
important issue is critical to their success in 2018, given how many have concerns with transit in Toronto right now.”
Lorne Bozinoff,
Ph.D. is the president and founder of Forum Research. He can be reached at
lbozinoff@forumresearch.com or at (416) 960-9603.
