Almost Three-Quarters Have Concerns About Public Transit

| Filed under: Toronto
cc image courtesy of Simon Carr: https://bit.ly/2Ikizeh

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.