Telephone Survey Results

Between April 14 and May 12, we interviewed 1600 registered voters within the nine-county MTC region. Registered voters were chosen for the sample because the nature of the survey subject matter was electoral, and a stratified sample from the voter file provides a much higher degree of accuracy than a random digit dial sample drawn from the phone directory.

The survey was divided into three segments: a base sample of 1250 interviews within the MTC jurisdiction, and a 175 interview sub-sample of high probability "ethnic" zip code areas, and a 175 interview sub-sample of high probability "lower-income" zip code areas. The margin of error for the base sample is +/- 3.1%, and the margin for the sub-samples are +/- 7.1%.

The 1250 base sample included the following number of interviews for each county: Alameda (230), Contra Costa (175), Marin (85), Napa (75), San Francisco (150), San Mateo (110), Santa Clara (250), Solano (75), and Sonoma (100).

The numbers in the boxes below represent percentages of respondents.

1. Generally speaking, do you think things ___(a)___ are going in the right direction or do you feel things are off on the wrong track ?

	Right Direction	Wrong Track	Don't Know
a1. in the State of California	25	67	8
a2. in the Bay Area	36	55	9
a3. for you personally	79	16	5

2a. Is the issue of ___(a)___ a very important or somewhat important for you?

	VERY IMPORTANT	SOMEWHAT IMPORTANT
a1. improving public education	84	15
a2. planning for growth and development	73	25
a3. providing adequate housing	69	29
a4. keeping electricity prices affordable	84	14
a5. reducing traffic congestion	80	19
a6. keeping taxes at affordable levels	73	26
a7. spending tax money wisely	87	12
a8. improving roads and mass transit systems	75	24

2b. Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with how this issue is being handled ?

	SATISFIED	DISSATISFIED
a1. improving public education	27	64
a2. planning for growth and development	33	60
a3. providing adequate housing	32	63
a4. keeping electricity prices affordable	15	82
a5. reducing traffic congestion	18	79
a6. keeping taxes at affordable levels	44	51
a7. spending tax money wisely	27	66
a8. improving roads and mass transit systems	32	62

3a. Would you give a high, medium or low priority to each of the following types of transportation system improvements?

	HIGH	MEDIUM	LOW
Widening freeways and roads	49	29	20
Expanding local bus services	55	30	13
Expanding rail services	66	21	10
Adding more carpool lanes on freeways	31	28	39
Expanding BART service	79	13	6
Expanding commuter express bus service	61	26	10
Adding bicycle lanes	29	29	40
Expanding ferry service across the bay	41	29	25

3b. Which TWO of these items are most important to you ?

Widening freeways and roads	37
Expanding local bus services	21
Expanding rail services	27
Adding more carpool lanes on freeways	11
Expanding BART service	61
Expanding commuter express bus service	16
Adding bicycle lanes	8
Expanding ferry service across the bay	14

4. To help pay for needed local transportation system improvements, would you support or oppose ___(a)___ ?

	STRONGLY SUPPORT	SOMEWHAT SUPPORT	STRONGLY OPPOSE	SOMEWHAT OPPOSE	NO OPINION
a1. increasing County sales taxes by 1/2 cent	40	30	17	10	3
a2. increasing the Bay Area gas tax by 10 cents a gallon	13	10	63	13	1
a3. increasing bridge tolls on bridges by one dollar	21	23	38	14	4
a4. increasing local property taxes by $25 dollars a year	26	24	36	11	3
a5. increasing local vehicle registration fees by $5 dollars a year	36	28	25	8	3
a6. increasing fares on BART and local bus systems by twenty-five percent	9	17	50	20	4
a7. approving a $10 billion statewide bond for transportation at the next election	27	31	20	11	11

5. Would you give a high, medium or low priority to each of the following additional transportation system improvements that are being considered?

	HIGH	MEDIUM	LOW	NO OPINION
Synchronizing traffic signals	67	22	8	3
Increasing tow truck service	21	38	35	6
Expanding traveler information	30	34	31	5
Expanding metering of freeway on-ramps to improve freeway traffic flows	39	36	22	3
Implementing a single-ticket or fare card good on all Bay Area transit systems	68	20	9	3
Maintaining streets and filling potholes	74	23	3	0

6a. Would you give a high, medium or low priority to the following transportation system goals?

	HIGH	MEDIUM	LOW
People of all incomes, races and cultures should be provided with equal access to the transportation system	82	11	6
The transportation system should ensure protection of the natural environment	68	25	6
The transportation system should support the livability and vitality of Bay Area neighborhoods	74	21	3
The transportation system should support the economic health of Bay Area business and industry	68	27	5
People and goods should be able to travel easily, safely and reliably in the region	90	9	1

6b. Which ONE of those items would you give the highest priority ?

People of all incomes, races and cultures should be provided with equal access to the transportation system	27
The transportation system should ensure protection of the natural environment	14
The transportation system should support the livability and vitality of Bay Area neighborhoods	10
The transportation system should support the economic health of Bay Area business and industry	9
People and goods should be able to travel easily, safely and reliably in the region	36

7. Are you generally satisfied or dissatisfied with your current ability to travel efficiently to and from ___(a)___ ?

	VERY SATISFIED	SOMEWHAT SATISFIED	VERY DISSATISFIED	SOMEWHAT DISSATISFIED	NO OPINION
a1. work	31	24	14	10	21
a2. shopping	39	38	8	11	4
a3. schools	25	20	6	6	43
a4. child-care	10	11	4	4	71
a5. medical care	41	36	7	9	7
a6. recreation	37	41	8	10	4

8. Do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?

	AGREE STRONGLY	AGREE SOMEWHAT	DISAGREE STRONGLY	DISAGREE SOMEWHAT	NO OPINION
1. Worsening traffic congestion is seriously threatening the quality of life in the Bay Area.	70	18	3	8	1
2. It's becoming too difficult to drive a car during commute hours in the Bay Area.	77	14	2	4	3
3. Air quality will improve over the next 20 years because of advances in engine technologies.	23	30	19	19	9
4. It's becoming too expensive to own and operate a car in the Bay Area.	26	28	17	26	3
5. Traffic makes it unsafe to walk or bicycle.	39	28	10	21	2
6. Bicycling to work is not practical for people like myself.	58	27	8	5	2
7. The sooner we improve our public transportation systems, the sooner congestion can be reduced.	58	27	8	5	2
8. Public transportation is too expensive.	13	18	26	33	10
9. Public transportation takes too long.	33	29	11	19	8
10. Public transportation doesn't go where I need to go.	39	26	11	18	6
11. Transportation system improvements in the Bay Area over the last 5-10 years have been helpful in improving the commute.	17	37	20	15	11
12. Public transportation isn't scheduled conveniently when I need to travel.	23	26	16	24	11
13. Information on public transportation schedules is too difficult to get.	14	18	36	24	8
14. It's too difficult to find someone to carpool with who fits my schedule.	39	18	9	12	22
15. Public transportation is much safer and convenient than it was 20 years ago.	24	27	15	15	19

9. Over the next 20 years the Bay Area is expected to grow by over one million people. To accomodate this new growth, the Bay Area's transportation system will have to be expanded. If you could choose only one option, which ONE of the following planning approaches for this new traffic makes the most sense to you?

Building housing and transportation WITHIN existing developed areas	26
Building housing and transportation OUTSIDE existing developed areas	12
Building housing along BART and other public transit lines	54
None	4
No Opinion	4

10. A new issue has recently surfaced regarding the possibility of managing commercial truck deliveries. Several specific suggestions have been made regarding managing truck traffic in the Bay Area. Would you support or oppose each of the following ideas?

	STRONGLY SUPPORT	SUPPORT SOMEWHAT	STRONGLY OPPOSE	OPPOSE SOMEWHAT	NO OPINION
Dedicating an existing lane on freeways for truck use only	35	22	26	14	3
Restricting truck travel during the day, and encouraging nightime truck deliveries	37	27	19	13	4
Allocating more parking spaces for trucks in commercial business districts	32	36	11	15	6
Allowing small trucks and delivery vans to pay a toll to use freeway carpool lanes during commute hours	24	28	26	18	4
Rrequiring more cargo deliveries be transported by rail or ferry service	36	31	13	13	7
Allocating more parking spaces for trucks in public parking lots or neighborhoods	14	30	26	24	6

11. To improve public transportation, would you support or oppose each of the following suggestions?

	STRONGLY SUPPORT	SUPPORT SOMEWHAT	STRONGLY OPPOSE	OPPOSE SOMEWHAT	NO OPINION
Increasing fares to fund improvements and services	16	40	21	18	5
Reducing bus service during commute hours and use the budget savings to increase weekend and night-time bus services	7	13	50	25	5
Defering buying new buses and making other system improvements to provide funds to provide more frequent bus service	21	36	16	18	9
Changing current state law and allowing more highway and road funds to be used for transit services	35	33	15	11	6

12. Another transportation issue receiving attention recently is bicycle travel. Next I'll ask your opinion about bicycle travel.

	YES	NO	NO OPINION
Do you work in the kind of job where bicycling to and from work would be feasible?	26	62	12
Would you ride a bike to and from work if more bike lanes were built?	25	64	11
Would you ride a bike to and from work if your employer had shower facilities and bike lockers?	32	57	11
Would you ride a bike to and from work if bike lanes were safer and traffic was less hazardous?	40	49	11

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Respondent Demographics

Age

18-29	10%
30-39	17%
40-49	23%
50-64	29%
65+	20%

Own or rent place of residence

OWN	68
RENT	29
OTHER	3

Membership in ethnic or minority groups

Hispanic or Latino	7
Asian	5
Pacific Islander	2
Black/African American	5
American Indian	3
Disabled	6
NONE	75

Household Income

$ 20,000 or less	7
$20,000 - 40,000	17
$40,000 - 75,000	26
$75,000 - 100,000	14
$100,000 or more	28
REFUSED	9

Work outside home

YES	68
NO	32

Primary mode of transportation to work

Drive alone	52
Ride bus	4
Carpool or vanpool	4
Train	1
BART	4
Ferry	1
Bicycle	1
Motorcycle	1
Walk	2
Not applicable	32

Bridges used most often for work trips

Golden Gate	4
Bay Bridge	7
San Mateo-Hayward	2
Richmond-San Rafael	1
Dumbarton	2
Carquinez	2
Benicia	2
NONE	54
Not applicable	32

Telecommute from home part time or full time

YES/Part time	17
YES/Full time	6
NO	76

Political outlook

Conservative	27
Moderate	38
Liberal	30
Don't know	5

How often do you make trips across the bay?

More than once a day	4
Once a day	5
A few times a week	14
A few times a month	35
A few times a year	33
Less	9

Are your trips across the bay mostly by vehicle or by transit?

Vehicle	79
Transit	13
Both equally	6
No opinion	2

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Sample Information

• Democrat - 53%
• Republican - 30%
• Other - 17%

• Male - 47%
• Female - 53%

Sample

Alameda	230
Contra Costa	175
Marin	85
Napa	75
San Francisco	150
San Mateo	110
Santa Clara	250
Solano	75
Sonoma	100

Oversample

Race	175
Income	175