AATA Board Reviews Countywide Transportation Survey Results

Three-Fourths of Respondents Believe Public Transportation Services are Important to Washtenaw County

Ann Arbor, MI – The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA) Board of Directors has received the results of a recent telephone survey of Washtenaw County voters.

The survey was conducted jointly by Ohio-based companies CJI Research and Triad Research Group. Researchers polled 1,100 Washtenaw County registered voters between October 5 and October 15, 2009. The margin of error for the survey results is +/- 3 percent. The survey tested county voters’ attitudes toward the AATA and public transportation in general, as well as support for a possible future millage to fund countywide transportation services.

The survey found that nearly three-fourths of Washtenaw County voters (72 percent) said it is either “extremely” or “very important” to provide public transit services in Washtenaw County. This compares to 19 percent of voters who said public transit services are “somewhat important” and seven percent who said they are “not very important”. Another two percent of voters were unsure.

“Public transportation plays a critical role in helping residents get to and from where they live, work and play, and is increasingly important to the economic development of a region,” said AATA CEO Michael Ford. “I consider it a positive sign that the majority of respondents in this survey hold public transportation in such high regard.”

On the issue of public funding for countywide transportation, the survey asked voters two questions to gauge their support for a one-mil county transportation millage. First, voters were asked about their support for the idea before learning any arguments for or against a millage. Then, voters were given arguments both for and against a countywide transportation millage and asked again about their likelihood to support.

Without learning any details about a possible transportation millage, 51 percent of voters said they would either “probably” or “definitely” support a countywide transportation millage, compared to 41 percent who would “definitely” or “probably” vote no. After hearing arguments both for and against a millage, support increased to 58 percent while 37 percent said they would still vote no.

“The AATA Board of Directors recently adopted a vision to provide public transportation services throughout Washtenaw County,” said Ford. “The first step to reaching that vision will be the development of a countywide service plan, for which we’ll be seeking residents’ input. These results will act as a benchmark from which we can measure our efforts to engage the Washtenaw County residents in an open discussion about our region’s future transportation needs.”

The survey also found that 83 percent of respondents who expressed an opinion gave the AATA a positive job rating, compared to 15 percent who rated the AATA’s performance as “only fair” and only one percent who said the AATA was doing a “poor” job at providing public transportation services. The 28 percent of respondents who didn’t express an opinion were primarily those who live outside of the current AATA service area.

“Our staff works extremely hard to provide the best services possible. Last year alone, we provided more than 6 million trips to people going to work, school or just running errands,” said Ford. “So we’re encouraged to see such positive feedback on the job we’re doing.”

The latest information on AATA routes, schedules and detours is available at 734.996.0400 and on the AATA Routes and Schedules page.