Public Attitudes Toward Transportation

About the report:

A telephone survey of a thousand randomly selected Virginia residents found that the automobile was the most popular mode of travel, and that more work trips than trips for other purposes were being made by alternatives such as ride sharing, public transit, and non-motorized modes. While convenience and low cost were said to be the most important factors affecting modal choice, many respondents cited the lack of available alternatives. The data indicated that if public transit were convenient and cheap, people would use it. Among other findings were the following: (1) rail rapid transit appeared to be a more popular mode than the bus, (2) people would not oppose additional taxes for transportation if they derived direct benefit, (3) only about a quarter of the respondents said that moderate increases in the price of gasoline would induce them to use less of it, and (4) public transportation was seen to be more of a solution to the energy crisis than as a means of saving money.

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