Recently, the North Grenville Times posted an online survey on transit. We wanted to know: if people feel there’s a need for a transit system, what people would use it for, how often people would use it, how much people would be willing to pay to use it and would people be comfortable seeing money for it in the municipal budget. The survey ran for two weeks and 151 people answered the ten multiple choice questions. Each question allowed people to make an additional choice or leave a comment or both.
Question #1 asked: “Would you like to see a transit system developed that Leeds Grenville residents could use for school, work, shopping, medical appointments, community events, errands and other activities?” Respondents could make only one choice, but could make a comment. The results were: 76.16% of people responded “Yes” and 23.84% of people responded “No”. Nineteen people commented, with the majority of people seeing transit as a positive, but unsure as to the details and tax implications.
Question #2 asked: “How often would you use a transit system, if one was available to use?”. Respondents could make only one choice, but could leave a comment. The results were: 13.25% of people answered “Daily (at least five times per week).”, 7.95% chose “Once a week.”, 7.28% chose “Twice a week.”, 0% chose “Once a month.”, 41.72% chose “It would vary depending on need.” and 29.8% chose “I wouldn’t use the transit system.”. Thirteen people commented, with most people commenting about what they would use it for.
Question #3 asked: “What activities would you use a transit system for?”. Respondents could choose multiple answers including making another choice of their own creation. The results were: 32% chose “For weekly shopping.”, 40% chose “For medical and other appointments.”, 8.8% chose “For going to school.”, 29.6% chose “For going to work.”, 44.8% chose “For going to community events and activities.”, 50.4% chose “For date nights, having a few drinks, and other social occasions.” and 48% chose “A variety of errands.”. Twenty-three people chose to make another choice. Ten people stated that they wouldn’t use it and other people mentioned using it to go to Ottawa and for kids to use it to get around. Twenty six people skipped the question.
Question #4 asked: “What would a reasonable amount of money be to pay for a full day pass for the transit system (that would allow you to use it as many times in a day as you want)?”. Respondents could only make one choice, but could leave a comment. The results were: 55.63% chose “$10”, 9.86% chose “$15”, 2.11% chose “$20” and 32.39% chose “I wouldn’t use the transit system.”. Eighteen people left a comment, with people commenting that they felt $5 was a more reasonable option. People also suggested a monthly pass or per use option. Nine people skipped the question.
Question #5 asked: “What would a reasonable amount of money be to pay for a one-way trip to a destination somewhere in Leeds Grenville?”. Respondents could make only one choice, but could create a choice of their own. The results were: 35.33% chose “$5”, 11.33% chose “$7”, 2.67% chose “$10”, 27.33% chose “I wouldn’t use the transit system.” and 23.33% chose to submit a choice of their own. Some of these included basing the amount on distance travelled and some people felt less than $5 would be their preference. One person skipped the question.
Question #6 asked: “What would a reasonable amount of money be to pay for a regular monthly transit pass for an adult?”. Respondents could make only one choice, but could create a choice of their own. The results were: 35.14% chose “$100”, 10.81% chose “$110”, 7.43% chose “$120”, 24.32% chose “I wouldn’t use the transit system.” and 22.3% chose to submit a choice of their own. Some of these included many people felt that all of the options were too high and a number of people mentioned that they wouldn’t buy a monthly pass. Three people skipped the question.
Question #7 asked: “Should there be different prices for monthly passes for youth (under 25) and seniors (65+)?”. Respondents could only make one choice, but could leave a comment as well. The results were: 90.71% chose “Yes” and 9.29% chose “No”. Thirteen people chose to comment with some people suggesting a further reduced amount for residents with disabilities and those on lower incomes. Eleven people skipped the question.
Question #8 asked: “Would you be comfortable having money for a transit system appear in the yearly municipal budget (on top of user fees for riders)?”. Respondents could only make one choice, but could leave a comment as well. 60.69% chose “Yes” and 39.31% chose “No”. Fourteen people chose to comment with some people concerned about the tax implications or how much the amount would be. Six people skipped the question.
Question #9 asked: “How much money would you be comfortable seeing in a yearly municipal budget for a transit system (FYI – the total operations and capital budget for North Grenville for 2017 is approximately $28 million)?”. Respondents could only make one choice, but could create their own choice. The results were: 22.46% chose “$25,000 or less”, 25.36% chose “$50,000 or less”, 15.94% chose “$75,000 or less” and 36.23% chose to submit a choice of their own. About a third of these submissions said they didn’t want any money in the budget for a transit system and approximately half of the submissions said that people were unsure what the amount should be.
Question #10 asked: “Would you be comfortable using a transit system if it used different types of vehicles (buses, vans, cars etc.) and volunteer drivers?”. Respondents could only make one choice, including leaving a comment. The results were: 42.18% chose “Yes”, 36.05% chose “No” and 21.77% chose to leave a comment, with approximately one third of the comments having concerns about volunteer drivers.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete the survey, it was very helpful for us to understand your feelings and thoughts about the possibility of a transit system for Leeds and Grenville. Respondents appear to be in favour of a transit system, however, it’s important to note that people would want to know the details of how it would work. The cost of using the system was important to people and there was a diverse range of reasons on what people would use it for and a differing range of how frequently it would be used.
