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Toronto: People who use the TTC every day are less likely to say they are satisfied with the service than more infrequent riders, a new poll has found.
The poll of 977 randomly selected Toronto residents conducted by Forum Research found that about 66 per cent of respondents are either satisfied, somewhat satisfied or very satisfied with the TTC, however the degree to which those people were satisfied with the service largely depended on how often they utilized it.
Satisfaction with the TTC was highest among those who use it once per month (81 per cent) while those who use it every day (58 per cent) or multiple times per day (43 per cent) were less likely to say that they were satisfied.
The difference was the most pronounced among those who reported being ‘very satisfied’ with the TTC.
About 13 per cent of the respondents who use the service once per month and 14 per cent of the respondents who use it once per week fell within that category but only four per cent of people who use it every day or multiple times a day did.
Overall, satisfaction with the TTC tended to be highest among those living downtown (72 per cent) and in North York (68 per cent) while it was the lowest among Scarborough residents (60 per cent).
Not surprisingly, time of use also seemed to be a factor with 77 per cent of those who ride the TTC at off-peak hours reporting that they were satisfied compared to only 56 per cent of people who use it at rush hour.
Most riders encounter overcrowding
The poll also asked respondents for their experience with overcrowding.
About 51 cent of respondents said that they experience overcrowding most of the time (35 per cent) or all of the time (16 per cent) while only nine per cent of respondents said they never experienced overcrowding.
Respondents were asked whether overcrowding on the subway left them feeling unsafe and a plurality said that it did with about 21 per cent saying that it made them feel very unsafe and 29 per cent saying that it made them feel somewhat unsafe.
About 46 per cent said that it did not make them feel unsafe while four per cent said they weren’t sure.
In terms of transit infrastructure, a plurality of respondents (41 per cent) said that the downtown relief line should be the number one priority compared to just 16 per cent for the one-stop Scarborough subway extension, which is further along in the planning process.
“Overall, the majority of users are satisfied with the TTC, but the satisfaction is reduced for those who say they frequently experience overcrowding on the subway,” Forum Research President Lorne Bozinoff said in a press release accompanying the poll. “Perhaps that’s why the plurality of Torontonians feel that the downtown relief line should be the TTC’s number one priority.”
The poll was conducted February 7-8 and is considered accurate to within three percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
