SHARE THE ROAD
Public Opinion Survey 2012
SHARE THE ROAD
Public Opinion Survey 2012
Fielded by Strategic Communications, Inc., 13-16 April 2012, 1000 interviews (weighted) with Ontarians aged 18+.
Key findings
· Ontarians want to ride more often and don’t need to be persuaded about the health, social, economic and environmental benefits of cycling.
· Improved safety and infrastructure for cyclists are the keys to getting more people on their bikes.
· Ontarians are widely in favour of provincial government support for cycling, even in the context of restrained public spending.
Ontario cyclists and drivers
· Among Ontarians, roughly three in ten (28%) report riding their bikes on a regular basis:
o Weekly or monthly (25%),
o Every day or nearly every day (4%)
· Among daily riders, the highest proportions are in Toronto (5.4%) and the lowest in the GTA (1.3%)
· Driving a car (at least weekly) is nearly as common for cyclists (80%) as the general population (83%) – debunking the so-called ‘war’ between drivers and cyclists – as they are largely the same people.
More want to cycle
· There is pent up demand for cycling among the majority of Ontarians (58%) who would like to cycle more often (up somewhat from 53% in 2011).
· Interest is strongest among:
o Younger individuals aged 18-34 (67%)
o Those with children in their household (65%)
o Regular cyclists (62%)
o Those who drive every day (59%).
· Those who want to cycle more often are split between wanting to do it for recreational (55%) or more utilitarian purposes (45%) such as commuting, shopping, running errands, etc.
· Safer roads for bicyclists (39%) and more bicycle lanes and trails (38%) top the list of measures that are most likely to encourage Ontarians to bicycle more often.
Support for government action
· The majority of Ontarians (70%) agree that government should actively support cycling, but differ on the degree of support they’d like to see:
o Only measures that don’t cost money (28%)
o Reallocate some existing spending to cycling (22%)
o Provide new funding (20%)
· Six in 10 say their communities need more bike lanes or paved shoulders
· While majorities agree that cycling offers a variety of health, social, economic and environmental benefits to justify government support, the most persuasive arguments in favour of government action to promote cycling are:
o To get kids back to cycling/create a ‘next generation’ of cyclists (73%)
o As a way to combat heart disease (72%)
o To encourage more people to cycle (by addressing safety concerns/creating more bike lanes/trails) (71%)
o To get people out of their cars, cut back on transit congestion and increase transit choices (70%)
· When it comes to specific measures by government to support cycling, Ontarian are most in favour of :
o A safety regulation for drivers to give cyclists a three foot clearance when passing (68%)
o A portion of revenue from gas taxes to be directed to cycling and cycling infrastructure (61%)
o 1% of transportation spending to be directed to cycling and cycling infrastructure (49%)
Methods
This survey was fielded online using a proprietary panel from April 13 to 16, 2012, by research consultancy Strategic Communications, Inc. The total sample was 1,431 completed surveys with Ontarians aged 18 and older. This yields a weighted province-wide sample of 1,000n, with a Toronto oversample of 414, and a ‘rest of GTA’ oversample of 411. This data was statistically weighted to ensure that the sample's regional gender, age and education composition reflects that of the actual Ontario population according to the 2006 Census. The data was analyzed using SPSS 12.0.