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WisARP Press Release -
6/18/02
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Wisconsin Association of Railroad
Passengers
3385 S. 119th St., West Allis, Wisconsin 53227
For more information, contact:
John Parkyn, 608/386-3287
(above cell phone number
good through 6/19 only)
Ken Burbach, 608/831-4177
Andrew Sihler, 608/231-1651
June 18, 2002
More than three out of four Wisconsin residents support a
nationwide train network with increased routes, frequencies
and shorter travel times, according to results of a major
statewide transportation alternatives survey.
As many respondents also said they would use the expanded,
fast train service now being planned by nine Midwestern
states including Wisconsin, according to the Wisconsin
Association of Railroad Passengers (WisARP).
A majority of those surveyed also favored the use of federal
funds to improve inter-city rail passenger service,
according to the group.
"Highlights were released today at WisARP news conferences
in Madison and Milwaukee which also were attended by
representatives of the Wisconsin Department of
Transportation and the Environmental Law and Policy Center
of Chicago."
“We were simply overwhelmed by the strong
support shown in the survey for more train service,”
said John Parkyn, Stoddard, WisARP president. “These
are amazing numbers, and are evidence that the state’s
efforts to improve passenger rail service in Wisconsin are
consistent with what the public wants.
“The public is saying it wants more trains and faster trains,
and is willing to help pay for them.
“It’s no longer ‘if you build it, they will come’.
They’re here. Let’s build it.”
Parkyn said the survey, which was conducted over a
week-and-a-half ending in mid-February, took place as the
future of Amtrak and the need for a nationwide rail
passenger service was being debated by Congress, and as
Wisconsin state government wrestled with its most serious
financial crisis ever. Neither issue is yet
resolved.
“Our concern was that one or both of those factors might
depress support for passenger train expansion in the survey,”
said Parkyn. “That concern appears to have been
groundless.”
Parkyn said support for both a national and regional
passenger train network was strong throughout the
state. Overall, 77 per cent statewide favored a
national network, with only 15.8 per cent opposed.
(The rest either said they didn’t know or refused to
answer.)
The strongest support for a national network came in
responses from those in southwestern Wisconsin, with nearly
88 per cent of those surveyed indicating they favored such
service. “Even the lowest support, in the Fox
Valley area, still came in at 69.9 per cent,” Parkyn
said.
Other key findings:
76.6 per cent said they would use the trains if the planned
nine-state Midwest Regional Rail network becomes available
to them.
“This means they see passenger rail as not just something good
to do or for others to use; it’s something they will
use themselves,” Parkyn said.
Support ranged from 70.9 per cent in northeastern Wisconsin
to a high of 91.7 per cent in the Madison area.
63.6 per cent of those surveyed favor state government’s
involvement in efforts to expand inter-city rail passenger
service, with over half that group expressing strong
support. Another 20.3 per cent are neutral, with only
14 per cent against.
“The message we take from this is that a large segment of the
public supports the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s
rail passenger leadership,” Parkyn said.
54.3 per cent favor the use of federal funds to improve
inter-city rail passenger service in the state.
Another 21.2 per cent said they hadn’t made up their
minds yet, leaving only 21.1 per cent actually opposing the
use of federal funds. And a third of the latter said
they are only “somewhat opposed.”
“This question drew the highest number of neutral responses of
any in the survey. This tells us we need to do a
better job of explaining why this funding support is
justified. But we also have a great existing base from
which to build, and see no reason why we can’t pick up
at least a majority of the undecided. If we do, that
pushes the support to around the 65 per cent mark.”
To reduce current highway congestion, 59 per cent favor
alternatives to highways, with rail getting the most support
of the three main alternatives (the others are air and
bus). Only 33.5 per cent favor building more highways
as their preferred response to congestion.
“We keep being told that American’s won’t give up
their cars, and that sometimes is interpreted as meaning
Americans want to only travel by car. We know that’s
faulty thinking, and the survey confirms that. A lot of them
want a choice when they travel, and their first choice after
the car is the train.”
Among other findings:
Age made little difference in the responses, with support
for rail passenger service among those age 18-24 and 45-54
both above 80 per cent. No age group fell below 71 per
cent in support.
“We sometimes hear from opponents that only senior citizens
want to ride the trains, for reasons of nostalgia and a
yearning for the ‘old days’. The survey
demonstrates just what a myth that is. In fact,
retirees ranked near the bottom of the groups in support of
train service -- but the bottom still was a strong 73.5 per
cent support rate.”
White-collar, blue-collar and professionals all showed
strong support, and within a narrow range of 77-79 per
cent.
“The survey shows trains are not going to be used for land
cruises, or a service only for the rich or only for the poor
as critics often allege. We’re going to see a
wide range of income levels aboard when this service begins.”
The survey was conducted by Chamberlain Research
Consultants, an international, full-service marketing and
opinion research firm located in Madison, as part of its
quarterly Wisconsin Trends survey.
The rail-related questions were drafted by Chamberlain in
consultation with WisARP, which contracted for its portion
of the study. Chamberlain determined the sample size
-- 600 -- and selected individuals at random in proportion
to the county’s share of the state’s population
(2000 census). Questions were asked by phone.
The survey had a margin of error of 4.0 per cent.
WisARP is a statewide organization of about 800 individuals
who favor expanded passenger train service in Wisconsin and
the U.S. Members finance their own activities and all
its work is done by volunteers.
Others making financial contributions to the rail-related
portions of the survey in addition WisARP were ProRail, the
state group’s regional chapter based in Madison, HNTB
Consulting, Milwaukee, and the Environmental Law &
Policy Center, Chicago.
(end)
Transportation Alternatives Survey
Here are all seven questions and answers included in the
transportation alternatives portion of the Wisconsin Trends
survey. They are listed here in the order they were
asked.
1. To avoid highway congestion, would you prefer to
travel by air, bus, rail, or would you prefer that more
highways be built?
Prefer alternatives (355), 59.1%. Build more
highways (201 responses), 33.5%. Don’t
know/refused (44), 7.3%
Alternatives preferred, in order of popularity: rail (161),
26.8%; air (119), 19.8%, bus (75), 12.5%.
2. Because of congestion and delays at airports,
should Wisconsin (various options listed)?
Make changes (347), 57.8%. Make no changes
(174), 29.0%. Don’t know/refused (79),
13.2%.
Changes preferred, in order of popularity: add more runways
to existing airports (171), 28.5%; build additional rail
systems (120), 20.0%; build new airports (44), 7.3%, and
other (12), 2.0%. (Other responses included: security
is the main issue, more efficient service, better
connections at airports, etc.)
3. Most trips in Wisconsin are made by car.
Wisconsin is considering changes that may create more
alternatives to driving. Which one of the following
alternatives to driving would you prefer for making trips 75
to 300 miles away from home? Please select one.
Still prefer to drive (344), 57.3%. Prefer
alternatives (253), 42.2%. Don’t
know/refused (3), 0.5%.
Of the alternatives: trains (159), 26.5%; bus (52), 8.7%;
and airplane (42), 7.0%
4. Wisconsin officials have considering promoting
expanded passenger train services. Do you favor, or
oppose, or neither favor nor oppose state efforts to expand
inter-city passenger train services in Wisconsin. Is
that strongly or somewhat favor or oppose?
Strongly favor (206), 34.3%; somewhat favor (176), 29.3%;
neither favor nor oppose (122), 20.3%; somewhat oppose (33),
5.5%; strongly oppose (51), 8.5%; don’t know/refused
(12), 2.0%.
5. If you were considering taking a trip 75 to 300
miles away from home, and a fast, modern rail system was
available in Wisconsin, how likely would you be to consider
traveling by train? Would you say you would be very
likely, somewhat likely, somewhat unlikely, or very unlikely
to consider traveling by train?
Very likely (248), 41.3%; somewhat likely (212), 35.3%;
somewhat unlikely (55), 9.2%; very unlikely (74) 12.3%; don’t
know/refused (11), 1.8%.
6. If federal funding is available for improving
intercity passenger rail services, Wisconsin may try to
attract these rail improvement funds by pledging to pay for
a portion of the project with state money as we now do with
highway and airport projects. Is this something you
favor, oppose, or neither favor nor oppose as a way to raise
money to develop passenger rail services in Wisconsin?
Is that strong or somewhat favor or oppose?
Strongly favor (146), 24.3%; somewhat favor (180), 30.0%;
neither favor nor oppose (127), 21.2%; somewhat oppose (47),
7.8%; strongly oppose (80), 13.3%, don’t know/refused
(20), 3.3%.
7. Do you support a nationwide train network with
increased routes, frequencies, and shorter travel time?
Yes (462), 77.0%; no (95), 15.8%; don’t know/refused
(43), 7.2%.
OTHER COMMENTS
John Parkyn, WisARP President:
“There are several reasons why we believe the results of this
survey should be given careful consideration.
“It’s a professional poll. Chamberlain Research
Consultants is a respected research firm whose research in
other areas often is quoted by the news media and accorded
respect.
“ We told Chamberlain what areas of opinion we wanted to
explore, but they wrote the questions and selected the group
to be included in the sample. WisARP was one of only
several unrelated clients participating in this survey.
“No one in WisARP has any financial interests in increased rail
passenger service. We’re all volunteers who work
on behalf of more rail service because we think it’s
good public policy. That’s our only
interest.
“Finally, we’re releasing the answers to all seven
questions. The entire report is available for analysis
by others, if they so desire.”
***
“We believe that many of those responding to the survey, once
they have a train trip or two under their belts, will find
they like the trains more, even though we also believe cars
will remain the most popular transportation choice for years
to come. The real question is, what is the most
popular second choice? We now know the answer is the
train.”
***
“Given popular perceptions that ‘Americans will never
give up their cars,’ what may be surprising from the
survey is that the percentage still preferring to drive on
trips exceeding 75 miles is just 57%. That probably is
quite a bit lower than what many people would have
anticipated.”
***
“This is the first time WisARP has done any public polling in
its existence. As far as we know, no survey of this
type ever has been conducted in Wisconsin before by anyone
else, either. These results thus provide an excellent
benchmark for future studies.”
***
“The main reason we undertook this survey was to test our own
belief that there’s already widespread public support
for expanded passenger train service and that people will
use it. We just didn’t know the actual extent of
support. We believed that information should be very
useful to state and federal policymakers.
“We also didn’t have a good feel before the survey as to
the degree to which the public wanted the state and federal
government involved, particularly given the amount of
dollars involved and the current financial difficulties in
both the state and the U.S.
“We also wanted to get data by age, employment, and area of
residence, so we could respond better to those who think
that the only people who will ride trains are the rich, or
the poor, or only senior citizens or students, and so on.”
Supplemental
Graphs:
Graphic representation
of some significant statistics in the Wisconsin Association
of Railroad Passenger / Chamberlain Statewide Survey of
2002
Chart 1. Strong support statewide for the
Midwest Regional Rail Initiative. 76% of respondents who
expressed and opinion said they would be very or somewhat
likely to use the train if it were available; 24% with an
opinion were very or somewhat unlikely to use the
train.
Chart 2. State government has a key role
in passenger train expansion: 64% of those surveyed favor
state government's involvement in efforts to expand
inter-city passenger service. Twenty percent were neutral on
the issue, only 14% were somewhat or strongly
opposed.
Chart 3. Alternatives to driving. Asked
about the problem of highway congestion, 41% of respondents
with an opinion preferred more highway construction; of the
59% who favored some alternative to more highways, nearly
half (46%) favored travel by passenger rail; 34% favored
travel by air, 21% by bus.
Chart 4. Support for a nationwide
passenger rail system. 77% chose "Yes, I support a
nationwide passenger rail system", 16% chose "no", 7% had no
opinion.
Chart 5. Nationwide passenger rail system
support sorted by age: percent of those who responded "yes"
to the question "Do you support a nationwide train network
with increased routes, frequencies, and shorter travel
time?" Note that the responses offer no support for the
claim that improving passenger rail is a nostalgic
preoccupation of Senior Citizens.
Key (by age group):
1. 18-24
2. 25-34
3. 35-44
4. 45-54
5. 55-64
6. 65+
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