SPRINGFIELD – While the majority of Illinois residents who commute to work rely on their personal vehicles, there continues to be strong support throughout the state for public transportation and passenger rail, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation’s latest Illinois Traveler Opinion Survey. Conducted every year, the survey seeks feedback on travel habits, driver behavior, preferences for funding transportation and IDOT performance.
“These survey results show that our residents understand and appreciate that Illinois is the transportation hub of North America and the various modes operate as one system,” said Illinois Transportation Secretary Randy Blankenhorn. “Feedback from you is important to us. In 2017, we are striving to set the bar even higher for IDOT while trying our best to deliver the world-class transportation system that Illinois expects and deserves.”
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Key feedback received:
83 percent of respondents who commute in Illinois say they drive, but 95 percent support IDOT contributions to the building, maintenance and operations of public transportation systems in Illinois.
94 percent of respondents indicated they strongly support or somewhat support passenger rail, with 92 percent saying they support increasing the amount of service.
69 percent believe the condition of the state highway system is good or very good.
32 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds reported using a cellphone while driving at least twice in the previous month. The 35- to 59-year-old age bracket reported they engaged in the same behavior 20 percent of the time.
83 percent rate IDOT’s overall performance as very good or good.
Results from the 2016 survey, conducted last fall with the help of the University of Illinois Springfield Survey Research Office, are based on 1,176 responses obtained from a representative panel of respondents who met qualifying criteria.
The Illinois Traveler Opinion Survey has been conducted annually since 2001. A copy of the 2016 survey and results, as well as data collected from past years, can be viewed here.
