Minnesota voters want transit funded

As the Minnesota legislature enters the final week of the 2013 session, most of the policy arguments for expanding and improving our region’s transit system have been made, and it’s time to review what voters want.

It doesn’t matter what political persuasion you are, what part of the state you reside in, or whether you commute two minutes or two hours; a strong majority of voters agree that “Minnesota would benefit from having an expanded and improved public transportation system, such as rail and buses.” That’s the finding of the bipartisan research team of Public Opinion Strategies (R) and Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (D) which surveyed 700 voters throughout Minnesota, including 400 voters in the Twin Cities metro region, earlier this year.

Voters see transit investments as critical to creating jobs

Sixty-nine (69%) of voters statewide and 70% of voters in the metro area agree that “Minneapolis‐Saint Paul needs a better regional transit system, including additional light rail lines, in order to compete for jobs with communities like Denver, Salt Lake City, Dallas and Portland that have more complete transit systems.”

Voters are willing to pay for transit

There is broad support among Minnesota voters for a sales tax increase in the seven-county metro area to fund public transit improvements.

Overall, 65% of Minnesota voters say they find a 0.5%  increase in the metro area sales tax an acceptable way to fund improving light rail, buses, and other public transit choices.

Fully 57% of voters who live in those seven metro counties also say this is an acceptable option for funding transportation improvements. Nearly three-fourths of voters outside the Twin Cities metro area (74%) also find the sales tax option acceptable.

The time is now

This bipartisan survey clearly finds that Minnesotans believe the best path for jobs and reduced congestion includes improving and expanding the state’s public transit system. Voters in every corner of the state – and especially those in the metro region – see the importance of having a long-term public transit funding plan in place to enhance the region’s quality of life and boost the state’s economy and jobs outlook.

Employers will only stay and grow in our region if their future employees can get to work. Minnesota is home to 19 Fortune 500 companies and hundreds of other vibrant employers. But we will lose out to communities like Denver, Dallas and Salt Lake City – who are investing in real transportation choices – if we don’t move forward. 

The business community is leading on this issue. Minnesotans support better transit.  With less than one week remaining in the legislative session, we need everyone to talk to their legislators and engage them in this discussion.

The legislature is considering a bill that would adopt transit funding.  The Minneapolis and Bloomington Chambers of Commerce urge legislators to make sure the Twin Cities is a place that can keep and grow good jobs.  We need legislators to take action now to ensure that our region doesn’t keep falling behind. 

Note:  A memo from the pollsters with additional information can be found at http://www.scribd.com/doc/120816210/MN-Transit-Poll-Memo-01-17-13