Voters in Presidential Election Express Bi-partisan Support for Investment in America's Public Transit Infrastructure, According to Poll

65 Percent of Trump Voters Favor Increased Funding to Repair and Improve Public Transit

Washington, DC – In the wake of a tumultuous presidential election, there are few issues that unite Americans more than the critical need to ensure public transportation infrastructure continues to connect our communities. Today, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) released a poll conducted immediately after the election that shows strong support for continued investment in public transportation, including among a majority of Donald Trump voters.

Nearly 70 percent of all Americans across the country support investment to repair and improve public transportation, per APTA's survey conducted amongst voters of the last presidential election. 

A large majority of Americans who voted for Donald Trump also support greater investment, polling at 65 percent of those surveyed. The 2016 First View Post-Election Research poll was conducted for APTA by the polling company Heart+Mind Strategies.  

"Today's poll release mirrors what we've found in the past: Voters from both parties support public transportation," said Hearts+Minds Strategy CEO and Managing Partner, Dee Allsop. "At a time when there are many public policy issues that highlight divisions, public transportation is an exception."

The national voter survey showed that:

• 81 percent of Donald Trump voters oppose any cuts to current levels of public transportation investment;
• 69 percent of all voters support the use of their tax dollars for public transportation. This includes a majority (53 percent) of Trump voters.
• More than 69 percent of Americans believe our public transportation infrastructure is in "crisis," including 63 percent of Trump voters.

"While Americans may be divided on the overall direction of our country, we know this much: Voters for both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump support public transportation," said APTA's Acting President and CEO Richard A. White. "Americans understand that investment in public transportation creates jobs and that public transportation will produce greater economic growth for our local communities. That's something we can all get behind."

APTA officials note through previous studies, economists estimate that for every $1 communities invest in public transportation, approximately $4 is generated in economic returns, both from job creation and from connectivity of our communities.

"There is a bright future ahead for our country when we unite to make smart investments in public transportation that connect and grow our communities," White said. "This survey demonstrates that Americans agree.  We urge Congress to take note and act swiftly."

The 2016 First View Post-Election Research was conducted online with a representative sample of voters on November 11, 2016 and prepared for APTA by Heart+Mind Strategies. While steps are taken to make these results as representative as possible of 2016 voters, all sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with question wording and more. In the case where none of these sources of error are present, a probability sample size of 1003 would have a margin of error of +/- 3.1% at the 95% confidence level.