Most Australians are not expecting improvement in Australia’s roads or public transport services, despite repeated promises made by both sides of politics, according to a major University of Sydney Business School survey released on 32 March.
The nationwide transport confidence index, as measured by the regular Transport Opinion Survey (TOPS), has plummeted by nearly 50 per cent since the end of 2013.
“Despite promises of significant investment in transport infrastructure, the public is clearly disappointed with their governments’ inability to make a noticeable difference to roads and public transport,” said the Director of the School’s Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies in a statement.
On an index established at 100 in March 2010, public confidence in an improvement in local transport over the next year now stands at 54, down from 94 at the end of 2013.
Public confidence in an improvement in transport conditions nationwide in the next year has fallen from 104 to 56, while confidence in an improvement over the next five years has fallen since 2013 from 101 to 65 points on the TOPS index.
The most pessimistic states were South Australia and West Australia.
TOPS is the only national survey to measure public opinion on transport related issues.