The results of a $100K TTC phone survey of riders is in, and streetcars aren't winning any popularity contests. Rider satisfaction for streetcar users sits at 65%, which represents at 13% drop from last year. Buses, on the other hand, hover at 75% rating, while subways come in at 72%. Torontonians also take almost 10% less "pride" in the TTC if they're regular users of its streetcars compared to riders lining up for buses (subway rider's pride is up 3%), which is curious given their iconic status and the fact that service levels haven't actually changed since the last survey. Perhaps riders got fed up with the old models when the fancy new ones were revealed?

The survey also rates satisfaction in TTC staff's availability for help in the subway at around 50%, cleanliness around 76%, and length of wait times at 78% (cleanliness ratings dip to 71% on bus and streetcar). The TTC's chief customer officere Chris Upfold didn't seem too worried about the streetcar's bad rep when he talked to The Star, though - he's looking forward to our smiling faces when the new air conditioned cars roll out - on August 31st. At the end of summer. On Spadina. Keep reaching for that rainbow, I guess.

You can read the full customer satisfaction report here. Was it worth the 100K? Does this line up with your own TTC experiences?

Photo by Tom Ryaboi