New Statewide Poll Shows Overwhelming Support for the State Ferry System

Anchorage, AK – Alaskans across the state showed overwhelming support for the ferry system in a recent statewide poll question. Eighty-five percent of those polled said the state should continue funding the Alaska Marine Highway System, which currently serves 30 communities in Southeast, Southcentral, and Southwest Alaska. Support for the ferry system ranged from 67% in Fairbanks to 82% in Anchorage to 95% in Southeast Alaska, with only Fairbanks under 81%. The statewide poll, which covered several unconnected topics, questioned 401 Alaskan households with at least one voter. The poll has a margin of error +/- 4.9%.

The ferry poll results were announced at Southeast Conference’s Mid-Session Summit in Juneau today.

“"The Alaska Marine Highway system is an integral part of our Alaskan transportation network. With more coastline than all other states put together, our ferry system is a critical travel mode," said Representative Beth Kerttula of Juneau.

“These poll results show widespread and deep support throughout the state and across the political spectrum for funding the ferry system,” said Lois Epstein, Director of the Alaska Transportation Priorities Project, a non-profit, public interest organization promoting sensible transportation systems in Alaska.

“Alaska’s ferry system is important to the state’s military personnel,” stated Cathy Spence, Relocation Specialist for Fort Richardson near Anchorage. “Ferries allow military personnel to relocate with their vehicles and personal items at any time of year and provide military members with a "once in a lifetime" view of Alaska's coastal communities and surrounding scenery.”

To put ferry costs into context, poll respondents were given the latest Alaska Department of Transportation figures on annual ferry and road costs before the poll question. The poll, conducted by Hays Research Group (www.haysresearch.com), was taken on March 10-12. The Alaska Transportation Priorities Project funded the ferry poll question, while others funded the rest of the poll.

The attached 3-page report entitled “Questions and Answers on the Hays Research Group March 10-12, 2008 Statewide Opinion Counts Survey’s Alaska Ferry Poll Question” includes more detailed information about the poll and its ferry question. The wording of the ferry poll question and the response summary follow:

Poll Question: The state’s ferry system requires approximately $70 million per year from the state to balance revenues and operating costs, plus needed upgrades will cost approximately $60 million each year through 2030. The state plans to spend around $1.05 billion each year through 2030 on roads, or eight times as much annually as it will spend on ferries. Do you think the state should continue providing ferry service to 30 communities in Southeast, Southwest, and Southcentral Alaska?

Yes, continue			340/401		85%
No, stop			40/401		10%
Don’t Know / Refused		21/401		5%

Download: Press Release, March 26th, 2008 (MS Word Doc, 196k)

Download: Questions and Answers about the poll ferry question (MS Word Doc, 55k)

Download: Hays Research Group Survey: Methodology and Results (MS Word Doc, 268k)

Listen: KTOO Juneau radio coverage about the survey (MP3 file, 1.4MB)