The Voice of Washington State (VOWS) survey panel was established in 2011 and as of October 2016, has grown to nearly 30,000 active members statewide. It is comprised of people from all over the state who want to share their views and preferences on all things transportation. All results from the surveys are sent to the Governor and Legislature for their consideration and review. You can view all reports and results below.
2017 Voice of Washington Survey Panel
Two surveys were conducted – one via the VOWS panel members and one via a phone survey of 1,000 randomly selected households. The surveys were conducted in January 2017 and focused on statewide attitudes towards key transportation issues.
A Summary presentation (pdf 1 mb) provides the results at a high level and the full report (pdf 2 mb) provides detailed findings.
2016 WSF General Market Assessment
This survey was conducted to understand how three distinct groups: Eastside of Puget Sound, Westside of Puget Sound and residents living in non-Puget Sound areas utilize the ferries. It was conducted June 2016 via the VOWS panel.
A presentation (pdf 1 mb) summarizing the findings was given to the Commission at its July 19, 2016 meeting in Olympia. For more details, please refer to the full report (pdf 2 mb).
Ferry Naming Quick Poll
This survey was conducted in January 2016 asking the Ferry Riders Opinion Group (FROG) and Voice of Washington State (VOWS) panel members to select which of the three ferry names under consideration they would chose for the next 144-car ferry: Suquamish, Cowlitz or Sammamish. More information on the names can be found here.
A presentation summarizing the findings (pdf 495 kb) provides the results at a high level and the full report (pdf 566 kb) provides more detail.
Statewide Survey on Transportation System and Funding Approaches
VOWS members participated in a survey during the fall of 2014, which asked residents statewide to share their views on the condition of the transportation system, the need for funding, and how the gas tax and a possible road usage charge is viewed in terms of fairness and effectiveness of each. A Summary presentation (pdf 875 kb) provides the statewide results at a high level and the full report of findings (pdf 5 mb) provides all the details and findings by region across the state.
Statewide Survey on Opinions & Views of Washington State Ferries
VOWS members participated in a survey during the summer 2014, which asked residents statewide questions related to their usage of Washington State Ferries (WSF), their views on WSF, their view of the value WSF plays to our state’s economy, etc. The full report (pdf 2 mb) provides all the details and data of this survey. There is also a summary presentation (pdf 1 mb) that will give you the highlights of the data and key findings.
Statewide Survey on Vehicle Type and Miles Driven in Washington
VOWS members participated in a survey in June and November 2014 which were designed to help better understand the makeup of our state’s residential vehicle fleet and resident’s usage of our roads and highways. The survey gathered data on each household’s total number of vehicles, total miles driven per year, and the proportion of in-state, out-of-state, and off-public road driving. The survey also asked specific questions about each household vehicle including: Make/model, year, engine type, transmission, miles per gallon and miles driven. The full combined June/November report (pdf 847 kb) provides the details and data of this survey. There is also a summary June/November presentation (pdf 548 kb) that will give you highlights of the data and key findings.