Case Studies:

Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet):
Opinion Dynamics has provided research services to TriMet. Most notably, we conducted the agency’s annual Attitudes & Awareness study, a comprehensive study of attitudes and behaviors of Portland-area residents toward public transportation and the agency itself, including the origins and destinations of riders, modes of transportation used, and attitudes toward the services offered to local residents. Other surveys have focused on customer satisfaction among residents who have contacted the agency, awareness of agency advertising, images of the organization, and security concerns.

Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA)
Opinion Dynamics has completed multiple projects for the MBTA. We conducted studies that examined attitudes toward new products and services allowing for uninterrupted cell phone usage on subway trains and in stations. The survey consisted of in-person intercepts at central subway and light rail stations in the Boston area. Other projects have included a mixed-methodology study to gauge customer opinions of a line extension on the Orange Line, and in-person intercepts to explore commuter reaction to the potential closing of a station, which included research on commuter origins.

Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT):
Opinion Dynamics was hired by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to evaluate the effectiveness of a statewide effort to rate the local roads in every municipality. The study focused on communications efforts by the Department to encourage thousands of municipalities throughout the state to undertake this effort. The evaluation, conducted in conjunction with the communications firm Siddall, Inc, sought to identify lessons that could be applied to all WisDOT projects involving local municipalities. The project began with qualitative research; in-person interviews with staff members at WisDOT to obtain an understanding of current WisDOT practices; and in-depth interviews with municipal representatives around the state. The second phase of the research consisted of a quantitative study, in which Opinion Dynamics obtained responses from hundreds of municipal representatives from around the state through a combination of telephone, Internet, and mail methodologies; over 1,000 local government officials responded to the survey.

Contact: Ernie Paicopolos - epaicopolos@opiniondynamics.com