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Baseline Evaluation – Telephone Survey
A pre-campaign survey will provide benchmark data to help you establish a basis for comparison with the post-campaign survey. This data is useful when evaluating your idling initiative. Before you set out to develop your own survey instrument, take a look at what other communities have done. For example, view the September 2001 pre-campaign telephone baseline survey targeted at Mississauga residents.
Hello. My name is ___________. I am calling on behalf of the City of Mississauga. We're doing a brief survey about driving habits and environmental issues. Could I please speak with the member of your household who drives the most? REPEAT IF NECESSARY. We would like to ask you a few questions about your current driving habits and get your views on some environmental issues. The survey will take approximately 8-10 minutes to complete. The information we gain from the survey will be used to improve the delivery of public education programs in Mississauga. Would you be willing to participate? IF YES: That's great – before we begin I'd like you to know that you do not need to answer any questions that you do not wish to.
IF RESPONDENT REPLIES THAT HE/SHE DOES NOT HAVE TIME TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY, ASK IF THERE IS A MORE CONVENIENT TIME WHEN YOU MIGHT CALL BACK. IF THE RESPONDENT DOES NOT WISH TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY AT ANOTHER TIME, ASK IF HE/SHE WOULD THEN BE WILLING TO COMPLETE A BRIEF SURVEY THAT WILL TAKE NO LONGER THAN HALF-A-MINUTE. EXPLAIN THAT THIS BRIEF SURVEY WILL ALLOW US TO DETERMINE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THOSE WHO COMPLETE THE SURVEY, AND THOSE WHO DON'T. IF RESPONDENT IS WILLING TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SHORTER SURVEY, USE THE REFUSAL SURVEY.
Behaviour 1
| 1. | I'd like to begin by asking you a number of questions about engine idling. By idling, I mean leaving your vehicle's engine running while stopped in situations other than traffic. Thinking of the last day that you drove your vehicle, I would like you to tell me how many times, if at all, you idled the vehicle's engine in the following situations. For each, I would also like you to tell me, on average, approximately how long you idled your vehicle in that situation. PROBE FOR TIME ONLY IF RESPONDENT REPORTS IDLING IN THE SITUATION | DK | |||
| a) | Thinking of the last day that you drove your vehicle, how many times do you think you idled your engine before you began driving? | ||||
| _____ | 99 | ||||
| Thinking of those occasions, on average, for how long do you think you idled the engine? | |||||
| minutes_____ seconds_____ | 99 | ||||
| b) | Thinking of the last day that you drove your vehicle, how many times do you think you left the engine running while you were waiting in your driveway for other members of your household? | ||||
| _____ | 99 | ||||
| Thinking of those occasions, on average, for how long do you think you idled the engine? | |||||
| minutes_____ seconds_____ | 99 | ||||
| c) | Thinking of the last day that you drove your vehicle, how many times do you think you left the engine running while you were waiting to pick up friends or members of your household at locations other than your home? | ||||
| _____ | 99 | ||||
| Thinking of those occasions, on average, for how long do you think you idled the engine? | |||||
| minutes_____ seconds_____ | 99 | ||||
| d) | Thinking of the last day that you drove your vehicle, how many times do you think you left the engine running while you were waiting in a fast food or bank machine drive-through lane? | ||||
| _____ | 99 | ||||
| Thinking of those occasions, on average, for how long do you think you idled the engine? | |||||
| minutes_____ seconds_____ | 99 | DK | |||
| e) | Thinking of the last day that you drove your vehicle, how many times do you think you left the engine running while you were running errands that were either work or non-work related? | ||||
| _____ | 99 | ||||
| Thinking of those occasions, on average, for how long do you think you idled the engine? | |||||
| minutes_____ seconds_____ | 99 | ||||
| f) | Thinking of the last day that you drove your vehicle, how many times do you think you left the engine running while you were waiting to pick up friends or family members at a school? | ||||
| _____ | 99 | ||||
| Thinking of those occasions, on average, for how long do you think you idled the engine? | |||||
| minutes_____ seconds_____ | 99 | ||||
| g) | Thinking of the last day that you drove your vehicle, how many times do you think you left the engine running while you were waiting to pick up friends or family members at a GO Transit station? | ||||
| _____ | 99 | ||||
| Thinking of those occasions, on average, for how long do you think you idled the engine? | |||||
| minutes_____ seconds_____ | 99 | ||||
| h) | Thinking of the last day that you drove your vehicle, how many times do you think you left the engine running while you were waiting to pick up friends or family members at a local arena, library or community centre? | ||||
| _____ | 99 | ||||
| Thinking of those occasions, on average, for how long do you think you idled the engine? | |||||
| minutes_____ seconds_____ | 99 | ||||
Attitudes
| 2. | I'm now going to ask you to respond to several statements regarding vehicle idling. For each of the following statements, I would like you to provide me with a number between 1 and 5, where "1" is "strongly disagree," and "5" is "strongly agree." | ||||||||
| Strongly Disagree |
Strongly Agree |
DK | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a) | It is good for a vehicle engine to let it warm up before driving in the winter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| b) | It is good for a vehicle engine to let it warm up before driving in the summer | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| c) | For brief stops it uses more gas to restart a vehicle than it does to keep it idling | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| d) | It is easier on the vehicle's starter motor to let a vehicle idle | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| e) | You should turn off your vehicle engine even for very short stops | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| f) | Turning off my vehicle engine whenever possible saves significantly on gasoline costs | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| g) | I frequently don't remember to turn my vehicle engine off when I am parked and waiting in the vehicle | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| h) | In colder weather, to keep myself warm, I need to keep the engine running |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| i) | In hot weather, to keep myself cool, I need to keep the engine running |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| j) | Turning my vehicle engine off while parked is the "right thing to do" | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| k) | Friends and family turn their vehicle engines off while parked | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| l) | Idling a vehicle produces unnecessary air pollution | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| m) | Idling a vehicle wastes fuel | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| n) | Idling a vehicle contributes to climate change | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| o) | I am happy with the current air quality in Mississauga | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| p) | Each member of the community has a responsibility for protecting our environment | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| q) | Our quality of life in Mississauga will be improved if more is done to protect the environment | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 3. | We have just a few more questions. I'd like you to imagine that you have just driven into a parking lot and that you are waiting in your vehicle for a friend or family member to arrive. As you know, you have two options regarding your engine. You can either idle your vehicle engine while you are waiting or you can turn your engine off immediately upon arriving and then restart it when you are ready to leave. With this situation in mind, for how long can you idle your engine before you'd use more gas than if you turned it off when you parked and then restarted it later? | ||
Please provide your answer in minutes and/or seconds |
minutes_____ seconds_____ | 99 | |
| Yes | No | DK | |||
| 4. | Have you heard of the phrase "Idle Free Zone" | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 5. | Would you support a project in Mississauga that encourages City residents to avoid unnecessary vehicle idling? | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Classification
| Finally, just a few more questions for classification purposes. | |||||
| 6. | Gender (DON'T ASK) | ||||
| 7. | What type of dwelling is your home? READ OPTIONS | ||||
| a single-detached house | 1 | a suite within a house | 5 | ||
| a duplex or triplex (2 or 3 units attached) |
2 | a mobile home | 6 | ||
| a row house or townhouse (3 or more units) |
3 | other (specify) | 7 | ||
| an apartment building with 6 or more units | 4 | (don't know) | 8 | ||
| 8. | How many vehicles do you have in your household? _______ | 999 | |||
| 9. | Including yourself, please indicate the total number of people living in your household _______ | ||||
| 10. | Which of the following age categories applies to you? Please stop me when I reach your category. |
||||
| 18-24 | 1 | 55-64 | 5 | ||
| 25-34 | 2 | 65+ | 6 | ||
| 35-44 | 3 | refusal | 7 | ||
| 45-54 | 4 | ||||
| 11. | What is the highest level of education you have completed? Please stop me when I reach your category. | ||||
| Some formal schooling | 1 | Some university | 5 | ||
| Graduated high school | 2 | Graduated university | 6 | ||
| Some college or technical | 3 | Post-graduate studies | 7 | ||
| Graduated college/technical | 4 | Refusal | 8 | ||
| 12. | What was your combined total household income before taxes for last year? Please stop me when I reach your category. | ||||
| under $10,000 | 1 | $60,000 to $69,999 | 7 | ||
| $10,000 to $19,999 | 2 | $70,000 to $79,999 | 8 | ||
| $20,000 to $29,999 | 3 | $80,000 to $89,999 | 9 | ||
| $30,000 to $39,999 | 4 | $90,000 to $99,999 | 10 | ||
| $40,000 to $49,999 | 5 | $100,000 & over | 11 | ||
| $50,000 to $59,999 | 6 | Refusal | 12 | ||
That concludes the survey. Thank you for your time and assistance.
