A slim majority of Metro Vancouver residents would vote to increase the current 7% provincial sales tax (PST) by 0.5% to partially fund transit improvements, according to a new poll by Insights West.
The online poll of 601 Metro Vancouver residents found that 52% of respondents said they would "definitely" or "probably" vote yes, while 32% said they would vote no. The yes side was more popular among young people aged 18-34 and among those who take transit regularly.
"Yes" voters said they were swayed by the argument that increased transit will improve congestion in the region, while many "no" voters said they distrusted TransLink's ability to properly spend the money raised by the tax increase and were concerned that the tax might increase in the future.
