Understanding AA Members' views
To be a voice for our Members on transport issues we need to have a good understanding of their views.
To achieve this we regularly conduct email surveys on a wide range of topics, working hard to make sure genuine and accurate views of our Members are captured.
This page provides information on:
How we survey
How we use survey results
Examples of some surveys
Examples of some survey results
Check you are a potential survey recipient
How we survey
Our survey methods depend on the topic we want to explore. For example:
| National transport issue | Regional or local transport issue |
| Most commonly through the AA Member Voices Panel of up to 10,000 Members but we also sometimes use independent survey firms to send survey to their panels from the general public | Random samples drawn from AA Membership by postcode |
Participation is completely voluntary (as with any survey except the Census), but to ensure our results have credibility the size of our survey samples are in line with those used by professional survey or polling businesses.
Click for a more in-depth explanation about how we survey
How we use survey results
The Government and authorities regularly consider changes to transport policies and regulations - from nationwide issues like the make-up of the transport budget and level of fuel tax drivers pay, to local decisions on speed limits and parking charges.
The AA monitors and responds to these proposals at a national level through our Government submissions and at a regional level through our 18 District Councils across the country. We also develop and champion our own ideas for how transport could be improved through things like the AA's Election Calls and Auckland Matters.
There will always be a range of support and opposition to any change, so we use surveys to get insight into our Members' perspectives. This is considered alongside other research, evidence and policy analysis to form the final position the AA takes on an issue.
Examples of some surveys
We conduct a 'Rolling Survey' and 'District Concerns Survey' with the same questions each year to monitor long term trends.
We also regularly produce one-off surveys on specific issues or a broad range of transport-related topics.
To provide an idea of our survey programme, below is an example of surveys conducted in the second half of 2023:
| SURVEY MONTH | REGION | TOPIC |
| October 2023 | Tauranga | Road Pricing Proposal |
| August 2023 | New Zealand | New Zealand Media habits |
| August 2023 | North Canterbury | Woodend Bypass |
| July 2023 | Auckland | Labour Party's New Waitemata Harbour Crossing Plan |
| June 2023 | Wellington and Auckland | 30km/h Speed Limits |
| May 2023 | New Zealand | Climate Change |
Example of some survey results
Follow the link to see a summary of results from some recent surveys.
On occasion we have published compilations of survey results. The last time we did this was in 2017, which provides useful historical information relevant to that time, but some changes in responses would be anticipated for the same questions asked today.
What Our Members Think – AA Member Surveys, March 2017
This publication summarised the results of 27 surveys, giving a snapshot of AA Members’ views on their cars, alternative transport, congestion, safety, fuel, parking, the environment and more.
Check you are a potential survey recipient
The AA Member Voices Panel is made up of up to 10,000 Members that reflect our Membership demographics and have agreed to regularly receive surveys for their views.
If you are not a part of that panel you could still receive surveys for regional or local issues where random samples of our Members are chosen from our database for individual surveys.
To be eligible to receive a survey invitation, a person must have:
- An AA Membership
- A unique email address (not shared)
- An email address not on the NZ Marketing Association's 'do not send' list
- Have agreed to receive AA emails.
Check your contact details are up-to-date by either: