Energy

R18,300 pain for anyone commuting to work in South Africa

Malcolm Libera

 ·27 Sep 2026

For South Africans who drive to work every day, the rising cost of fuel is putting increasing pressure on household budgets.

BusinessTech calculated that the cost of commuting to work in 2026 so far has cost the average employee almost R20,000. 

Discovery data shows that its clients drive an average of around 1,100 kilometres each month and spend approximately 35 hours in their vehicles.

The figures are tracked through telematics technology linked to the Vitality Drive programme, which has more than 295,000 active vehicles covered by Discovery Insure.

Using the International Energy Agency’s estimate that passenger cars in South Africa consume an average of 7.4 litres per 100 kilometres, an average driver travelling 1,100 kilometres would use about 81.4 litres of fuel a month.

The cost of that commute has fluctuated significantly in 2026 as petrol and diesel prices responded to international oil prices, geopolitical tensions and movements in the rand.

Petrol started the year at R20.75 per litre in January before falling slightly to R20.10 in February. Prices then climbed sharply, reaching a record R28.06 per litre in June.

Although prices eased to R25.58 in July and August, petrol increased again to R26.92 per litre in September.

For someone using 81.4 litres a month, the monthly petrol bill increased from R1,689.05 in January to R2,191.29 in September – an increase of R502.24. Over the first nine months of the year, this amounted to R17,728.91.

Diesel drivers faced even greater volatility. Diesel started January at R18.52 per litre, but prices surged during April and May, reaching R31.88 per litre in May.

Prices subsequently fell to R25.67 in July before climbing again to R30.05 per litre in September.

The monthly cost for an average 81.4-litre user varied by as much as R1,133 between February and May.

By September, the monthly cost was R938.54 higher than at the start of the year, with the nine-month total reaching R18,310.11. And the picture looks grim for October.

Table 1: Petrol Car (95 Unleaded – Inland)

Table 2: Diesel Car (0.005% Sulphur Wholesale – Inland)

Employers need to take note

Current Central Energy Fund (CEF) data point to a potential petrol increase of roughly R2.47 to R2.62 per litre, while diesel could rise by between R2.42 and R2.81 per litre.

If realised, petrol could reach approximately R29.54 per litre. Diesel could also reach a new record, with 0.005% diesel potentially rising from R30.05 to around R32.86 per litre.

Lindiwe Sebesho, managing director of remuneration and workforce research consultancy Remchannel, said fuel and living costs should be considered when companies determine their employee value proposition.

“It’s an important consideration from a value proposition perspective. Flexibility, as you’ve said, is one of the key requirements when one looks at a job, especially for those jobs that can be done remotely,” she said.

Remchannel research found that 77% of employers surveyed had made no additional flexibility available in response to rising fuel or cost-of-living pressures.

In an interview with HOT Business, she said some companies still associate productivity with physical presence, despite the ability to measure performance through outputs and results.

“I think a lot of organisations still consider productivity to be correlated to being seen, and actually being present in the job,” she said.

For employees who cannot work remotely, Sebesho said employers could consider flexible start and finish times, shift-swapping and targeted transport assistance.

“Flexible start and finish times, shift swapping, where those are operationally feasible,” are among the measures employers could consider, she said.

For workers who need to travel to work, “targeted transport support, employer-funded transport options could be considered”.

However, Sebesho said companies also face financial constraints and should test different measures before making permanent commitments.

“It’s important to look at different ways, pilot the measures that an employer takes. Look at take-up,” she said.

She said employers should balance support for workers with the need to remain financially sustainable.

“We also want to ensure employers don’t end up having to restructure and retrench people and add to the challenge of unemployment that we already have in the country,” Sebesho said.