This is how much time people spend in traffic in South Africa – and which cities are the worst
TomTom’s latest Traffic Index shows that the time people spend in traffic steadily increases each year, with all South African major cities showing an uptick in commuting time.
The index covered 389 cities across 56 countries, ranking them based on travel time, fuel costs, and CO2 emissions.
Tom Tom noted that its index comprises floating car data (FCD), taking a representative sample of this data for each city on the ranking.
The data spanned 543 billion kilometres to assess and show how traffic has evolved in cities around the globe – including South Africa.
Traffic in South Africa can be a major headache for motorists. With a population of over just 60 million people and a growing number of cars on the road, traffic congestion is becoming an increasingly common problem.
According to the report, South African cities such as Pretoria, Cape Town and Bloemfontein experience some of the worst traffic in the country, particularly during rush hour.
Pretoria ranks as the most congested city, with an average of 145 hours (6 days) spent in rush hour per year, while the average time it takes to drive 10km is 16 minutes.
Cape Town and East London rank 2nd and 3rd, respectively, with 132 hours (5.5 days) spent in rush hour traffic – taking 15 minutes and 30 seconds to drive 10km in Cape Town and 15 minutes to do the same in East London.
Bloemfontein ranks 4th in South Africa, taking an average of 14 minutes and 40 seconds to drive 10km. However, motorists in the city spend 136 hours (5.6 days) in rush hour per year – which is slightly longer than in Cape Town and East London.
Following closely behind is Johannesburg in 5th place, with 123 hours (5.1 days) spent in rush hour traffic, taking 13 minutes and 40 seconds to drive 10km.
The last South African city featured in the report is Durban, which showed the quickest time to drive 10km at 12 minutes 20 seconds and 112 hours (4.6 days) stuck in rush hour traffic.
However, to get a more accurate picture of South African motorists’ time on the road, one could consider the average distance motorists travel per trip.
According to Numbeo, one of the world’s largest database of user-contributed data, the average South African travels 22km one-way.
Using the time it takes to travel 10km, according to TomTom, motorists in each city spend between 22 and 35 minutes on the road.
A survey conducted by Statistica corroborates these times. The survey involved 2,032 respondents, who answered the question, “On average, how long is your daily commute to work/school/university (one way)?”
The responses showed that most South Africans listed their daily commute as 15 to 29 minutes (36%) and 30 to 59 minutes (25%).
Fuel costs of travel and money spent due to congestion
As part of its ranking indicators, TomTom also included the average motorists’ CO2 emissions and fuel spending per year, including the estimated amount spent on fuel due to congestion.
Using the one-way commute distance of 22km and TomTom’s data, we could outline the abovementioned metrics for petrol and diesel users, respectively, in each city – listed below.
Pretoria
- On average, petrol users in Pretoria spend R16,492 on fuel annually, and TomTom estimates R2,308 of this is spent due to traffic.
- Petrol users also emit, on average, 1,863 kg of CO2 per year – of which 315 kg is due to road congestion. To put this in perspective, it would take 186 trees grown over a year to absorb.
- Diesel users spend R16,570 on fuel annually, of which R2,308 is spent due to traffic.
- Diesel users emit 1,863 kg of CO2 annually, of which 261 kg is due to road congestion. This would take 188 trees grown over a year to absorb.
Cape Town
- Petrol users in Cape Town spend R15,655 on fuel annually, of which R2,166 is estimated to be paid due to traffic.
- Petrol users also emit 1,769 kg of CO2 per year – of which 245 kg is due to road congestion. This would take 177 trees grown over a year to absorb.
- Diesel users spend R15,912 on fuel annually, of which R1,781 is spent due to traffic.
- Diesel users emit 1,801 kg of CO2 annually, of which 202 kg is due to road congestion. This would take 180 trees grown over a year to absorb.
East London
- Petrol users in East London spend R15,437 on fuel annually, of which R3,110 is estimated to be paid due to traffic.
- Petrol users also emit 1,744 kg of CO2 per year – of which 351 kg is due to road congestion. This would take 174 trees grown over a year to absorb.
- Diesel users spend R16,501 on fuel annually, of which R3,381 is spent due to traffic.
- Diesel users emit 1,867 kg of CO2 annually, of which 383 kg is due to road congestion. This would take 187 trees grown over a year to absorb.
Bloemfontein
- Petrol users in Bloem spend R14,845 on fuel annually, of which R1,365 is estimated to be paid due to traffic.
- Petrol users also emit 1,677 kg of CO2 per year – of which 154 kg is due to road congestion. This would take 168 trees grown over a year to absorb.
- Diesel users spend R14,760 on fuel annually, of which R1,205 is spent due to traffic.
- Diesel users emit 1,670 kg of CO2 annually, of which 136 kg is due to road congestion. This would take 167 trees grown over a year to absorb.
Johannesburg
- Petrol users in Joburg spend R16,260 on fuel annually, of which R2,827 is estimated to be paid due to traffic.
- Petrol users also emit 1,837 kg of CO2 per year – of which 319 kg is due to road congestion. This would take 184 trees grown over a year to absorb.
- Desiel users spend R16,737 on fuel annually, of which R2,761 is spent due to traffic.
- Diesel users emit 1,894 kg of CO2 annually, of which 312 kg is due to road congestion. This would take 189 trees grown over a year to absorb.
Durban
- Petrol users in Durban spend R15,079 on fuel annually, of which R2,241 is estimated to be paid due to traffic.
- Petrol users also emit 1,704 kg of CO2 per year – of which 253 kg is due to road congestion. This would take 170 trees grown over a year to absorb.
- Diesel users spend R15,462 on fuel annually, of which R2,016 is spent due to traffic.
- Diesel users emit 1,750 kg of CO2 annually, of which 228 kg is due to road congestion. This would take 175 trees grown over a year to absorb.
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