South Africans finding it more expensive to get around town

Rising fuel prices, a weaker rand and a lackluster public transportation system (to name a few) has meant that South Africans are having to dig deeper and deeper into their pockets to travel.

A province-wide survey by the Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO) shows that the 16 million residents of the country’s economic powerhouse, Gauteng, are spending a notable amount more on transport than they did in 2017.

The 2023/24 Quality of Life Index survey (QoL7) interviewed 13,795 respondents across 529 wards (every ward in Gauteng) to assess progress (or lack thereof) in several areas.

According to the survey shows that in 2017, 12% of residents spent between R1,000 and R2,000 a month on transport, which increased to 17% six years later.

In 2017 only 4% spent more than R2,000 a month, but that jumped to 13% by 2023.

That means nearly one in three residents were spending more than R1,000 a month on transport last year.

“Even taking into account inflation and the increasing cost of living in general this is still pretty steep,” said The Outlier, who in-depthly compared various years of these transportation insights.

Looking at the range, residents in South Africa’s most populous province are spending between R0 and R9,500 a month on transport, with a median spend of R500.

The 27% of Gautengers who said they primarily drove cars spent vastly different amounts monthly, but the median for car drivers sits at R2,000 a month.

Continuing to rule the roost is minibus taxis, with nearly 38% of the residents surveyed indicating that this is their primary means of transport.

The median spend of these taxis users was R350 a month, which is less than the median monthly spending of the bus and train users.

Very few participants rely on buses and trains in the latest survey, which shows a lessening reliance on a lackluster public transportation system.

Buses and trains were the main transport mode for less than 2% of the surveyed population in 2023/4.

Ten years ago, the survey found that 7% used them.

While minibus transport use sits top of the pile, it has also decreased in the past decade: 45% of respondents relied on these in 2013/14 and in the latest survey 38% did.

Insted, more people are driving and walking.

“Despite being one of the most expensive transport options, the proportion of people driving a private car has increased from 17% to 27% in the past 10 years,” explained The Outlier.

“On the opposite side of the cost spectrum, the proportion of people who said walking was their primary means of getting around increased to 22% from 14% in 2013/14,” they added.

Transport money

The GCRO survey measures socio-economic status on a 1-to-10 scale, considering factors like income, employment, education, healthcare, and internet access.

Transportation choices vary by socio-economic status, with higher income groups more likely to use private cars.

However, even in lower income brackets, many individuals still choose to use private vehicles.

What about e-hailing?

Although ride-hailing services have transformed urban transport in South Africa, the latest survey reveals that a significant portion of Gauteng residents still rarely use e-hailing platforms.

Two-thirds of respondents report never using these services, while occasional users typically rely on them only a few times per month.

Frequent e-hailing users are often those who usually rely on minibus taxis, likely turning to ride-hailing options when these are unavailable.

Read: This is what’s stopping an electric vehicle boom in South Africa