South Africans Spend 3.5 Working Days a Year Stuck in Traffic.

TomTom‘s Traffic Index now in its 6^th edition has revealed that on average, commuters around South Africa are spending 3.5 working days a year stuck in traffic.

The Traffic Index is the world’s most accurate barometer of traffic congestion in 169 cities across six continents and compares travel times during non-congested hours with travel times in peak hours. The Index takes into account local roads and highways and based on these comparisons, South African areas included in the report that were globally ranked by their overall Congestion Level, in Q2 2013, have been ranked as the following:

20. Johannesburg¹ – 31%

35. East Rand North² – 28%

45. Cape Town – 27%67. Pretoria³ – 23%

95. Durban – 20%

106. East Rand South⁴ – 18%

Globally, the top 10 most congested cities were:

1. Moscow

2. Istanbul

3. Rio de Janeiro

4. Warsaw

5. Palermo6. Marseille

7. Sao_Paulo

8. Rome

9. Paris

10. Stockholm

“We are seeing a clear pattern which shows that congestion levels increase in South Africa as the migration levels from rural areas and towns to cities is increasing rapidly. The traditional responses to tackling congestion, like building new roads or widening existing ones are no longer proving effective. The way traffic is managed needs significant change,”says TomTom South Africa’s Country Manager, Daan Henderickx.

The Traffic Index is based on detailed knowledge of the global road network and aims to help drivers, businesses and governments manage traffic congestion effectively. Despite the fact that the majority of city populations are low income earners who depend on walking or make use of public transport, car ownership is increasing rapidly.

“The findings from the Traffic Index also show that real-time traffic information has the potential to ease congestion in urban areas by routing drivers away from gridlock, and help commuters to make smarter decisions.” added Henderickx.