Traffic is something Capetonians have become accustomed to, but not something anyone can ever learn to be comfortable with. According to data gathered by location technology company TomTom, Cape Town is the most congested city in South Africa.

The TomTom Traffic Index details the traffic data of 416 cities in a total of 57 countries. While Cape Town comes in at 101 on the world list, it is the most congested in South Africa. The city is followed by Johannesburg – which comes in at 121st in the world – and Pretoria (at number 207).

The location tracking company has estimated that drivers in Cape Town and Johannesburg spend an average of 20-21 extra minutes per 30 minute trip in the morning stuck in traffic. You can also expect to spend an extra 20 minutes per 30 minute-trip in the evening.

Bengaluru in India has taken the top spot this year, and its residents can expect to spend 71% extra travel time as a result of being stuck in traffic.

Next in the international rankings are: Manila in the Philipines(71%), Bogota in Colombia (68%), last year’s most congested city, Mumbai (65%), and Pune (59%), India.

“In time, the rise of autonomous vehicles and car-sharing services will help alleviate congestion, but planners and policymakers can’t afford to sit and wait. They need to use all the tools available to them to analyse traffic levels and impacts, so they can make critical infrastructure decisions,” the report read. “And drivers have a role to play too. Small changes in driving behaviours can make a huge difference.”

Picture: Pixabay

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Lucinda is a hard news writer who occasionally dabbles in lifestyle writing, and recent journalism graduate. She is a proud intersectional feminist, and is passionate about actively creating a world which is free of discrimination and inequality.