A Global Traffic Scorecard by INRIX analyses the traffic congestion and mobility trends in more than 200 cities across 38 countries, delivering in-depth insights for drivers and producing a chart of cross-national rankings.
Cape Town ranked 28th on the index, which shows a staggering statistic: according to the scorecard, the average Capetonian spends a massive 162 hours each year sitting in traffic, the equivalent of nearly a week.
This places the Mother City on the top of the rankings in South Africa, with the closest competitor being Pretoria at 143 hours lost, followed by Johannesburg at 119 hours and lastly Port Elizabeth at 71 hours.
This proof that Cape Town locals spend more time in traffic than anywhere else in the country simply confirms the way we feel when we are on our way home everyday.
In fact, we are not too far from being the most congested city in the world. Bogota in Columbia, whose residents spend a shocking 210 hours which is almost 9 days a year, takes the number one spot on INRIX’s index.
It is worth noting however that this index does not include countries such as China and India, and the rankings would likely be different if these had also been analysed.
Cape Town has long struggled with traffic congestion and it probably doesn’t come as a surprise to most locals that we are this high on the global ranking. Our public transport system is a mess, to say the least, and there are only so many roads available to drive on. Along with this is the thing many Capetonians insist is a fact: that whenever it rains everyone forgets how to drive.
There has been a lot of emphasis on the traffic congestion in the Cape recently and the City has promised to make a change with a R481-million budget plan in place to ease congestion.
We cannot know when the results of this dedication will be seen, but at least we have beautiful Mother City views to enjoy while we spend time waiting behind the wheel.
Picture: Pexels
