Food is the biggest monthly expense for most of South Africa’s taxi commuters. Despite high levels of unemployment – many are still able to make ends meet, either through a side hustle, a SASSA grant, or through family support.
These are some of the recent insights from the latest KASI411 taxi commuter data (March 2023), a partnership between Red Fox Insight and free WiFi platform Sebenza.
As the cost of living increases – with food inflation hitting a 14-year high in March of 14,4% – the impact of basic goods and necessary items is putting pressure on consumer’s pockets. So it’s not surprising that the KASI411 data showed that food is the biggest monthly expense for almost half of 698 taxi commuters who were surveyed.
Despite this, 42% says they still enjoy smaller luxuries, like purchasing games for their phones. Gift buying was down this past festive season (more than half of those surveyed), with Shoprite the top choice for those who did opt to participate in the spirit of giving (46%).
The KASI411 data shows that 32% of 544 taxi commuters surveyed in March do not have a bank account and for most of those (71%), the reason was simply that they don’t want one – due to factors like high bank fees. Of another group surveyed, 57% had purchased a new phone in the past year and 27% had purchased a TV.
There was also a strong correlation found between Stats SA data and the KASI411 taxi commuter data (March 2023). For example, feedback from surveys across a sample of 28 833 taxi commuters, ages 18+ and currently available to work, showed a 31,3% unemployment rate – with Stats SA Q4:2022 putting South Africa’s unemployment rate of 32,7%.