Capetonians battle some of the worst traffic in the world, with Cape Town ranking as one of the most congested cities in the world.
This is according to the latest Inrix Global Traffic Scorecard, which provides travel delay comparisons, costs of congestion to drivers and regions, and commuting trends based on the unique travel patterns within each city measured.
Cape Town comes in at number nine on the global list of the most congested cities, losing 94 hours a year from traffic (13% more than in 2023), which an average last-mile speed of 3,05 kph
Citizens of Johannesburg have it easy in comparison, with the city ranking well below Cape Town at number 31. Johannesburgers lose 55 hours a year in traffic (the same as last year), and average a last-mile speed of 3,33kph.
Other South African cities enjoy much lower congestion rates: Pretoria loses 45 hours a year; Durban loses 35 hours; Pietermaritzburg loses 33 hours; Port Elizabeth loses 30 hours; East London loses 27 hours; Bloemfontein lost 24 hours; Vanderbijlpark loses 13 hours; and Welkom loses just six hours a year.
The scorecard utilises up to date, observed commute trips to truly analyze and compare how travel behaviour differs in more than 900 cities across the globe.
The 10 most-congested cities in the world are Istanbul, New York City, Chicago, Mexico City, London, Paris, Jakarta, Los Angeles, Cape Town and Brisbane.
Traffic congestion can have real, measurable – and devastating – impacts. For instance, London – where drivers lose 101 hours in traffic – counts a direct cost of £3,85-billion (close to R90-billion), equating to £942 (over R21 000.00) per driver.