Pretoria - The latest Traffic Index has revealed that traffic in the capital city has steadily increased over the years, making Pretoria one of the most congested cities in the country.
According to the 2022 TomTom Traffic index, Pretoria stood at number 147 globally.
However, it was flagged as one of the most congested cities in South Africa with an average of 145 hours over a 6-day period spent in rush hour traffic per year.
This meant on average, motorists took roughly 16 minutes to traverse 10km at a mere 32km/h speed.
Travel time reportedly increased in Pretoria last year, with the data suggesting that the average time it took to travel 10km had in fact increased by 40 seconds from 2021.
The report went as far as narrowing down the worst day to travel in Pretoria being October 31, with the average time it took motorists to drive just 10km through the capital peaking at 18 minutes and 20 seconds.
Driving through the capital on Tuesdays, between 4pm and 5pm, was also, the index said, the worst time to go through the city as it took even longer at 19 minutes and 40 seconds.
Second place went to the City of Cape Town and third place to East London, with motorists spending on average 132 hours over a 5.5-day period in rush hour traffic per year.
This meant it took motorists in Cape Town 15 minutes and 30 seconds to drive 10km, while those in East London took 15 minutes to travel the same distance.
Bloemfontein came in fourth place, followed closely behind by the City of Joburg in fifth place.
In fact, the index reported that motorists in Durban spent the least amount of time on the road – at an average 112 hours over 4.6 days stuck in rush hour traffic, with it taking them 12 minutes and 20 seconds to travel 10km.
The index covered 390 cities across 56 countries on six continents, by measuring cities around the world by their travel time, fuel costs and carbon dioxide emissions.
Globally London in the UK topped the list, as the worst city to travel through, because on average it took motorists 36 minutes and 20 seconds to drive 10km.
Second place went to India’s City of Bengaluru, where it took 29 minutes and 10 seconds, and Dublin in Ireland in third place with 28 minutes and 30 seconds to travel over 10km.
Pretoria News