Cape Town's traffic woes: motorists lose 94 hours in traffic delays

Cape Town is the ninth most congested city in the world, according to the 2024 INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard.

The Mother City earned this ranking for the second year in a row, however the data shows traffic is 13% worse than it was in the previous year.

The INRIX survey revealed that Capetonians, on average, experience a delay of 94 hours per year, versus the time they would have spent if they were driving during quieter, off-peak periods. This ‘delay’ was 83 hours in 2023.

Istanbul emerged as the most congested city in 2024, ranking first in the INRIX survey ahead of New York City, Chicago, Mexico City, London, Paris, Jakarta and Los Angeles. Brisbane, Australia, rounded out the top 10.

Cape Town was the only South African city to make the global Top 25, and it fared far worse than its local counterparts, with Johannesburg residents experiencing a delay of 55 hours, followed by Pretoria (45 hours), Durban (35 hours) and Pietermaritzburg (33 hours).

“Hours spent in traffic increased in Cape Town by 11 hours despite the City’s R444 million plan to reduce traffic congestion between 2024 and 2027. As we enter 2025 and employees return from year end breaks and schools and universities start again, many drivers may notice the drastic change to congestion, even on suburban roads,” says Eugene Herbert, CEO of MasterDrive.

As more companies abandon hybrid working models, Mzansi’s biggest cities are likely to see an increase in traffic congestion in the coming year.

INRIX says its 2024 Global Traffic Scorecard provides the most up-to-date methodology for understanding movement in urban areas across the globe.

Commute times are calculated by looking exclusively at the time it takes to get to and from major employment centers within an urban area from surrounding commuting neighbourhoods, and its newest methodology includes accurate estimates of commuting distances using actual, observed trips.

Cape Argus