What YOU can do about Cape Town’s traffic congestion
South Africa’s traffic congestion has become a real problem over the last year, particularly in Cape Town where many motorists find themselves sitting in traffic when they should be at work.
Traffic congestion is not only frustrating for motorists, it slows down economical production and can end up costing a city a lot of money due to delays and unreliability.
While we’ve seen various reports and press releases to suggest that plans to relieve the city’s traffic congestion are underway, motorists travelling in and out of the CBD are still battling to crawl through traffic to their destinations.
Simply put, we’re seeing many more cars on the road these days, especially while the state of our public transport system isn’t everyone’s first choice when it comes to getting to and from work.
But what other options are there?
Carpool and ride sharing options
According to a survey by MotorHappy 71% of South Africans don’t carpool, while only 51% would consider carpooling to save money. With so many of us travelling in and out of the CBD, petrol price hikes and the frustrations that come with sitting in traffic jams, why aren’t more of us starting up carpool groups?
Consider driving to or from work with a co-worker, family member or friend in an attempt to cut costs and lower your blood pressure.
Scooter
When you’re stuck crawling along the highway at 1 km an hour, don’t you just envy those who cruise through on their scooters? We see more and more people scooting around on scooters today not only because it saves times in traffic, but because it cuts fuel costs right down!
If you’re considering a scooter as an option make sure you read the following tips first: Things to know before buying a scooter
Cycle
Just 15 years ago the amount of London traffic was double what it is now. Partly because, apart from public transportation, cycling is also a viable solution!
If you live close enough to work, why not consider cycling as a commuting alternative and get a bit of a workout while saving on fuel costs!
Walk
It’s not always ideal when the weather’s bad, but it’s amazing to note just how many people live so close to work and don’t consider walking.
Walking to work is more than just good exercise. If the distance between your home and workplace allows for it, walking to work is a great way to de-stress and perhaps even help you think up a great idea or solution to a work problem.
Make sure you remember pedestrian safety precautions and don’t text and walk!
And if you are going to drive…
If driving to and from work is the only way, we’d like to remind motorists of the following to help ease the tension:
- It is illegal to stop at an intersection. A motorist may not enter into an intersection if they are not able to fully cross it in the first place. It doesn’t matter if there are five other cars doing it, those five cars could all be fined and so could you if you do the same.
- “A single car with one occupant can delay a bus with 50 or more passengers, and disrupt the service time schedule,” said Brett Herron, Mayoral committee member for transport. Don’t be one of them.
- Pushing into another lane while everyone else has been patiently waiting is one of the most aggravating factors of traffic jams, and it’s not just the taxis that are doing it. More and more impatient motorists are seen cutting across at the very last second, which significantly worsens the delay.
- If you have colleagues who live in your area consider ride sharing and carpool options to help lessen the amount of cars on the road.
- Make sure your vehicle is roadworthy, has enough fuel and able to cope with long amounts of time spent in neutral and low speeds in traffic. Breaking down on an already congested road is a recipe for disaster.
- It’s incredibly tough to stay calm and to be patient, but if everyone followed the regular rules of the road instead of blocking intersections and cutting into lanes, it can ease the tension and stop further delay.