Johannesburg named city with the best-managed traffic – motorists respond

TomTom has named Johannesburg as the city with the best-managed traffic in the country, according to its 2017 Traffic Index (TTI).
For some, this comes as a surprise considering the fact that Johannesburg is known to be the most congested city in South Africa.
In 2009, TTI reported Johannesburg to be the most densely populated city in South Africa, however, after years of infrastructure improvements and the implementation of information technology systems, Johannesburg has managed to become the city with the best-managed traffic.
This report comes after the navigational products company announced that for the first time this year, it would be celebrating and honouring cities which have found a way to deal with intense traffic demands by introducing the very first TomTom Traffic awards.
However, for many locals in Johannesburg, it is difficult to be happy about this achievement because when they are on the road, they do not feel like they are driving in a city with the best-managed traffic.
A few local commuters were asked what they thought about Johannesburg traffic and this is what they had to say:

• Monday morning traffic is probably the most frustrating thing I have ever experienced. Every Monday, without fail. So, hearing that Joburg is the city with the best-managed traffic, to me it is really hard to believe. – Vusi Mthembu from Ruimsig

• Clearly those stats cannot be true. It’s fake news. Every day, Monday to Friday, I am on the road at 7am and again at 5pm and it is a nightmare. Maybe those stats are talking about weekends in Joburg – Dumisa Mazibuko from Randburg

• There are some parts of the city that are fairly traffic free, for the most part. But then there are those parts that you don’t even wish to ever have to find yourself driving in – Tsotlhe Pele from Sunninghill

• I mean, there is traffic and then there are the taxi drivers on the road just ignoring all the rules of the road. I find that this is when people really get frustrated the most because not only are those taxis putting the lives of everyone else on the road in danger, but they are forever being an inconvenience when they’re trying to abruptly cut in front or literally stop their vehicle in the middle of the lane – David from Rosebank

• Look, all things considered, I think the City of Joburg is doing what they can. Sure, there is still big room for improvement, but if we take a second to consider just how many vehicles are on the roads, then I think this recognition from these people is fair – Michael from Killarney.

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