Johannesburg 3rd worst for commuters

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South Africa's economic powerhouse is the third worst city in the world to commute in, a global survey which measures the emotional and economic cost of congestion has found.

The survey - the IBM Commuter Pain Index - found the only cities worse than Johannesburg in this regard are Mexico City and Beijing.

IBM surveyed 8 192 motorists in 20 cities on five continents, the majority of whom say that traffic has gotten worse in the past three years.

Key findings of the study show that 57% of all respondents say that roadway traffic has negatively affected their health.

The Index reveals a tremendous disparity in the pain of the daily commute from city to city.

Developing cities

For example 96% in New Delhi and 95% in Beijing say that roadway traffic has negatively affected their health.

In Sweden the corresponding ratio is much lower, with only 14% of Stockholm drivers surveyed saying that traffic negatively affected their health, work and school performance.

In fact Stockholm had the least painful commute of the cities studied, followed by Melbourne, Houston and New York City.

The extreme congestion in many of today's developing cities is a relatively recent phenomenon, having paralleled the rapid economic growth of those cities during the past decade or two.

By contrast, the traffic in places such as New York, Los Angeles or London developed gradually over many decades, giving officials more time and resources to address the problem.

Zoaib Hoosen, Public Sector Director, IBM Sub-Saharan Africa said: "Traditional solutions such as building more roads will not be enough to overcome the growth of traffic in these rapidly developing cities, so multiple solutions need to be deployed simultaneously to avoid a failure of the transportation networks."

"New techniques are required that empower transportation officials to better understand and proactively manage the flow of traffic," he concluded.