On Friday, Car-Free Day, it took officials of the Gauteng department of transport and public works 16 minutes on a minibus taxi to get from Soweto to Park Station in central Johannesburg — a trip that usually takes Sowetan commuters 30 to 45 minutes.
When the Mail & Guardian Online asked departmental spokesperson Alfred Nhlapo why he thought it took so little time, he said: ”We’re asking ourselves the same question … something was missing in the traffic.”
Nhlapo said people told him that traffic on the N1 — which carries about 300 000 vehicles between Johannesburg and Tshwane every day — was ”flowing” because there were two or more people per car.
He said the message of Car-Free Day — ”to educate one another in creating a better way of using road space” — is meant to address private car owners.
”Our roads are getting congested and private cars are the biggest contributing factor … If we don’t deal with the issues we’re going to be in trouble in a few years,” he said.
Nhlapo claims to use public transportation ”from time to time” when he gets frustrated with driving and sitting in traffic.
However, private schools in Gauteng broke up for mid-term holidays on Thursday, meaning the cars of parents dropping off their children, which contribute considerably to morning traffic, remained in garages.
When asked if this had anything to do with Friday’s ”flowing” traffic, Nhlapo said: ”You might be able to bring that into it.”
The provincial minister of transport, Ignatius Jacobs, said on Thursday: ”Traffic congestion is a major challenge for the efficient mobility of people goods and services, in our province, to the extent that it chokes economic activity.”
According to the transport department’s website, on Car-Free Day motorists are encouraged to support the initiative by leaving their private cars at home for a day and explore the use of alternative travelling by public transport or catch rides in lift clubs.
In the long term, the campaign should encourage people to use public transport and reduce damage caused by too many cars on the country’s roads.