Survey reveals 17.4 million South Africans walk to their destinations daily

Walking is the most common mode of transport among South Africans. This is according to Stats SA statistician-general Risenga Maluleke, who delivered the 2020 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) in Pretoria on Thursday.

The data reflected modes of transportation used by interviewees seven days before the survey, said Maluleke. South Africans who had travelled to destinations during this period had increased to 45 million compared to 42.4 million in 2013.

Common modes of transport

Maluleke said about 17.4 million South Africans walked to different destinations, 10.7 million used taxis and 6.2 million either used a car or truck as a driver. Trains were the least used mode of transport.

“Trains were the mode of transport least used by household members, except for the Western Cape (1.6%) and Gauteng (1.5%),” he said.

School pupils 

Maluleke said walking was more common among school pupils across the country with about 10.1 million walking daily to and from their institutions of learning. In 2013, there were 11 million pupils who walked to school.

KwaZulu-Natal has the highest number of pupils who walk to school (20.3%) while Limpopo and the Eastern Cape have the least (14.6%). 

Maluleke said 76.9% of pupils interviewed said they walk because schools are nearby compared to 11.0% who said public transport is too expensive.  

Workers

The survey revealed 43.5% of workers across SA use private cars as their main mode of transport and 35% use public transport while 20.3% walk.

Maluleke said employees based in urban areas are more likely to use taxis while workers in rural areas use buses as their main mode of transport.

“The estimated total number of workers’ trips using public transport decreased significantly from 5.4 million in 2013 to 4.7 million in 2020. Taxis accounted for most public transport users with 80.2% of workers using taxis, which is more than the 67.6% reported in 2013.”