Thousands are set to make the journey from Johannesburg to Durban this Easter weekend, with the cost of the road trip steeper than it was a few years ago.
The recent hike in fuel prices mean travellers, whether they own private motor vehicles or are using public transpor, will dig a bit deeper into their pockets to make it to their destinations.
TimesLIVE crunched the numbers to see how much it will cost you to travel to Durban by car, bus and plane in 2022, and how that compares with five years ago.
BY CAR
Using one of Mzansi’s most popular vehicles, the Volkswagen Polo Vivo, a trip from the Joburg city centre to the Durban city centre is around 570km, about six hours via the N3.
According to the manufacturer a full tank should get you from Johannesburg to Durban.
The 1.4 Trendline Polo Vivo comes with a 45-litre fuel tank which means a full tank of petrol at R21.96 per litre will cost about R988.
In 2017, a driver of the same vehicle would have spent R13.30 per litre on petrol over the Easter period, putting the full tank price at R598.
Toll tariffs are determined by the size of the vehicle. This Polo Vivo falls under class 1 which totals R286.50 for a complete trip to Durban. In 2017 toll fees were R229.
Total cost in 2022 vs 2017: R1,274 vs R827.50. This means you will now have to spend R447 more to travel to Durban from Johannesburg by car than you did five years ago.
Travelling to Durban this long weekend? Here’s how much it will cost you — and how much it cost five years ago
Image: Masi Losi
Thousands are set to make the journey from Johannesburg to Durban this Easter weekend, with the cost of the road trip steeper than it was a few years ago.
The recent hike in fuel prices mean travellers, whether they own private motor vehicles or are using public transpor, will dig a bit deeper into their pockets to make it to their destinations.
TimesLIVE crunched the numbers to see how much it will cost you to travel to Durban by car, bus and plane in 2022, and how that compares with five years ago.
BY CAR
Using one of Mzansi’s most popular vehicles, the Volkswagen Polo Vivo, a trip from the Joburg city centre to the Durban city centre is around 570km, about six hours via the N3.
According to the manufacturer a full tank should get you from Johannesburg to Durban.
The 1.4 Trendline Polo Vivo comes with a 45-litre fuel tank which means a full tank of petrol at R21.96 per litre will cost about R988.
In 2017, a driver of the same vehicle would have spent R13.30 per litre on petrol over the Easter period, putting the full tank price at R598.
Toll tariffs are determined by the size of the vehicle. This Polo Vivo falls under class 1 which totals R286.50 for a complete trip to Durban. In 2017 toll fees were R229.
Total cost in 2022 vs 2017: R1,274 vs R827.50. This means you will now have to spend R447 more to travel to Durban from Johannesburg by car than you did five years ago.
POLL | Have the floods in KwaZulu-Natal changed your Easter holiday plans?
BY PLANE
The cheapest one-way flight from Joburg to Durban will cost you R1,700 on FlySafair. This price excludes the cost for checked luggage which is weighed and billed separately.
The cheapest one-way flight on the same airline for the long weekend is R1,900 including checked luggage of 20kg. Flight prices differ across airlines and depend on the time of travel and demand.
According to another travel aggregator the cost of a flight to Durban in 2017 was R400 on special leading up to the weekend and about R1,000 closer to the weekend.
Total cost in 2022 vs 2017: R1,900 vs R1000. You will now spend about R900 more to travel to Durban from Johannesburg by plane than you did five years ago.
BY BUS
Another widely used means of transport is buses. Similar to flights, bus prices differ depending on which company you travel with. They also increase and decrease according to demand.
The cheapest bus could cost you between R340 and R430. In 2017, the cheapest one-way trip from Durban to Joburg cost about R260 in 2017.
Total cost in 2022 vs 2017: R260 vs R340. You will now spend about R80 more to travel to Durban from Johannesburg by bus than you did five years ago.
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