Johannesburg residents lose 37 minutes every day due to non-functioning traffic lights, costing time, money and fuel.
Johannesburg residents lose an average of 37 minutes a day on the city’s roads due to non-functioning traffic lights, an expert’s research has found.
“If the average time lost is 37 minutes per day, this costs more than R28,000 per year,” according to research by Dr Aurobindo Ograurban, a lecturer in regional planning at the University of Johannesburg.
“It is believed that fuel consumption is 3.5 times higher due to traffic consumption.”
Traffic lights cost you time and money
However, the Joburg Roads Agency (JRA) said 75% of the 2,023 traffic and warning lights were functional.
This was contrary to Organization that undoes tax abuse (Outa) CEO Wayne Duvenage said the traffic light situation in the city was a real concern.
“Our recent X survey shows that motorists experience a deterioration in the operation of traffic lights.”
JRA’s acting head of mobility and freight, Phalanndwa Makhwathana, said the traffic light issues were due to “electrical power supply issues contributing to more than 25% of outages experienced”.
“In addition to every other potentially attributable challenge, Eskom and City Power also face theft and vandalism of the same network that supplies power to the signaling infrastructure,” Makhwathana said.
“The cost of restoring non-functional infrastructure is estimated at more than R70 million. Approximately 600 confirmed technical faults are repaired every year. This number excludes vandalism and power-related outages where the JRA is dependent on energy companies such as Eskom and City Power.”
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Residents share their frustration
A resident, Lungile Mthethwa, said: “I travel from Soweto to Alberton and it is always a nightmare. As soon as you enter Voortrekker Road, the traffic lights are off. The ones on Ring Road and St Austell Street are also not working.
“There are always about two traffic lights out of order on that road. On Voortrekker there are about three lights that have been out for three months. I’m always late and we’re constantly arguing with taxi drivers who want to cut corners for you. Don’t even tell me how expensive this is for petrol,” Mthethwa said.
Another local resident, Lizo Zulu, who commutes daily to Midrand from the R554 towards Heidelberg Road, said there were no working traffic lights at about four intersections on the route.
“Previously I was spending R600 a week on petrol, but now it is R750 a week – that’s R3,000 a month on petrol.”
Motorists in Randburg said traffic was congested on Bram Fischer Drive around 7am as traffic lights were constantly broken.
Light ‘always off’
A Wits University student said the lights were always off in Dunkeld, near the corner of Hyde Park, a busy intersection.
Since 2022, the Fourways area had deteriorated, Fourways councilor David Foley said.
“It is extremely bad because there is no traffic flow, drivers get frustrated, the taxis drive on the pedestrian and cycle paths, endangering lives and scaring other drivers.
“A 10-minute ride takes 50 minutes. Schoolchildren arrive late for school and parents have to leave earlier in the morning.”
Foley said repairing the lights could take up to eight months.
“We have been told that this recent spike in problems is due to tenders that were issued more than six months ago, but have not yet been awarded, for the outsourcing of traffic light maintenance or the supply of parts,” said Duvenage.
‘Destroyed traffic lights take longer to repair’
JRA said replacing destroyed traffic lights took longer than technical errors. These intersections may be without traffic lights for a longer period of time.
Makhwathana said that “infrastructure security is a major challenge as several sites have been destroyed within a few days of restoration.”
In addition to relying on law enforcement, JRA has developed specifications for a robust and smart controller system, he said.
“In addition, a (request for information) has been issued for information on other infrastructure-related robustness aspects,” Makhwathana said.
JRA has received assistance from OUTsurance pointsmen since 2005 to help reduce traffic congestion. Natasha Kawulesar, head of customer relations at OUTsurance, said the company currently has 70 point men for the city of Joburg.
Duvenage said: “The current traffic light situation is putting pressure on the points team.
“I imagine they have limited resources and cannot do more than they have committed to. Metro police need to up their game and get to the busy intersections too.”
According to JRA, the hotspot area is Region F (Joburg CBD, Booysens and surrounding areas) with the most vandalized locations.
However, Regions B (Randburg, Blairgowrie, Ferndale, Parktown etc), C (Roodepoort and surrounding areas), D (Greater Soweto areas, Naturena and parts of Joburg South) and E (Sandton, Alexandra, Woodmead, Norwood, etc .) “almost equally experience the plague, while collectively experiencing more than region F”.
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