Commuting and transport: Findings from the GCRO's Quality of Life survey 7 (2023/24)

This Data Brief presents results from the GCRO's Quality of Life 7 survey (2023/24) on variables that relate to transport and commuting in Gauteng.

HEADLINE FINDINGS

• The Quality of Life (QoL) 6 (2020/21) survey showed that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered commuting patterns. Whereas commuting to work had been the most common reason for respondents’ most frequent trips before the pandemic, travelling to shops became the most commonly cited reason during the pandemic. In QoL 7 (2023/24) trips to shops are still the most commonly cited purpose for respondent’s trip-making, followed closely by trips to work (Figure 1).
• The percentage of respondents saying that the purpose of their most frequent trip is to go to work fell from 36% in 2017/18 to 34% in 2020/21. Rather than bouncing back after the pandemic, it has fallen further to 32% in 2023/24 (Figure 1).
• During the pandemic (QoL 6 2020/21), travel times to work and shopping tended to be shorter than in QoL 7 (2023/24). Such shifts are attributable to the return to normalcy following the easing of lockdown restrictions post-COVID-19 (Figures 2 and 3).
• The QoL 7 (2023/24) results show that Gauteng residents stay far away from their workplaces and relatively closer to shops (Figure 4).
• Most Gauteng respondents lived within a ten-minute walk of bus, minibus and train stations. However, Midvaal has experienced a drop in the number of respondents who live within a ten-minute walk of public transport, from 63% in QoL 6 (2020/21) to 57% in QoL 7 (2023/24) (Figure 6).
• A third of all respondents indicated that they have made use of e-hailing services. Although usage tends to be more prevalent for respondents from higher income households, there are nevertheless portions of respondents from low income households who do make use of these services (Figure 7).