Capetonians love to moan about traffic.

There are only a few ways out of the CBD, it starts from 2PM on a Friday, these taxis are out of control – yup, we’ve heard it a million times before.

Do we have it worse than the rest of the country, though? According to the INRIX 2018 Global Traffic Scorecard, Johannesburg is actually the country’s most congested city.

Jozi comes in as the 61st worst city in the world, and Cape Town at 95th, although I’m not sure that’s cause for celebration for Capetonians.

I reckon if you take the months of December and January, when half of Gauteng is hauling itself up Signal Hill (vest and tribal tattoo, boet), you may see the two cities switching places on that scorecard.

Either way, there’s nothing like sitting in the car listening to what is more than likely a sub-par radio station, and sucking on the exhaust fumes of the car in front of you.

I suggest you find some decent podcasts to listen to, but that’s not going to change the amount of time you’re stuck behind the wheel.

Your old friend Google realises that not everyone is going to settle for this, which is why it recently introduced a new two-wheel mode built into the Google Maps application.

This went live in South Africa last month, reports Business Insider SA, and it yields some interesting results:

The main aim of the app addition is to showcase the quickest routes between two points for motorcycle users. It also has several other features that will make it safer to navigate city roads while on a motorbike or scooter, including bike-specific voice navigation, suggested shortcuts not accessible to cars, the ability to add custom routes, and the use of visible landmarks, rather than street names, to aid orientation.

One of the other nifty features of the new Maps app is that it allows you to compare commute lengths at different times of the day – and to compare the length on a bike versus in a car.

Is there a more smug feeling than weaving between gridlocked cars whilst on two wheels, knowing that every driver is silently cursing under their breath about you?

I’m not sure there is.

Business Insider SA used this commute comparison, to see just how much time you save if you’re using a scooter or bike and heading to the CBD.

Here are some examples from the tests they ran:

Johannesburg

• Dainfern to Sandton at 7:45AM: 26 minutes saved (Car commute: 55 minutes, Motorbike commute: 29 minutes)
• Midrand to Sandton at 7:30AM: 16 minutes saved (Car commute: 40 minutes, Motorbike commute: 24 minutes)

Cape Town

• Blouberg to Cape Town CBD at 7:30AM: 26 minutes saved (Car commute: 50 minutes, Motorbike commute: 24 minutes)
• Cape Town CBD to Blouberg at 5:00PM: 27 minutes saved (Car commute: 50 minutes, Motorbike commute: 23 minutes)
• Cape Town CBD to Rondebosch at 5:00PM: 22 minutes saved (Car commute: 35 minutes, Motorbike commute: 13 minutes)

Clearly, there’s a pattern emerging.

Using the data gathered, and assuming that a year’s commuting consists of 50 five-day work weeks, it’s estimated that an average commuter in Jozi could save around six days a year using two wheels.

For Capetonians, using an average saving of four-and-a-half hours a week, that equates to a full nine days a year.

Cape Town’s stats are not accurate, because nobody works 50 weeks a year (don’t kid yourself), but you get the drift.

You do you, but if you’re leaning towards the two-wheel option, then a Vespa is the way to go. Seth will even hook you up with a sweet deal – just email editor@2oceansvibe.com and let him work his magic.

Seriously, life is too short to spend it raging at fellow road users in bumper to bumper traffic.

[source:businsidersa]