FINANCIAL FITNESS BY JESSIE TAYLOR
Fuel price increase How to save at the pumps
A
s South Africans face yet another massive fuel price hike, many will find their budgets stretched in accommodating increased transport costs. The latest price hike has been caused by a number of factors, including the war in Ukraine and structural issues within the economy. But there are some things that commuters can do to lower the impact of the rising fuel cost on their pockets.
South Africans rely heavily on road transport to reach their destinations. More than 80% of South Africa’s workforce rely on taxis to commute to work, with another 16% using buses to reach their places of employment. In South Africa, four million workers drive to work, and most of these motorists live in urban areas. Travel costs are highest among those that drive to work, with the average motorist spending more than R2000 a month. By
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comparison, those commuting via taxi spend R960 and bus users spend R745. According to Statistic SA’s National Household Travel Survey, the cost of all modes of transport to work had increased between 2013 and 2020. The highest increase as seen among those who drove cars to work. TAKE YOUR DRIVING TO TASK Motorists are most likely to feel the fuel increase at the pumps, but
