Reduce Traffic by Ride-Sharing in Cape Town

The TomTom Traffic Index calls Cape Town’s roads SA’s most congested.

Last Updated: 27 March 2017

The Mother City is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The well-constructed architecture, diverse people, stunning mountains, beautiful oceans, abundant flora, and crystal clear air all create this reputation. However, despite these amazing attributes, the city’s traffic remains a problem – contributing to air pollution – along with commuters being late for work!

The TomTom Traffic Index has been keeping an eye on the traffic in Cape Town, and labels our roads as ‘the most congested in South Africa’.

Traffic to the CBD is a nightmare, and can cost you hours of work time.

So what has been done to tackle this problem? Aside from various public transport initiatives, you might be familiar with the term ‘carpooling’. Carpooling, in simple terms, is the agreement in which a passenger travels in a private vehicle driven by its owner, for free or for a fee.

With this concept slow to catch on on a mass scale, Accelerate Cape Town (ACT) has initiated a ride-sharing project. “The aim of the project is to improve conditions for economic development by reducing the congestion on Cape Town’s roads. In 10 years time the Waterfront and CBD would have expanded and have more people travelling in and out of these business districts, so can you imagine the chaos expected on the roads?” explained ACT CEO Ryan Ravens.

Ravens says numerous apps were considered for the project but one met their criteria: uGoMyWay.

Why not share the cost, and reduce the amount of cars on the road.

uGoMyWay is a carpooling app that allows travellers to connect with drivers and share a ride to one destination. The app provides a closed-circle facility, which gives users control to become visible and be seen by other members of a workplace or school. This contributes to the safe and secured environment provided by the app. Once trust is established, users may choose to consider matches outside of the closed-circle. uGoMyWay, which launched in March 2016, has had more than 1000 downloads since its release in the Apple App Store in January 2017.

How does it work?

Create Your Journey
Create your routine rides. Example: ‘Home to school’, indicating whether you’re a driver, passenger or both, the times you travel, and your departure and arrival destinations.

Find Matches
Find matches with other people heading along your route. The best match will appear first on the list of candidates.

Chat
This feature allows you to find out more about anyone who shares your journey, before you reveal personal details.

Make Travelling Arrangements
Decide who will be driving to the destination. uGoMyWay suggests the costs but you are free to negotiate with your match.

Log Trips
Keep record of your trips to know how much you should pay towards the costs. The app automatically calculates shared costs. This calculation is based on the length of the trip, the number of trips logged and who the driver was for every trip.

Settle Up
You can view statements and make your contribution towards costs from within the app.

Follow the simple carpool rules suggested by uGoMyWay to be the ride-share bestie everyone wants in their life. Be respectful, be on time, give timeous notification of changes or cancellations, don't make lots of stops, don't blast loud music (unless you discover a shared loved for Guns N' Roses), and above all, be nice.

It is as simple as online dating, only safer - plus it saves the environment, and saves all of us from the pain and frustration of bumper-to-bumper horror scenes.

By Garth Prins

Image Credit: Capetowndailyphoto.com | uGoMyWay.com

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This is how the coronavirus is affecting travel and transport in Cape Town.

You might want to read our traffic survival guide for the next time you do find yourself hapless and hopeless in an endless line of cars. Also, check out how flexi hours could relief traffic congestion. Check out how to be productive in the office despite traffic-stress!

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