In this paper I describe the monetary and time costs of commuting to work in South Africa. I
find that these costs are high and that monetary costs of commuting have increased faster
than inflation, mainly through a shift away from walking and towards minibus taxis and
driving. Journey times are substantially higher than the OECD country average. Using a
method suggested by Hausmann (2013) I estimate the effective tax on hourly earnings that
the time and monetary costs of commuting impose. I find high effective tax rates, which are
a disincentive to working far from home. This only deepens the puzzle of why South Africa’s
informal sector is so small, since more than half of the informally self-employed work at
home and pay no transport costs. I show that whilst minibus taxis conveyed around 71% of
commuters that used public transport in 2013, the industry receives less than 1% of the
direct public transport subsidy provided by the South African government. I find that the
subsidy accrues mainly to bus and train users in the lower middle part of the labour income
distribution.