Demand for vehicles in Tonga is continuing to increase, while traffic jams and traffic queues grow longer every month in the capital Nuku'alofa. 

Vehicle registrations increased by 600 for the year ended September 2017, the National Reserve Bank of Tonga reported. This 18.6% increase in registrations on the previous year is "reflecting the continued strong demand for vehicles," stated the NRBT.

The largest rise in demand was for cars which rose by 302 registratios (up 23.1%), followed by light vehicle registrations, which rose by 192 (up 15.5%).

A total of 3,226 vehicles were registered at year-end in September 2017 in Tonga, including 1,307 cars, 1,239 Light Vehicles and 680 Heavy Vehicles.

The annual increase in the level of registered vehicles was attributed to a rise in the purchasing power of seasonal workers, the availability of hire purchase options for consumers and the convenience of purchasing vehicles online.

Looking forward, the Reserve Bank predicted that the inflow of second hand cars from Japan will increase as “the price is cheaper and the road conditions in Tonga are improving.”

Congestion

Traffic congestion is already a headache, particularly in the Central Business District of Nuku'alofa, where there are insufficient parking places.

Traffic queues are frequently encountered during peak hours at the entrance to Nuku’alofa on Hala Taufa’ahau from the eastern and central districts through Pea.

On the last busy shopping day before Christmas, 23 December, in the early afternoon it took one hour for a car to move from the CBD to the Tofoa turnoff at Pea. To drive from CBD to Fua'amotu Airport after midday on 23 December took 1 hour and 40 minutes, for a journey that used to take 35 minutes. Frustrated drivers sitting in traffic queues along Hala Taufa’ahau were seen trying to jump the queues by breaking out of line and passing in the face of oncoming traffic, or passing on the inside of the queue by driving along the pedestrian tracks.

In 2018 at peak times it will be faster to ride a bicycle from ‘Atele to central Nuku’alofa than to drive.

If all of the 3,226 registered vehicles in the whole of Tonga lined up bumper-to-bumper, the line would stretch for about 21 km (the distance from Nuku'alofa to the airport), while adding a one car space between each vehicle would form a line equivalent to the distance from to the airport and back to the CBD.

The registrations figure includes vehicles for all island groups in Tonga, but the majority of vehicles are located in Tongatapu.