Zurba, Z.A.2025-10-232025-10-232025http://hdl.handle.net/2263/104954Papers presented virtually at the 43rd International Southern African Transport Conference on 07 - 10 July 2025.Mobility challenges are a significant barrier to delivering healthcare services in South Africa (Walls et al., 2016). Medicine is often not accessible to remote towns, including the farming communities in rural areas of South Africa. While vehicles can reach these locations, they are not the optimal solution, as travel times are long. In humanitarian and medical logistics, these delays can put lives at risk. There is a growing trend towards autonomous transportation solutions. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) may seem far-fetched, but they are not. This paper compares the difference in travel time from a standard road vehicle to a drone. The calculations will be based on UAV technology already existing in South Africa, specifically from Milkor Air. The travel time data for vehicles was taken from Google Maps, while UAV data was sourced from the Milkor Air website. The time was calculated using the basic time calculation formula, where time equals distance divided by speed and expressed in hours and minutes. The results show that significant time savings are achieved when using UAV over traditional vehicles. This has major implications for humanitarian logistics, where delivering medicine or transporting people in and out of remote areas. For example, a doctor could reach a patient faster, dispense medication, or even use a drone to transport the patient to a hospital, all without needing a pilot’s license.6 pagesPDFSouthern African Transport Conference 2025Article