The Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) plans to target new demographics and adjust its services in an attempt to boost the passenger numbers of its train service.
The Gautrain has come under fire in recent months for its poor attendance figures and financial performance, raising questions as to whether the project should still be supported.
In response, the GMA announced that it is engaged in market research to identify underserved customer groups and their specific needs, and that it will restructure its services to suit these needs accordingly.
The agency noted that the Covid-19 pandemic had a drastic and long-lasting effect on South Africa’s transport industry, as many businesses shifted to remote or hybrid work models that reduced the need for daily commuting services.
“The days of a predictable 9-to-5, Monday-through-Friday commute are over. Passengers are demanding that we run a frequent service throughout the day and offer dynamic pricing to suit their hybrid work schedules,” said Gautrain Management Agency CEO, Tshepo Kgobe.
“And with the rising cost of living, cost is increasingly becoming the sole determinant when choosing a mode of transport.”
Kgobe explained that the Gautrain recently commissioned a brand study which found that the service is still generally viewed as efficient, clean, and safe.
However, the train’s biggest problem is that it is too expensive, and is considered inaccessible for many local communities.
“This presents an opportunity to respond innovatively to changing customer needs, preferences, and patterns,” he said.
In November 2023, the Gautrain began a process to appoint a new partner to operate, maintain, modernise, innovate, and upgrade the system when the current Gautrain concession agreement expires in March 2026.
Kgobe said that this will allow the GMA to establish a new public-private partnership agreement that will allow them to reshape the Gautrain’s current business model.
The proposal includes a range of new fare policies and pricing incentives, as well as new products and services intended to attract new passengers in an equitable fashion.
“Public transport systems such as the Gautrain should indeed be inclusive, ensuring accessibility and ease of movement for diverse market segments,” he said.
The GMA reiterated the importance of having a reliable train service in Gauteng, which is currently facing high traffic volumes and severe road congestion as a result of its growing population.
The agency also has ambitious plans to greatly expand the existing Gautrain network, which will almost triple the combined length of the railway from 80km to 230km.
A necessary step
The news that the Gautrain will examine and adapt its existing business model comes after months of criticism that the project is a white elephant.
When it was first completed, the train was projected to serve a total of 47 million passengers by 2025.
In reality, this figure is sitting at an abysmal 7.9 million as of the 2023/2024 financial year, which is a major reduction from the 13.9 million it saw during the 2019/2020 period.
The Automobile Association (AA) has labelled the railway as a “financial train wreck,” stating that the loss of five million passengers in four years should be a wake-up call for Gauteng’s MECs.
The Gautrain’s low passenger numbers are currently subsidized by a Patronage Guarantee System paid by the state and, by extension, taxpayers.
The AA has therefore argued that the billions of rands committed to the service, which is only accessible by a fraction of the population, would be better spent on other public transport options.
“It is quite clear that Gautrain failed to deliver on its ridership projections from the outset and now the burden of funding falls on taxpayers – the majority of whom don’t even use the system because it’s too expensive to do so. They are, in effect, subsidising a system that caters to the elite who are already mobile,” it said.
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