The Cabinet approved the Gautrain Rapid Rail last week amid sharp criticism over its costs and viability. The R20-billion earmarked for its construction could move a whole lot more people in different ways, a few simple calculations reveal.
It could deliver 6 250km of rail — or 80 times the distance — if it was used for regular rail infrastructure.
Alternatively, it would purchase 13 333 new buses at a cost of R1,5million each. Gauteng has only 2 142 buses in service.
It could be used to purchase 118 270 new minibus taxis at a cost of R169 104 each. Currently, 12 250 minibus taxis operate in Johannesburg; Gauteng has 34 940.
It could also be spent on 3 636 rail motor coaches or 8 000 rail plain trailers, which cost R5,5-million and R2,5-million respectively. Gauteng has 1 750 rail coaches in service.
The R20billion could be used to add 12 500km of one-lane tarred road to the 34 185km that comprise Gauteng’s road network, at a cost of R1,6million a kilometre.
The result would be a 620% increase in the number of buses in Gauteng, a 460% increase in the number of rail carriages, a 339% increase in the number of minibus taxis or a 37% expansion of the road network.
A Gauteng government report released this year, titled A Strategic Agenda for Transport in Gauteng, underscores the province’s ageing transport infrastructure. It says the average age of the 1 750 rail coaches in service is 30 years, with some being as old as 45 years. The design life of a coach is 40 years. Only 10% have been upgraded to last another 30 years.
The report says that to maintain and preserve the provincial road network, 100km to 200km should be reconstructed or rehabilitated every year. Since 1990, an average of 22km has been repaired annually.
The report reveals that more than 80% of Gauteng’s road network have pavements older than 20 years, their design life.
The Democratic Alliance’s Gauteng spokesperson for transport, James Swart, remarked that a body of substantial expertise had campaigned against Gautrain. “Let’s address those most in need of the service and then, one day, when we have money to throw around, we can build the Gautrain,” he said.
The DA’s national transport spokesperson, Stuart Farrow, said the R20-billion amounted to R500 out of the pocket of every South African, and that there were serious problems with aligning the Gautrain with other public transport.
As its system’s gauge and voltage are different from those used by Metrorail, Metrorail would have not be able to use the new system in off-peak hours. If the project became a white elephant, a rescue plan would be difficult to mount.
But Willie Potgieter, of Unisa’s department of transport economics, said the building of infrastructure and the purchasing of buses on a large scale would not solve Gauteng’s congestion problems. “It is the congestion on the roads that make projects such as this feasible,” he said.