‘Financial train wreck’: AA says Gautrain expansion is wasteful expenditure

The Automobile Association (AA) has slammed Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s plans to expand Gautrain services.

Last month, Lesufi announced plans to expand the Gautrain network over the next two years. The expansion is expected to cost the province R120 billion.

“Any expansion of the current Gautrain service is wasteful expenditure on a service that doesn’t service the needs of most of Gauteng’s citizens,” said the AA on Wednesday in response to the premier’s announced plans.

Labelling it “a White Elephant”, the AA said it made a detailed submission in 2021 urging the provincial government to reject the proposed expansion plans on the Gauteng Rapid Rail Integrated Network.

“Spending billions of rands on extending the service must seriously be reconsidered and stopped before its too late,” said the AA.

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Patronage Guarantee

According to the association, the Patronage Guarantee remains one of the biggest issues facing the extensions and should be addressed properly before any further work on the service is done.

The Patronage Guarantee is a mechanism whereby the private concessionaire Bombela operating the Gautrain is compensated for low ridership levels on their trains.

According to the Gautrain Management Agency’s 2024 Integrated Annual Report, the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport paid Bombela R2 790bn in the 2023-2024 financial year, and R2.371bn in the 2022-2023 financial year “due to the actual revenue and ridership being significantly below the minimum required total revenue projections”.

The AA expressed scepticism regarding the reliability of figures presented to justify further extensions, given the consistent shortfalls in revenue projections over the years, resulting in substantial payouts to Bombela.

“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.”

Lack of safe transportation for most citizens

Furthermore, the AA said the majority of people in the country can’t use the service as it is expensive.

“Gautrain stations have some of the biggest parking lots in the province for the vehicles of those who use the system stands in stark contrast to those who have no transport solutions at all.

“In addition, there is a lack of reliable, sustainable, affordable, and safe public transport for the majority of the province’s citizens, many of whom must walk to their destinations because they have no alternative,” they explained.

‘Financial train wreck’

During a media briefing in Johannesburg on Monday, Member of the Executive Council for Finance and Economic Development Lebogang Maile highlighted the province’s debt.

“Maile, only last week warned that the province is on the brink of potential bankruptcy because of its commitments, among other things, to e-toll debt. This sentiment does not correlate with the sentiment of the Premier to invest billions of rands into what is a financial train wreck for the province,” they noted.

The association argued, that subsidising Bombela with Gauteng’s infrastructure funds unfairly prioritises private interests over public transportation needs, disenfranchising the province’s most vulnerable populations.

“We stand firm in our opposition to the extension of the Gautrain network, and the continued funding of the system through the Patronage Guarantee.

“A serious rethink of the expansion of the system is needed, particularly since it has shown that it cannot deliver on the numbers it projects and is, therefore, more of a liability than an asset,” it concluded.

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