Gautrain partners with taxi associations to reach more commuters
Gautrain continues to make strides in connecting more communities with reliable public transport through its partnership with taxi associations.
The Gautrain continues to expand its reach, helping to simplify travel across communities with the help of its Midibus Feeder Distribution Service (MFDS).
The Gautrain Management Agency (GMA), together with the Gauteng Department of Transport and Logistics, announced the extension of the service to Lakeside from the Gautrain Marlboro Station on November 24. This is in addition to the already existing routes to the likes of Buccleuch, Kelvin, Woodlands and Greenstone from the Marlboro station.
According to GMA COO Tshepo Kgobe, the service is in partnership with the Alexandra and Randburg, Midrand and Sandton taxi associations. Together these organisations have formed Alexandra Transport Solutions which currently operates the MFDS from Marlboro.
“Since its inception in 2011, the public transport integration model with the taxi industry [MFDS] has been founded on strategic partnerships, reliable public transport services and job creation,” he said.
“The initial objective was to provide a service from the Gautrain Marlboro Station to Linbro Business Park but due to its success, the GMA expanded these services to the Gautrain Sandton, Centurion and Hatfield stations with additional services on a planned rollout to other stations in the coming months.”
At the low cost of R11, commuters are able to utilise the service to travel to and from their respective suburbs to the Gautrain station to take a train or alternatively make use of another midibus.
“An integrated public transport network promotes the use of public transport and supports the economic activities of the commuters and the community at large.”
The department’s MEC Kedibone Diale-Tlabela noted that it was integral strategic partnerships such as this that would see the public transport industry grow.
“If we can do it here, we can roll it [the partnership model] out throughout the province. We can’t imagine how many people would stop using their cars and start using public transport.
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“The partnership between Gautrain and taxi associations is [some] of the good work our people don’t know about Gautrain. They perceive it to be for the rich, which it is not. We must communicate Gautrain’s contributions to the township economy and job creation.”
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