More commuters use Gautrain to avoid tolls

Passenger volumes increased on the Gautrain as people shunned e-toll charges. Image: Gautrain

Passenger numbers released by the Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) showed that average weekday passenger numbers for train services last week was about 47,400. However, on December 3, the first day of tolling, this rose to 52,400.

GMA says more people also used the Gautrain's bus services, with passenger numbers rising to 21,000 from an average daily usage of about 18,000.

South African National Road Agency (Sanral) spokesman Vusi Mona said the spike in train passenger volumes "doesn't surprise" the agency.

He confirmed that the number of cars using the tolled roads had fallen in the first week of tolling.

No statistics until next year

Mona declined to share statistics, which Sanral monitors closely through its sophisticated tolling system of cameras and vehicle registration scanners. He said Sanral release statistics on traffic volumes next year.

E-tolls have forced more people to use the Gautrain and leave their cars at home. Image: First Car Rental

"We have taken a view that the traffic patterns are distorted because of the holidays: people are already winding down and taking leave. It would be irresponsible and unfair to throw out statistics when traffic not at typical levels," Mona said.

He admitted that traffic volumes had fallen on the freeways but could not say whether this was because vehicles were using alternative routes or whether it was because schools had closed.

Sanral claims to have sold and registered 840,000 e-tags, which is less than half of its stated target of 2-million.

According to a spokesman for Gautrain, Barbara Jensen, the increase in the Gautrain's usage showed that more people were "making a conscious shift from private car use to public transport" which she said was in line with the policy articulated in the province's 25-year integrated transport master plan.

Jensen said the delay in the implementation of e-tolling has had negative effect not just for Sanral but also on the Gautrain, which had been counting on a shift from private vehicles to public transport for the last two years. Improvements to the freeway, which radically reduced travel times between Pretoria, Midrand and Johannesburg and the absence of tolling had depressed passenger volumes on the train.

Source: Business Day via I-Net Bridge