Gautrain Digimag October 2020

october 2020

The smart way to travel for people on the move

Safe and efficient travel during Covid A

fter 10 years of operation, with close to 125 million passenger train trips and 38 million bus passenger trips, Gautrain continues to be the smart way to travel for people on the move.

Gautrain’s service offering is continuously monitored and evaluated to ensure it continues to offer a safe, reliable and

convenient public transport service.

The ongoing global Covid-19 pandemic and resultant lockdown regulations have significantly changed our travel behaviours and needs. Cognisant of these changes, Gautrain has developed a responsive action plan that was approved by Transport Minister, Fikile Mbalula during his recent visit.

The following health and safety measures are some of the remedial actions implemented to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and ensure Gautrain is safe and efficient: ¡¡There are alcohol-based hand sanitisers at all stations, buses and midi-buses. ¡¡Regular cleaning protocols are in place, with trains, buses and midi-buses cleaned and disinfected at regular intervals throughout the day. Special cleaning staff are deployed at stations to wipe down and disinfect touch points such as handrails, fare gates and other surfaces. ¡¡To help ensure that social distancing rules are adhered to, all stations have floor decals to assist passengers keep clear and maintain the required distances. ¡¡Certain seats on trains, buses and midi-buses have been cordoned off to allow for social distancing. ¡¡The use of face masks is compulsory on Gautrain, just as it is on all modes of public transport and in public areas. All passengers and staff are required to wear a face mask at all times – at stations and on board trains, buses or midi-buses. Security guards monitor this. ¡¡All staff in direct contact with customers are screened for Covid-19 ahead of resuming their normal duties. Staff are also screened for fever throughout the day. ¡¡All staff members are also required to wear the respective personal protective equipment, as stipulated by government regulations.

Travelling on Gautrain is the smart choice. It offers safe, clean, quick and efficient travel, with value for money.

A ‘SMART MOBILITY’ ANCHOR FOR GAUTENG

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mart mobility is an innovative way of getting around. It’s about using technology to respond to the many and varied needs of the modern commuter.

These include the demand for convenience, access to always-on information, a high techadoption rate, time and cost savings, as well as increasing environmental consciousness with various benefits.

Smart mobility promotes sustainable mobility and is coupled with numerous urban, social, economic and environmental benefits.

Here is a list of smart mobility focus areas and how Gautrain contributes to each one:

Smarter Gautrain uses smart technology. Among its various technological service offerings, Gautrain offers its passengers the opportunity to use their credit or debit cards to tag in and out of stations, buses and parking facilities.

This means they no longer need a Gautrain

card. This “tap and go” technology is the first phase of a broader “smart ticketing” plan that will extend to other public transport modes, with incentives such as inter-operator discounts or rebates.

Cleaner Gautrain contributes significantly to the green economy. It is currently pursuing a sustainable urban mobility plan, includes procuring new buses with integrated chasses that will make it possible to convert them to run on electric, hydrogen or hybrid power.

Investigations are also underway into using and even producing hydrogen to power Gautrain buses – a far cleaner fuel option than diesel. Passengers may soon be able to charge their electric or hybrid cars at Gautrain stations, which will also be retrofitted with solar panels to offset their power requirements. This green mobility plan will also help commuters offset their individual carbon footprint.

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Safe and efficient Travelling by rail is one of the safest modes of transport available. Furthermore, since its inception as a smart public transport mode, Gautrain has maintained high levels of operational efficiency.

The train service operations achieved an average availability of 99.66% and punctuality of 98.11% over the last year. This was backed by excellent personal and property safety and security within the system, keeping incidents below a 1% level. Safety and security targets for Gautrain passengers are met through its security enhancement plans.

Integrated Currently 70% of trips on Gautrain cross a city boundary linking important attractions, facilities and services across the region. Gautrain allows people to access these quickly, efficiently and safely.

Evidence demonstrates that integrated, multimodal transport systems deliver several benefits.

These include increased patronage from mode shift, more reliable and faster journeys resulting in time savings, time savings on business-related trips translating into increased productivity and more efficient use of existing resources, and travel savings.

Social and economic benefits The rollout of the full Gauteng Rapid Rail Integrated Network (GRRIN) extensions will give workers more access to employment opportunities.

It is projected that Phase 1 of the extensions will create almost 29 000 jobs during construction and an additional 7Â 729 long-term jobs at the start of the operational phase.

Phase 1 is also expected to see about R388 million invested in skills development during the construction phase, and a further R29 million during operations. The economic benefits arising from the construction and operation of GRRIN Phase 1 are estimated at a total present value of R33 billion.

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Spatial development benefits The ability of transport infrastructure to positively influence spatial structuring has been a unique feature of investments in transport. Land use changes occur as market forces influence how property is use and optimised for purpose. This in turn could lead to increases in values, rents and therefore, rateable income.

A key feature of urban spatial transformation is densification in nodal development areas and precincts, and intensification along rail corridors.

The first indicator of this spatial transformation is the increased demand for residential property surrounding stations. This increases the rates revenue of municipalities and reduces the cost of providing basic services. Studies done by the Financial and Fiscal Commission showed that “compact cities are considerably more efficient than the current sprawling form of South African cities, with savings to the state, households and the environment”.

About 59% of all office development activity in major South African nodes is located around Gautrain stations. In this way, Gautrain is making a significant contribution to creating a larger and more economically powerful Gauteng region.

Environmental benefits Compared to road transport, rail provides lower carbon transport solutions and therefore promotes a greener Gauteng. The Department of Transport’s

Green Transport Strategy builds on the Department of Environmental Affairs’ 2014 Mitigation Report.

This provides estimates of the potential carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reductions that can be achieved through modal shifts in the transport sector, and the estimated costs of achieving these reductions per ton of avoided CO2 emissions.

While the initial capital costs are high (about R3 000 per tonne of carbon dioxide saved), by 2050 these investments are expected to provide a return of more than R1 000 per tonne of CO2 saved, with up to 9 000 kilotonnes of CO2 saved through the shift from private vehicles to passenger rail.

These environmental benefits also translate into health benefits, particularly those relating to respiratory health.

As a smart mobility mode, the Gautrain contributes to job creation, economic development, a greener environment and city rejuvenation.

Empowering communities The Gautrain has made a significant contribution to the support of community development programmes, with R37.5 million having been committed to community organisations for the 2017 to 2021 financial years.

The Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) launched a two-year graduate programme that aims to expose young graduates in various fields to the practical and applied knowledge held within the agency. The purpose of the programme is to address any gaps at entry level and provide individuals with a broad experience across different fields.

To date, Gautrain has made a significant contribution to Gauteng’s economy and job creation, and skills development forms the backbone of its socio-economic development strategy. An independent Hatch social and economic impact study on Gautrain concluded that for every R10m spent on construction work, 45 jobs were supported directly via supply chain and wage spend. The project has also seen significant procurement from and subcontracting to Black entities and SMMEs, with about R5 billion and R330m spent respectively in the operating period up to December 2018.

The jobs and economic growth created by the project during construction included: ¡¡ 35 000 direct jobs delivered and around 87 300 jobs created through supply chain and wage spend; ¡¡ R128m spent on training by the Concessionaire and its contractors; ¡¡ 20 300 direct jobs for young people; ¡¡ 51% of jobs created were at entry level (NFQ 0-1); ¡¡ 13% of jobs created were at mid-level (NFQ 2-4); ¡¡ 35% of jobs created were at the higher levels (NFQ 4+); ¡¡ R19.4bn contribution to GDP over six years.

Jobs and economic growth created since the start of operations include: ¡¡ 10 900 direct jobs delivered and about 61 000 jobs created through supply chain and wage spend; ¡¡ R59m spent on training by the Concessionaire; ¡¡ 5 800 direct jobs for young people; ¡¡ 93% of jobs are mid-level roles (NFQ 2-4) ¡¡ 7% of jobs are at the higher levels (NFQ 4+) ¡¡ R20.4bn contribution to GDP over the first six years.

THE FUTURE: CONNECTING MORE PEOPLE AND PLACES The Gauteng Rapid Rail Integrated Network (GRRIN) is being expanded to create an efficient and sustainable transport service for Gauteng.

The Gauteng Integrated Transport Master Plan (ITMP 25) recommended that rail should form the backbone of public transport in Gauteng. The plan also recommended that the rail network be extended to connect the people of Gauteng and create a sustainable transport service for the province.

As mandated by the then Gauteng MEC for Roads and Public Transport, Dr Ismail Vadi, the Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) completed a feasibility study for the rail extensions. This study has been submitted to the provincial and national treasuries, as well as to major stakeholders that were consulted during the feasibility process of the proposed GRRIN expansion implementation scenarios.

The feasibility study identified various links and stations. Timelines are dependent on factors like economic growth, population growth and transport

demand. The proposed GRRIN extensions will span over various areas and will be developed in multi phases over an extended period.

The feasibility study also identified a total of 149km of rail and 19 stations for the final route.

The proposed links and stations are: ¡¡A link between Marlboro and Soweto, with an additional station at Sandton as well as new stations at Randburg, Cosmo City, Little Falls, Roodepoort and Jabulani; ¡¡A link between Jabulani and Mamelodi through Cosmo City, with new stations at Fourways, Sunninghill, Olievenhoutbosch, Irene, Tshwane East, Hazeldene and Mamelodi; ¡¡A link between Rhodesfield and Boksburg, with new stations at the East Rand Mall and Boksburg; ¡¡A link between Cosmo City and Lanseria Airport, with new stations at Cradle and Lanseria.

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As part of the project, preparatory work on all the proposed routes will be subjected to the Route Determination Process, as prescribed by the Gauteng Transport Infrastructure Amendment Act, 2003. This process includes public participation at the appropriate time. In this regard, detailed information will be made available through the GMA website, the media and government gazettes.

The feasibility study also outlined various benefits, including significant economic benefits through job creation and investment. It is estimated that Phase 1 of the GRRIN extension (Marlboro to Little Falls through Sandton, Randburg, Cosmo City) will create close to 29 000 jobs during construction and an additional 7729 long-term jobs during the start of operations. Phase 1 is also expected to see about R388 million invested into skills development during the construction phase, and a further R29m during the operational phase.

A major benefit of the GRRIN expansion will be the provision of an upgraded, integrated transport network. This, in turn, will help build a fully

integrated city region by linking existing road-based public transport with the rail system. By connecting several townships to the centre of Gauteng and the wider regions, the GRRIN expansion will also provide the people of Gauteng with greater access and connection to economic opportunities.

Compared to road transport, rail provides lower carbon transport solutions. The GRRIN extensions will therefore promote a greener Gauteng by providing a top quality public transport system that will help reduce road-based transport, thus reducing traffic congestion and carbon emissions.

Demand modelling was also done to determine what Gauteng’s transport needs will be in 2025 and 2037. Through this modelling process, it became clear that the “cost of doing nothing” in Gauteng will be major road congestion in 2037. At this stage, due to an estimated doubling of car growth, vehicles will only be able to crawl along at an average of 15 kilometers per hour.

Expected to attract both local and international private sector funding, the GRRIN expansion will unlock opportunities for innovation and world bestpractise during design, construction, operations and maintenance.

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