R861m Gautrain bill

Please oh please expand the bus routes. Also, charging R27 to go from Sandton to Rhodesfield, and then charging R115 to go from Sandton to OR Tambo makes my blood boil.
 
What happens to the green tax we are paying. Maybe it can go for this and the etolls
 
Gautrain's runaway costs

The people of Gauteng will have to fork out R1.5-billion to keep the Gautrain on its tracks as the company celebrates five years in operation.

Transport MEC Ismail Vadi told the transport sector at a business breakfast yesterday that the provincial government would spend R1.5-billion - or 22.7% - of a total budget of R6.6-billion on the Gautrain. In the previous financial year it spent R1.008-billion.

Since the maiden journey from Sandton to OR Tambo International Airport on June 8 2010, Gautrain has made 50million passenger trips, 300000 train trips and 1.5 million bus trips.

An estimated 60000 people use the trains on a typical weekday and about 23000 passengers take the buses.

But this cannot be compared with the more than a million people who travel using Metrorail trains and the thousands who take minibus taxis.

In July last year commuter organisations lashed out at the government for the amount of money spent on the Gautrain, arguing that it served only a few people and was for the rich.

Stephen Sangweni, leader of the SA Commuter Organisation, told parliament's portfolio committee on transport that the government should rather spend more money on the Metrorail system.

"The improvement that needs to be done is on the existing Metrorail network. It must expand to other areas as the townships have expanded over the years but the rail network has remained the same," he said. "Some people in the province travel long distances to get to rail stations."

The provincial government is conducting feasibility studies for the expansion of the Gautrain network to include possible new routes: linking Park Station, underneath the city, to Westgate; a link from Rhodesfield Station to Boksburg; a link from the Sandton Station to Randburg and Honeydew; and a link from Naledi, in Soweto, to Mamelodi, via either the proposed Samrand Station, or the existing Midrand Station.
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http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2015/06/25/Gautrains-runaway-costs
 
Improve the bus routes, parking and stop taking the piss with the airport fee and the numbers will increase.
 
The department will, from this amount, allocate R861-million to the Gautrain in what is called a "patronage fee".
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Boy, we are good with terminology. The right wording makes everything sound OK.
 
The gautrain is a great idea and it's working. Unlike the e-tolls nonsense.

It's an expense that will in time be paid off and the fees will be going to maintenance. It's not suppose to be making a profit. It's a project government should be funding anyway. How do you guys think the old railways were built? It's a massive expense which becomes viable over time.
 
Pitbull said:
The gautrain is a great idea and it's working. Unlike the e-tolls nonsense.

It's an expense that will in time be paid off and the fees will be going to maintenance. It's not suppose to be making a profit. It's a project government should be funding anyway. How do you guys think the old railways were built? It's a massive expense which becomes viable over time.
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We'll check again in another two years.... it's been 5 years already.
 
Pitbull said:
The gautrain is a great idea and it's working. Unlike the e-tolls nonsense.

It's an expense that will in time be paid off and the fees will be going to maintenance. It's not suppose to be making a profit. It's a project government should be funding anyway. How do you guys think the old railways were built? It's a massive expense which becomes viable over time.
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You forgot that the fatcats in charge are only doing things to enrich themselves. At some time they will abandon the loss making project.
 
Seriously said:
You forgot that the fatcats in charge are only doing things to enrich themselves. At some time they will abandon the loss making project.
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By all means. I'm sure a couple are getting very rich from this scheme. My point though is that it's a massive success. Imagine 60 - 70 thousand people having to also use the highway to get to work and back daily on top of the traffic we have already. :eek:

It's working and people are using it. It's suppose to be public transport and Government is footing the bill. I don't see the issue.
 
Pitbull said:
Will probably be another 20 before we see it breaking even. But that's not the point though. It's being used DAILY by thousands of people :confused:
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Not enough people apparently... and why should my tax money be used to subsidise other people? What benefit do I derive from it? It goes nowhere near my house or business.
If it only becomes viable after R20 years, then was the R20Billion cost overrun worth it?
At what point do you say... maybe this thing was not really viable or cost effective?
OR do we just throw unlimited tax payers money at everything and hope that one day it works out?
 
Pitbull said:
By all means. I'm sure a couple are getting very rich from this scheme. My point though is that it's a massive success. Imagine 60 - 70 thousand people having to also use the highway to get to work and back daily on top of the traffic we have already. :eek:

It's working and people are using it. It's suppose to be public transport and Government is footing the bill. I don't see the issue.
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Um, no. WE are footing the bill. Government is skimming off OUR money.
 
Garyvdh said:
Not enough people apparently... and why should my tax money be used to subsidise other people? What benefit do I derive from it? It goes nowhere near my house or business.
If it only becomes viable after R20 years, then was the R20Billion cost overrun worth it?
At what point do you say... maybe this thing was not really viable or cost effective?
OR do we just throw unlimited tax payers money at everything and hope that one day it works out?
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Think about it this way:

Would you rather have your tax paying for a public transport system that IS working

Or

Pay for a presidents home stead or private jet?

It's being used on something fruitful. Meaning no one can steal it. If it wasn't for the Gautrain eating at that money someone or something would have used it for personal gain.
 
Pitbull said:
Think about it this way:
Would you rather have your tax paying for a public transport system that IS working
Or
Pay for a presidents home stead or private jet?
It's being used on something fruitful. Meaning no one can steal it. If it wasn't for the Gautrain eating at that money someone or something would have used it for personal gain.
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False dichotomy.... I'm currently paying for both/all of the above whether I like it or not.

Oooh, look, shiny gold things... must be valuable! :whistle:
 
Pitbull said:
As opposed to using it on what?
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We already had an existing rail system, this new article repeats it as well. Why not spend money on upgrading and expanding what we already have.

A new rail system is expensive and extravagant. We are not a first world country.
 
Garyvdh said:
False dichotomy.... I'm currently paying for both/all of the above whether I like it or not.

Oooh, look, shiny gold things... must be valuable! :whistle:
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I whole heartedly disagree with you.

If you think about it rationally and not emotionally you will come to the same conclusion.
 
Pretty much all public transport systems in the world run at a loss...

I remember reading a report that could only find one or two world-wide that were profitable.
 
Garyvdh said:
We already had an existing rail system, this new article repeats it as well. Why not spend money on upgrading and expanding what we already have.

A new rail system is expensive and extravagant. We are not a first world country.
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The Gautrain could not use existing infrastructure :confused: To get it to run on that existing rail tracks would have meant a complete rebuild anyway. Sure, I would love the old railway systems to be upgraded and trucks removed off the roads as transport by rail is cheaper. But that doesn't take anything away from the Gautrain. It's a separate issue.
 
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