Gautrain e-hailing app concept
The Gautrain said its e-hailing platform, “Gau Express,” was still in an extremely early phase of development and will not launch in the next five months as previously reported.
A Gautrain Management Agency spokesperson told MyBroadband that the company could not provide salient details about the e-hailing platform because a full proposal had not yet been finalised.
This comes after Tshepo Kgobe, CEO of the Gautrain Management Agency (GMA), told News24 that they planned to launch e-hailing services in the Gautrain app by October 2026.
MyBroadband contacted Gautrain to enquire about the platform’s cost to taxpayers and to obtain more information about the planned launch.
“The project is still embryonic and at a conceptual stage,” explained Albi Modise, the GMA senior executive manager for communication and marketing.
This was despite Kgobe reportedly providing extensive details about how the service would work, including that it would be integrated with Gautrain’s existing partnerships with cabs and minibus taxis.
He had also told News24 that customers who used the Gautrain would receive discounted fares when they hail Gau Express vehicles.
MyBroadband asked the Gautrain to provide more details about these partnerships, which residential areas would receive access first, and how it would compete against incumbents like Uber and Bolt.
Modise said that due to the lack of a finalised proposal for the platform, it would not be possible to provide answers to these questions.
“Consequently, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to respond to the questions raised,” he said.
Modise indicated that the company would provide answers to our queries once the proposal for Gau Express had been finalised and stakeholders had been presented with the plan.
In March, the Gautrain system’s 19½-year concession agreement with the Bombela Concession Company came to an end.
The end of the concession meant that the Gautrain was now fully state-owned. However, Gauteng soon announced that it was seeking a new concessionaire.
In the meantime, the Bombela Concession Company would continue operating the rails for the six months following the end of the concession agreement under a transitional agreement.
Business as usual for Gautrain
Passengers were assured that the transport system’s services would continue without interruption despite the imminent exit of the Bombela Concession Company (BCC).
“The conclusion of the BCC concession marks the end of an era and a proud moment for Gautrain,” said Kgobe in March.
“As we enter this transitional phase, our priority remains to deliver uninterrupted, world-class service while preparing for a seamless handover to the next concessionaire.”
The Gautrain Management Agency estimated that since its establishment in 2010, the Gautrain transport system contributed R46 billion in economic value to the province.
It said that for every rand invested, R1.72 was returned to the province. Additionally, around 235,000 jobs were created through the property development around stations alone.
The agency added that since its launch, approximately 59% of all major office development in the province has clustered around Gautrain nodes.
That month, the company announced plans to extend the Gautrain beyond existing stations in an expansion pencilled in to take place across the next 15 years.
The expansion would establish new stations in Soweto, Roodepoort, Cosmo City, Samrand, Fourways, Sunninghill and Olievenhoutbosch.
Part of this extension would involve the building of around 44km of underground tunnels beneath the province and 7km of above-ground bridge-like structures called viaducts.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi lauded the end of the private partnership concession at the time and said that it meant the R52 billion asset was now in the province’s hands.
“Our task is to maintain it, and it is in this context that we are maximising this investment for the next 15 years,” he said.
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