While incidents will cause delays on any new rail system, like Gautrain, and these can and will happen, the last three weeks have not seen a standard of service that meets our or our customers’ expectations. The GMA and Bombela’s joint aim is to implement a world-class system that achieves consistent excellence in reliability and punctuality and that provides a customer orientated service that ensures their safety and comfort. Over the last three weeks, we have not met the customer expectations with respect to reliability and are dedicated to doing several things better.

Firstly we are busy diagnosing the underlying causes of the service interruptions and are instituting measures to resolve them. In the week of 24 to 30 October there were problems related to the way the trains receive their power from the overhead catenary lines and a rolling stock failure that caused three trains to stop between stations and thus stranding passengers. On 1 November it was again an electrical fault that caused the section between Sandton and Rosebank to remain closed for several hours.
While this investigation is underway, immediate steps are being implemented to eliminate or significantly reduce future incidents. We will report fully on the causes and solutions to the problems when the investigation is complete.

Secondly we will improve communication with passengers, both those on trains and those entering the stations when any incident occurs. We will also communicate better through the media and social networks so as to be as close to real time information as possible. We have already implemented a SMS alert service (SMS ALERT to 32693) to augment our existing communication channels.

Thirdly, with any future incidents, the response times will be faster so as to minimise the impact on passengers in the system. The Bombela Operating Company has put into place operational plans that will allow passengers affected by incidents to reach their destinations as soon as possible.

Both Bombela as the Concessionaire and the Gautrain Management Agency as the public authority for Gautrain are extremely proud of the Gautrain and its brand and reputation. We will do everything possible to retain its good reputation and to offer a reliable, safe and affordable service to the public.

Apart from the actual train affected, the service between Sandton and Marlboro (and the rest of the network) was not impacted. The line between Sandton and Rosebank however remained closed while engineers checked the overhead power system. A free shuttle bus service was implemented between Sandton and Rosebank stations for the duration of the line closure.

Mr Errol Braithwaite, an executive on the Gautrain, commented that: “Whilst the Gautrain acknowledges and sincerely apologizes to commuters for the inconvenience and disruption which they suffered, we are never-the-less pleased that the safety protocols which we have developed and practiced have been proved to be effective. An intensive post-event analysis is already underway aimed at not only reducing the probability of this type of event re-occurring but also aimed at learning lessons which will enable us to handle disruptions in an ever more efficient way.

To this end, the Gautrain has today launched an SMS alert service whereby customers can SMS “alert” to 32693 to receive real-time service updates directly to their mobile phones. The service costs R1.00 to join and is free after that.

gautrain dl_leaflet jan 2011_ xx

Catch the Gautrain to Rosebank Station and then a Gautrain bus to the cricket. The bus service will be available between approximately 12h00 and 19h00 and will drop-off and pick-up passengers at the Station and near the intersection of Oxford road and Corlett drive. Please note that Corlett drive will be closed to all traffic from 09h00 on the day.

Normal bus and train fares apply. Trains will run approximately every 30 minutes.

SPEECH BY GAUTENG MEC FOR ROADS AND TRANSPORT ON THE LAUNCH OF THE OCTOBER TRANSPORT MONTH AT PARK STATION (JOHANNESBURG) ON 4 OCTOBER 2011

May I recognise our special guests on this memorable day. I am mentioning them by name because I value their partnership and support for the October Transport Month campaign.
Mr Vuyani Jarana (COO of Vodacom)
Mr Len Moulp (MD of 3M)
Mr Murray Price (MD of Eqstra Fleet Management)
Mr Collins Letsoalo (Acting CEO of RTMC)
Mr Gary Ronald (General Manager – AA)
Mr Sy Maphalla (Deputy Chairperson – South African National Civic Organisation: Gauteng)
Mr Phillip Taaibosch (General Secretary of SANTACO)
Mr Dumisani Dakile (Gauteng Provincial Secretary – COSATU)
All Members of the Mayoral Committee for Transport
Departmental Officials (National and Provincial)
Members of the Media

Ladies and Gentlemen

Today, the Department of Roads and Transport launches the October Transport Month campaign in Gauteng. The theme for this year’s campaign is Towards an Integrated, Safe Public Transport that Reduces Road Fatalities. The theme is derived from the declaration by the United Nations of a Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011-2020), whose objective is to reduce road fatalities throughout the world.

The two principal messages in our campaign are: firstly, to promote road safety; and secondly, to promote the use of public transport as a mode of choice in Gauteng. Our programmes and activities are, therefore, designed to engage our people on issues of road safety, public transport and infrastructure development during this month. It is a mass-based campaign aimed directly at the vast majority of residents in this province. We’re also targeting young adults. Hopefully, this will promote some behavioural change in this category of people, so that succeeding generations can grow up in a different way; in a safer way.

In terms of the road safety component of the campaign our slogans are simple and straight forward. Road crashes and accidents happen because of the simple mistakes we make in life – texting and speaking on a cell phone while driving; jaywalking; falling asleep on the steering wheel due to fatigue; acquiring a fraudulent license; excessive speeding; and, being drunk either as pedestrian or as a motorist. Call it the six deadly sins if you like, but we must confront the harsh reality that these behavioural patterns are harmful to our country and its people. Hence, our posters and billboards say:

• It started with 1 sms;
• It started with jaywalking;
• It started with falling asleep;
• It started with a fake license;
• It started with a need for speed; and
• It started with 1 drink.

For some there might be nothing new in our message. But it’s ignoring these simple messages that results in road fatalities and injuries.

Only this weekend, we heard of the tragedy in Harrismith, where a bus collided with a truck. Three learners and six teachers from Phomola Primary School in Spruitview were killed in a horrific crash. Another 48 people were injured. Here are a few other examples of road accidents – all from yesterday’s newspapers:

• “A man was killed on Friday in Meyerton when he was struck by a truck on the R59 Sybrand van Niekerk freeway”;
• “In the East Rand a woman was killed and another was seriously injured when the driver lost control of the minibus they were travelling in and crashed on Thema Road near Kwa Thema”.
• “Nine killed and more than 60 injured in road accidents across South Africa over weekend”; and
• “On Friday, an 18 year old boy died in a side impact accident in the Fulweni area, Limpopo, while driving to a matric dance with three other pupils”.

Daily there are stories similar to these that appear in our media. We read them. We do not give them a second thought. They do not stir our conscience or our sense of responsibility on the roads; and life carries on as if nothing has happened. The Minister of Transport or some other public official will express condolences and offer comfort to the families of the deceased. And that’s it.

Today, I do express on behalf of all of us present my deepest condolences to the families of this weekend’s crash. I do so sincerely. But deep down I know that’s not enough. We have to do more, much more to make our roads safer for all. I realise that some people wilfully ignore a politician when he/she speaks. That’s why I’ve got Mr Zula, our mascot for this campaign. The Zula safely campaign will be taken to institutions of higher learning; various intermodal transport facilities, including taxi ranks; and schools. You will see it on billboards, on taxis and busses; at the airport; and hear about it on radio and TV. The idea is that road safety must become everyone’s business.

Even as we desire to change public consciousness on this issue, we recognise that the greater use of public transport also contributes to a safer and cleaner environment. The Gauteng Provincial Government, together with our municipalities, is investing heavily in public transport infrastructure in its quest to improve the state of public transportation. The Gautrain serves as a benchmark for the promotion of public transport between Pretoria and Johannesburg. The phenomenal ridership has demonstrated the public’s willingness to use public transport.

The Department will continue to focus on composite transport offerings in the province, encouraging and promoting the use of the Gautrain, the Rea Vaya Bus Rapid Transit systems in Johannesburg, the planned BRT systems in Tshwane and Ekurhuleni, Metrorail and minibus taxis, with the proviso that passenger safety and customer care become core features of the taxi, bus and rail industry. It is apparent that the Rea Vaya Bus Rapid Transit system has changed the face of spatial orientation in the City of Johannesburg, linking parts of the city never connected before. It now transports 40 000 passengers a day on the main trunk routes between Soweto and the city. I am confident that the features of an integrated public transport system are gradually and systematically taking shape in Gauteng; and we will see the impact of this over the next three years.

In rolling out the campaign, the Department of Roads and Transport has teamed up with the Gauteng Department of Community Safety in conducting roadblocks throughout the province with law-enforcement as an objective. We aim to stop 250 000 vehicles every month in Gauteng and this campaign will extend over the entire festive season. We call on the public to co-operate with the traffic and law enforcement agencies. We will be focusing on drunken drivers; we will insist that all passengers – in the front and the back seats – wear seatbelts; we will be checking on the roadworthiness of vehicles; and we will be looking out for fraudulent licenses.

Finally, we encourage all motorists to make the use of some form of public transport services on the 20th October, which is Car Free Day.

Ismail Vadi

For further information, contact Octavia Mamobolo on 0823168666.