GAUTRAIN FARES & TICKETING

Posted on 24 July 2009 by Railways Africa Editor

Gautrain has adopted a balanced approach in its fare policy, aimed at making the service attractive and affordable. In principle, Gautrain fares will be lower than the cost of using a private car for the same journey but more expensive than those of existing taxi and rail fares. Fare levels will be finalised just before the opening of the system in 2010 and periodically adjusted thereafter.

The characteristics of the Gautrain automatic fare collection (AFC) system are as follows:

• It provides convenient access for all to railway, feeder-bus and parking services;
• It facilitates revenue collection by means of the fare media;
• It protects revenue by means of its security resources;
• It promotes the use of public transport in place of private cars through discounted fares for park-and-ride customers;
• It facilitates control of business performance through product management and management information reporting;
• It provides many opportunities for expanding, extending and developing the business, including the support of a variety of alternatives for interoperability with other transit systems.

Special consideration has been given to the needs of people with disabilities, to minimise queuing and make ticket purchase and car parking access and payment as simple as possible. Wide-entry gates are provided at all stations for use by anybody requiring extra space such as wheelchair users, those with baggage and adults accompanied by small children in pushchairs.