National Transport Conference: Gauteng is not waiting

“By 2037, peak-hour highway speeds in Gauteng will drop to 10 kilometres per hour. A province gridlocked at rush hour cannot compete. We have no time left to debate whether to act.”

There is a number that should concentrate every mind in Gauteng. Transport modelling projects that by 2037, peak-hour highway speeds in this province will drop to 10 kilometres per hour. That is not a traffic inconvenience. That is an economic crisis that is already under way.

A province gridlocked at rush hour cannot compete for investment or talent. Workers who spend two hours in traffic each way arrive depleted and depart early. Businesses that cannot move goods reliably lose contracts to competitors who can. Investors who weigh up where to locate their operations look at infrastructure first. A congested, unreliable transport system is a competitive liability.

Gauteng has known this for a long time. What has changed is that the plans are now in place, the commitments have been made, and the work has begun.

What fifteen years of Gautrain proved

This week’s Inaugural National Transport Conference at the Gallagher Convention Centre brought together government, the private sector and civil society around a single question: how do we build a transport system equal to the demands of the fastest-growing urban region in Africa? The fact that Gauteng was chosen to host that conversation is not incidental. This province is where the problem is most acute and where the solutions are being built.

Fifteen years ago, when the first Gautrain departed Sandton station for OR Tambo International Airport, it demonstrated something South Africans had not seen before: public transport that was reliable, safe and fast enough to be a genuine choice rather than a last resort. Fifteen years and more than 200 million passenger trips later, that promise has held. In the 2024/25 financial year, Gautrain achieved 99,51% availability and 97,57% punctuality. Those numbers reflect the daily reality of commuters who chose rail and found it kept its word.

That record matters because it makes the case for what comes next. The proposed extensions of Gautrain services to Soweto and Mamelodi are not aspirational gestures. They are the logical next step in a system that has proven it works. For too long, Gautrain has been characterised as a service for the few. Extending it into townships that house a substantial share of Gauteng’s population changes that characterisation permanently. Efficient, reliable rail must serve everyone, regardless of where they live or what they earn.

A plan that is now an action

The Integrated Transport Master Plan, now adopted by the Gauteng Executive Council, provides the framework for what an integrated system looks like: rail as the backbone, supported by buses, taxis and non-motorised transport, all coordinated through the Transport Authority for Gauteng. The Master Plan is the framework that turns planning into delivery.

The e-toll resolution is part of that commitment. The Gauteng government took a deliberate decision to assume responsibility for the e-toll debt, relieving residents of a financial burden that had become both unfair and unworkable. To date, more than R9 billion has been paid toward the total debt of R20 billion. Roads freed from that burden can be maintained and expanded.

None of this is without cost. A R45 billion strategic asset like Gautrain does not build itself. The R19.4 billion GDP contribution during its construction and the R20.4 billion during operations demonstrate that transport infrastructure is not expenditure. It is investment, and the returns extend well beyond what any single balance sheet can capture.

600 million trips by 2030

The target is 600 million passenger trips by 2030. That number is achievable only if the integration between rail, road and public transport is real rather than theoretical, only if the private sector understands that its competitiveness depends on what government builds, and only if every level of government keeps its commitments.

Gauteng is not waiting for perfect conditions. The conference this week is a signal that the national conversation on transport has moved from diagnosis to delivery. The plans are made. The legislation is in place. The infrastructure is being built.

Gauteng has made its choice. The work is under way.

Diale-Tlabela is Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport.

The Inaugural National Transport Conference signals a turning point. The plans are made. The commitments are real. Now comes the work