2005-12-03,+The+Gautrains+cost+is+a+steal,+Arup,+Business+Day


 * Business Day, Johannesburg, Letters, 02 December 2005**

= **The Gautrain’s cost is a steal** =

The current crisis over the Gautrain has arisen partly because its true cost has become apparent but also because people are forgetting why it can be a very good thing. On a cost per kilometre basis, its R250m per kilometre, (R20bn/80km) is well within international benchmarks.

We need to recognise the context in which the project is being offered; a society hellbent on outstripping Los Angeles as the low-density capital of the world. There are increasingly high costs of providing basic services in a low density megalopolis. This addiction to urban sprawl also threatens the growth potential of the CBDs, the economic engines of Gauteng.

Gautrain has the potential to change the mindsets that underlie these destructive development habits. It is not just a question of how to solve our current transport problems; we have our problems precisely because of these bad habits. Supporting a high-quality transit system, focused on the main CBDs, will be a vote of confidence in our economic potential.

Government is committed to our cities. If they are allowed to decline and disperse as a result of poor or unattractive means of access, then their energies will dissipate, to everyone’s loss.

Without a high-quality transport system setting the pace, it will be very difficult to motivate improvements to our conventional commuter rail system.

The recapitalisation of the minibus taxi system may also dribble away into the sand unless government is willing to demonstrate that it really is serious about public transport. A successful Gautrain project will ultimately be a success for all public transport.

It is absolutely vital that all the stations are designed to a standard that reflects the optimistic urban vision that underlies the project. Land owners and local authorities need to work together to ensure that Park Station, Sandton Central, Midrand and Pretoria are developed as stunning entrances to the urban environments they serve.

Andrew Marsay Arup Transport Planning

From: http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/opinion.aspx?ID=BD4A122073