Hidden advantages of using the Gautrain

Apart from the obvious time, vehicle maintenance and petrol savings that riding the Gautrain delivers, Gauteng’s new age commuters are likely to be saving on insurance premiums, reducing future premium increases for others, and growing Gauteng’s green footprint.

Obvious benefits of using the Gautrain include:

· Less wear and tear on your vehicle, so less to spend on vehicle maintenance
· Less spent on fuel, so less lost to petrol price increases
· Avoiding the new highway toll charges
· Reducing stress by driving less on potholed and congested roads
· Reducing further wear and tear on Gauteng’s poorly maintained road infrastructure

You can now also “read the newspaper, a magazine or all the books you never get to as you ride in comfort to work or your next meeting” says Gari Dombo Managing Director, Alexander Forbes Insurance.

Less time spent commuting also means people become more efficient and productive as train trips provide more time to catch up on work using an ipad, blackberry or laptop.

Less obvious benefits, however, of using the Gautrain include:

· Train commuters qualifying for discounts on their insurance premiums since they will be using their cars less. “A hidden benefit of driving less is that you lower your vehicle risk profile by reducing your chances of having an accident” says Dombo. Some insurers recognize this by offering pay-as-you-drive options. Alexander Forbes recognizes drivers who use their vehicles less by “offering significant discounts to policy holders who drive under 10 000 or 5 000 km per annum” says Dombo.

· Lower vehicle use in Gauteng should translate into lower loss ratios. If loss ratios reduce enough, future rate increases could be reduced - or at least increase more gradually. This would apply to all motorists in Gauteng, whether they use the train or not.

· A boost to provincial efforts to reduce Gauteng’s carbon footprint as, on average, 14000 fewer carbon guzzling road trips are taken each day.

· Weaning the province off total automobile dependence as the Gautrain builds work and living patterns around its more efficient and effective transport network, “growing a more environmentally friendly living and working culture in the process” says Dombo.

The most instantly noticeable benefit, however, says Dombo, who travels between Johannesburg and Pretoria each day, “is the huge amount of time that living or working near the Gautrain has added to people’s days.”

Since time is money as well as the currency in which we measure our lives this is without out doubt the greatest benefit of this train.