Objective

PRASA’s main objective is to generate an income by providing rail commuter and long haul bus services within South Africa in terms of the principles set out in section 4 of the National Land Transport Transition Act, 2000 (Act No. 22 of 2000).

Source: Legal Succession to the South African Transport Services Amendment Act, 2008, no. 38 of 2008

Vision

Enhanced mobility as the gateway to accessible socio-economic opportunities and a shared future

Two fundamental principles underpin the vision:

• Accessibility: PRASA should facilitate access – be a gateway - to a better quality of life by enabling individuals and communities to access socio-economic opportunities.
• Mobility: PRASA should connect individuals and communities through an integrated network of mobility routes.

Mission

Sustainable transport solutions through service excellence, innovation and modal integration

PRASA’s mission reflects four key intentions:

• Service excellence – superior performance that is safe, reliable and affordable, and which makes a lasting impression by actively building brand loyalty – both internally (employees) and externally (customers) – ultimately adding benefit to the passenger.
• Sustainability - a triple bottom line focus on sustainable development that considers not only financial profit, but also environmental quality and social equity.
• Mobility solutions – reframing the basis of business delivery to favour innovation, integration and partnerships
• Integration – safe, seamless and dignified travel experiences across all modes of public transport

Values

The values that will guide PRASA and that will underpin the performance ethos of the organisation are guided by the fundamental, progressive human values of South Africa’s constitution:

• Participation
• Communication
• Honesty and Integrity
• Fairness
• Innovation

Strategic Role

Created by Government to advance its agenda for the transformation of the public transport system into a vibrant, efficient one, PRASA’s strategic role may be defined as follows:

Firstly, PRASA brings a unique feature into the public transport environment– a potential to provide integrated transport solutions due to its control of commuter rail, inter-city, long distance rail and road-based long distance bus services, supported by transit orientated station and terminal developments.

Modal integration lies at the heart of the DoT’s public transport strategy. PRASA is positioned to build on the synergies that Metrorail, Shosholoza Meyl and Autopax bring to the delivery of public transport services. It also retains the option of reinforcing these with feeder and distribution services, where appropriate and beneficial, for wider integrated public transport solutions that increase mobility and accessibility to opportunities available to the people of South Africa. None of the existing providers of public transport services have this potential.

Secondly, PRASA will be the first and only government-owned vehicle in the area of public transport. Government will continue to subsidise and/or regulate public transport operators, while many municipal–owned bus entities have had their roles reduced. With the restructuring of the former South African Transport Services, Government lacked the leverage to directly influence public transport service provision and relied on other providers to drive its own public transport goals. With the creation of PRASA, government is in a far better position to drive the new public transport strategy.

Finally, PRASA will be expected to play a major role in the development of social and economic infrastructure. The organisation will partner with Transport and Rail Authorities to plan and deliver on rail and other transport infrastructure.

PRASA’s primary responsibility is to effectively develop and manage rail and related transport infrastructure and to provide efficient rail and road based passenger transport services. This will be supported by the focused management of a property portfolio that will be developed to enhance passengers’ travelling experience. This will be achieved through the transformation of key station properties into transit orientated development precincts that can generate sustainable income streams.

Corporate Governance