The service provided by the Project Company and the operations contractor met and exceeded targets of availability and punctuality at an average of 99.5% and 98.6% respectively for all trips scheduled for the 2016/17 financial year. Safety and security targets have also been met and exceeded, increasing customer confidence in the Gautrain and in public transport in general. The safety of passengers and of the system itself remains at excellent levels. Recently, there has also been an improvement in the general condition and cleanliness of the station buildings, resulting from the successful implementation of intensive cleaning operations by the Project Company.

The operations of the project have been broadly successful, and the 2016/17 financial year saw an overall increase of 1% in the number of passenger trips, with the number of passenger train trips reaching 15,612,070. However, the number of users from airport stations declined due to competition with app-based cab/taxi hailing services. Consequently, a freeze on airport service fares has been introduced for 2017 to keep up with the competition.

After six years of operation and close to 80 million passenger trips, the project has had a positive impact on the provincial economy, alleviated traffic congestion and rejuvenated several inner cities in Johannesburg and Tshwane. It has created jobs and helped to re-establish the rail sector in the province. Some studies on the wider benefits of the project indicate that between 2006 and 2011, over 122,000 jobs were created by the project. For every ZAR 1 spent on the project, ZAR 1.72 has been added to the Gauteng economy. With the project's 99 percent availability rate, less than 0.4 percent fare evasion and 98 percent punctuality of its trains, the system has generated strong demand for the expansion of the project1.

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1  http://gma.gautrain.co.za/article/expansion-of-gautrain-rail-network