The state-owned company in South Africa that’s seen a 670% improvement in 5 years

PRASA operates the nation’s metrorail train network. Despite being significantly cheaper, PRASA’s passenger numbers nosedived at the start of the decade. 

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a massive reduction in passenger numbers, which was made worse by governance failures, heightened security risks and increased vandalism. 

Many passengers chose more expensive but reliable operations from taxis and buses.  However, the turnaround of the state-owned company is starting to bear fruit, 

In its 2024/25 financial year report, PRASA noted that it successfully completed 77 million passenger trips, nearly doubling from the 39 million in 2023/24. 

The total represented an overachievement of about 17 million trips against the agency’s target. 

Since 2020/21, passenger trip numbers increased by 666%, even if this comes with the caveat that the numbers at the start of the decade marked a serious decline from the prior decade.

The monthly passenger trips average for the 2024/25 financial year was 6.39 million, with Gauteng recording the largest number of trips, followed by the Western Cape and KZN. 

Moreover, passenger trips showed a general upward trend month on month during the year, rising from 4.48 million in April 2024 to 7.65 million in March 2025. 

“We did not just deliver on our promises – we exceeded them, restoring passenger confidence while building the foundation for a modern, reliable railway system that our commuters deserve,” said CEO Hishaam Emeran.  

“We expect the growth in passenger trips to grow across the PRASA network.” 

Of the over 200 thousand scheduled trips, PRASA saw a 91% on-time performance, with cancellations at just 3%. 

The company has also returned 35 of PRASA’s 40 service lines to operation, with 70% now fully operational. 

Financials 

Although there has been a massive rise in customer numbers, there are still concerns across PRASA’s financials. 

Although there was strong passenger volume growth, Metrorail revenue of R396.6 million fell short of targets

This was due to ticketing system gaps, delay-related refunds increased season ticket adoption, and deferred fare adjustments.

Emeran noted that the group are implementing targeted interventions, such as stabilising ticketing systems, refining customer policies, and proceeding with planned fare adjustments. 

He said these interventions will ensure patronage growth translates into sustainable revenue streams. 

Despite specific improvements in the group, its surplus for the year decreased from R10.5 billion to R3.1 billion amid heightened capital expenditure and a decrease in the government subsidy. 

Emeran said that capital investment was central to the recovery strategy, having deployed R21.1 billion against an allocation of R11.6 billion. 

The CEO said that the increased expenditure highlighted the urgent priority of fleet renewal, infrastructure recovery, and system modernisation. 

The increased expenditure created 84,718 jobs through R21.1 billion capital spending. Of the direct jobs

PRASA received an unqualified audit opinion from the Auditor-General, which is notable for a South African state-owned company, as many do not receive clean audits. 

“We are closing remaining audit findings, strengthening supply chain controls, and fully embedding consequence management systems to ensure sustainable governance standards that stand the test of time,” said Emeran.