Will your train come? Now you'll know.
PRASA ai is your Cape Town Metrorail assistant on WhatsApp — real-time schedules, delay alerts and crowd reports. Free, no app, in your language.
- Free
- No app download
- Any phone
- EN · AF · isiXhosa
Not an official PRASA service — yet.
You know the feeling.
It's 6:47am. You're standing on the platform. No train. No announcement. You check the time again. Is it 5 minutes late or cancelled? Nobody around you knows either.
Cape Town Metrorail has been getting genuinely better. The new X'Trapolis Mega trains are safer and more reliable. The City approved a Rail Business Plan in December 2025. But the information layer hasn't kept pace — when disruptions hit, commuters still find out by standing on an empty platform. Meanwhile, commuters across the network have built informal WhatsApp groups to share sightings and delays in real time.
The trains are getting better. The information should too.
What it does
Instant Timetables
Type your route, get the next 3 trains in seconds. English, Afrikaans, or isiXhosa.
Live Delay Alerts
Real-time disruption info from PRASA data and commuter reports, delivered straight to your chat.
Line Maps
Visual route maps showing your position, your destination, and any delays along the way.
Crowd Reports
See what fellow commuters are reporting at your station. One tap to share what you see.
Understands You
Ask "ekse when the next train from muizi to town?" and it just works. No menus. No dropdowns. Just ask.
Fare Calculator
Know exactly what you'll pay. Single, return, weekly, or monthly — before you leave home.
Built independently using publicly available PRASA schedule data.
How it works
Message us on WhatsApp
Save +27 76 054 6767 or tap the button below.
Ask anything
"next train Retreat to Cape Town" or just "?" for your saved route.
Get answers in seconds
Timetables, fares, maps, alerts — all in your chat.
Built by a commuter. For commuters.
I ride the train every day. Every morning I'd stand on the platform wondering if my train was coming, delayed, or cancelled — scrolling Twitter for updates that came 30 minutes too late, asking in WhatsApp groups where someone three stations away might know something. Most mornings, I'd just guess.
So I built what I wished existed. A WhatsApp bot that knows the full Metrorail timetable, checks for disruptions in real-time, and understands when you type "muizi to town." PRASA ai is not affiliated with PRASA — not yet. We're an independent project built by commuters, for commuters, with one goal: to prove that better passenger communication isn't just possible, it's overdue.
Follow your line
Get real-time updates from PRASA's official WhatsApp channels.
What commuters say
I used to guess if my train was coming. Now I just send a message and I know exactly when to leave home.
The Afrikaans support is lekker. I type in my taal and it just works — no fuss.
Saving my daily route changed everything. I send one question mark and get my whole morning sorted.
My wife and I both use it. We actually catch earlier trains now because we know exactly what's running.
I showed it to everyone at work. No more standing on empty platforms wondering what's going on.
PRASA ai
Trains, on WhatsApp
The flagship. Real-time Metrorail schedules, delay alerts and crowd reports for Cape Town commuters.
GABS ai
Golden Arrow buses, on WhatsApp
The same assistant for Cape Town's buses — timetables, fares and live running for Golden Arrow riders.
YourGov
A nation’s voice, on WhatsApp
A YouGov for South Africa — nationwide petitions and public-opinion polling at SMS-simple reach, inside the app everyone already has.
Fleet ai
Fleets, managed from chat
WhatsApp fleet management for operators — vehicles, drivers, routes and reports, run from a single thread.
GABS ai, YourGov and Fleet ai are in development by System Sol. PRASA ai is independent and not affiliated with PRASA or Golden Arrow.
What's next
PRASA ai is actively growing. Here's what we've shipped and what's coming.
Full Metrorail Timetable
All 101 stations, 19 routes, 556 daily trips — searchable on WhatsApp.
Multilingual Support
English, Afrikaans, and isiXhosa — type in any language.
Save Your Route
Save your daily commute and get schedules with a single "?" message.
Crowd-sourced Delay Alerts
Real-time disruption reports from commuters across the network.
Push Notifications
Get alerted before you leave home when your line has delays.
Fare Calculator
Calculate trip costs and compare weekly vs monthly ticket savings.
Real-time GPS Tracking
Live train positions on a map — pending official PRASA partnership.
More Cities
Expanding to Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Durban Metrorail networks.
MyCiTi & Golden Arrow Integration
Multi-modal trip planning across Cape Town's full transit network.
To PRASA: Let's talk.
We built PRASA ai because we believe South Africa's commuters deserve world-class passenger information. We've done the hard work — real-time timetables, AI-powered assistance, crowd-sourced reporting, multilingual support. All on WhatsApp, where your passengers already are.
This could be so much bigger as an official service. If anyone at PRASA, Metrorail, or the City of Cape Town wants to explore what that looks like — we're ready.