Monday morning is the first day of the five-day Muslim holiday of the Feast of the Sacrifice. This year, the holiday coincides with the first day of ‘bein hazmanim’ when so many persons and families are traveling, many of them dependent on public transportation.
According to estimates, 40% on the nation’s bus drivers are Muslims who observe the holiday, and as a result, they will not be reporting for work and this will result in the cancelation of tens of thousands of scheduled bus trips nationwide because bus companies will not succeed in replacing them. Most of the canceled buses will be in the periphery areas in the north and south, as the Metropolin Company in the north and Dan in the south will have to announce the cancelation of many buses during the holiday.
Egged will be canceling 20,000 trips during the holiday and the Kavim Company, which is responsible for bus service in Modi’in Illit, will cancel 15,000 trips. SuperBus will cancel 5,000 trips and Metropolin will cancel 10,000. Dan will be canceling 3.500 trips in southern areas.
Traveling are urged to check schedules with the various bus companies in the coming days, especially those traveling with small children.
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The Ministry of Transportation announced it is in contact with the public bus companies towards minimizing damage to the public transport system as drivers are observing the holiday. Passengers are urged to remain up to date regarding the routes, and one may call *8787 for information regarding changes during the coming days.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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9 Responses
Israelis are used to more serious “disasters”.
They will be allright.
Unless bein hazmanim is pekuach nefesh mamish…
Um, I realize there is some fluidity in the Muslim calendar, but didn’t the bus companies realize the holiday was coming? What happened last year and the year before?
It’s important to suspend bus service for a Muslim holiday but for Shabbos the transportation needs to continue uninterrupted. What a disgrace!
Inconvenience, yes. Disaster for Yidden? Perhaps a bit of hyperbole by a headline editor on a slow news Monday. What did they expect the bus companies to do??? You cannot train busdrivers overnight. Would Eged have asked Yiddeshe bus drivers to drive on yom tovim to avoid inconveniencing the arab bus passengers??
Why does Egged still have Arab bus drivers?
40% is an alarming statistic. Isn’t that a security risk?
Can you trust them?
There are so many unemployed Israelis…so many unemployed Ethiopians (real Jews as well as “pseudo-Jews”). This would be an excellent job choice for Chareidim who need to enter the workforce (assuming Egged would make allowances for them for Shabbos and Yom Tov).
REMEMBER: There have been an unusually high number of bus terrorist attacks.
Give the job to someone who is at least loyal to Eretz Yisroel and to fellow Jews.
This shall probably occur again these next 2 years, until our next Leap year, when this Eida holiday then shall roll back to Tammuz. Next year it shall also cause complications with people trying to reach Shabbos Nachamu destinations with less than 23 hours after end of Tisha b’Ov.
“DISASTER FOR ISRAELIS”??!
Well, asides the hysteria, it is called religious freedom.
Same as we request our rights…
On the same note, I am sure the Left has no problem with this, but when Dati’im and Haredim demand the very same they will call it, religious oppression..
@lurker
Buses were cancelled last minute, and people got to chasunos VERY late.
Traveling from Yerushalayim to B’nei Brak will be difficult.
Lurker, last year and the year before Eid al Kurban was on the 10th of Elul. But you are right that they knew about this year’s kevius many years in advance, and had plenty of time to plan for it.