After calls for police and Egged to act to prevent the annual horror show, the severe overcrowding on buses to and from the Kosel during Sukkos, Jerusalem police promise the situation will not repeat itself this year, Sukkos 5774.
MK (Yahadut Hatorah) Uri Maklev made an appeal to both police and Egged, urging them to plan for the large tzibur that will be visiting the Kosel during chol hamoed and to avoid the dangerous, illegal and unacceptable overcrowding that exists on buses.
Officials assigned to the Jerusalem Police Traffic Enforcement Unit promise that they will work with Egged inspectors to limit the number of passengers on accordion buses to 80. One can only hope that Egged will add a sufficient number of buses to accommodate the many passengers to avoid excessive waiting time for mispallalim heading to and from the Old City.
In a related matter, officials of the Jerusalem light rail warn that one can expect trains to be severely crowded during chol hamoed despite the fact they will be significantly increasing the frequency of trains running the line during Yomtov.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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2 Responses
Perhaps the frum community can help by spreading out the crowds that all insist upon coming the kosel on the same one or two days. No public transit system is designed to have sufficient capacity to accommodate peak crowds for special events that occur only a few days a year while maintain service on their regular routes for those who have to get to work on chol hamoed. While its understandable that many yidden would like to daven at the kosel on chol hamoed, many should plan on walking since there is zero likelihood all be be accommodated on public transit. There simply aren’t enough buses.
Just back from our Aliyah Baregel to the Kosel. Buses were stacked up almost to Wadi Joz on the way in. On the way out it was the same old “horror stories” elderly and the handicapped, babies in strollers and in the arms of weary parents, waiting with tens of thousands of mispallelim for busses out of the area. People were frustrated but by and large well behaved. No police were in sight. One bored Egged “sadran” tried to get the trickle busses to come through. When they loaded the buses were jammed to way beyond safety limits.
Rudimentary care by the authorities could have avoided the mayhem. It is clear that there is malicious neglect in public services to the mekomos hakedoshim. This is a reminder that we are in golus and can not and should not rely on the authorities who wish to undermine and confound “kol davar shebekedusha”.