Jerusalem City Council members sat together with numerous heads of transportation organizations and committees in an effort to share with them the frustrations of the passengers who use public transportation in Jerusalem and to get to Israel’s capital.
In response to the issues raised an Egged spokesperson who was at the meeting said: “We have been suffering from a driver shortage in and around Jerusalem. We are short more than 200 drivers But recently some 70 new drivers have been found allowing us to make improvements in adherence to schedule as well as adding frequency to the affected bus lines.”
The heads of the company also promised to tour the bus lines together with city officials so as see what can be fixed whether or not the lines are satisfactory to the public.
During the meeting it was decided that a joint taskforce will be charged of keeping an eye on needs of the public and implementing plans to answer the needs of their constituents.
Egged will also open a complaint hotline so as to enable people to call and report a problem at any time. They will also have their staff trained in how to properly interact with Charedim.
The joint members of the meeting also decided that as of March, passengers will not be able to pay the drivers on the busses, but now will be forced to put money on Rav Kav cards, or purchase single-ride fares from fare machines located at all major bus stops. The move comes as part of an effort to stay on schedule and allow for faster stops.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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One Response
Sounds great in theory.
Until one misses the bus trying to pay. The train isnt so bad, because they come almost every 5 minutes on a regular schedule. With buses, one can easily wait anywhere from 10 – 30 min for the next one. If it comes at all.