Ramat Gan Mayor Shama HaKohen has announced he plans to begin running public buses on Shabbos in the near future.

HaKohen is a newly elected mayor, backed by Shas in the election, beating out the former mayor, Yisrael Zinger, in a tight race.

Kikar Shabbos News reports cities in which public transportation has begun on Shabbos, the change is the result of private initiatives or initiatives that came on behalf of the Meretz party.

In addition, the mayor hosted a survey via his Facebook account, in which he checked which residents were in favor of and against public transportation on the Shabbos.

The Kikar Shabbos News report adds that it tried to obtain a response from the city’s Shas-affiliated deputy mayor, but no response was forthcoming.

It should be noted that Yahadut Hatorah, which does not have a representative at the city council table, backed Zinger in the election race.

YWN-Israel recently reported that Hadera Mayor Tzvika Gendelman tried having his city council approve bus service on Shabbos but the majority of the council voted against the initiative. He too was backed by the frum community in the last municipal elections.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)