Transportation Ministry officials have given a green light to a requested change in the route of the Betar Illit 295 bus, which will begin making stops in Jerusalem’s Bayit Vegan neighborhood.

Since Elite Tours took over the transportation service in Betar Illit, residents wishing to reach Bayit Vegan were compelled to take the 297 line, traveling on the long winding Ein Kerem Road as it makes its way to the capital, and get off along the way.

It was decided that the 295, which travels from Betar to Har Nof, will now come to Har Nof via Bayit Vegan. Betar Illit officials expressed delight over the decision, which they explain corrects “an injustice by which the neighborhood closest to Betar was only accessible via a convoluted route”.

Getting permission for the bus to travel on Herzl Blvd in Jerusalem between Bayit Vegan and Har Nof was no small feat since the operators of the light rail under construction are guaranteed that no public buses would operate in proximity of the train. An agreement however was reached.

As a result, the 297 will stop servicing Bayit Vegan. The 295 will travel from Betar via Malcha, then by Shaare Zedek Hospital, Herzl to Har Nof. The new route will only begin after Purim as Elite Tours awaits the final permits for the route change.

Betar Illit Mayor Rav Meir Rubinstein praised the efforts of Transportation Minister and Elite Tours officials.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)