The Rishon L’Tzion Magistrate’s Court has ordered Egged to pay NIS 500 to a Cholon resident who waited over an hour for a bus. The bus company was also ordered to pay a fine to the tune of NIS 10,000.

Egged told the court that it gave the woman a NIS 42 ticket, worth eight trips on that particular line, but the court rejected the modest settlement, ordering the NIS 500 payment plus fine.

The plaintiff told the court that in 2005, she waited for a bus in the rain for over an our, seeking to travel on the 97 Alef bus from Kiryat Sharet to Tel Aviv.

During the legal proceeding, a Transportation Minister inspector confirmed the facts, telling the court he personally checked into the details of the complaint.

Egged maintained a street closure did not permit the bus to travel to the particular stop where the woman was waiting. The court however ascertained the bus company changed the route of the bus in question, partially due to the construction as stated, but passengers were not apprised of the route change.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)