The transport and environment organizations for Regev: "Don't cancel the public transport routes" | Israel today

Transportation Minister Miri Regev's announcement that she would consider canceling some of the public transportation routes on intercity roads caused a storm on social media and sparked a sharp discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of the method.

Organizations working for the quality of the environment and public transportation published today (Wednesday) a joint appeal to the minister calling on her not to cancel public transportation routes.

The organizations sought to emphasize the importance of public transportation routes and public transportation infrastructure for the State of Israel and the citizens of Israel, especially among the disadvantaged populations that will be directly affected, and up to the general public, who will all pay the price for the lack of infrastructure promotion that will lead to a decline in Israel's status as a developed and advanced country.

Also, the move will damage the connectivity between the center and the periphery.

In the letter, the organizations addressed the minister and asked to detail the importance of the public transport infrastructure and the public transport routes in particular, as a key tool for reducing traffic jams.

According to the organizations.

If the lanes are canceled, the main incentive to switch from the private car to public transportation, which is skipping the traffic jams, will actually be canceled, which will lead to the opposite process and the worsening of traffic congestion.

Also, maintaining the car will only add to the burden of the cost of living in Israel, while the minister states that she aims to fight it.

Public transportation route on the coastal road, photo: Avishag Shaar Yishuv

The organizations also claimed that the move would affect the entire public transportation service.

The travel time will be longer, buses will have difficulty being punctual and the service will not be reliable at all - instead of the improvement that Israel strives for - we will see a rapid deterioration.

The step will also harm the bus drivers, of course, who will have to spend longer on the route, their breaks will be shortened, and their working conditions will deteriorate even more.

"swept in a populist current"

The organizer of the appeal, Sivan Shmuelowitz, director of government and policy relations at the organization 15 Minutes, which promotes public transportation in Israel, said: "We as civil society organizations devote all our strength to influencing policies that dictate our lives in the country.

Our life in the country "As a public transportation organization that has been in existence for a decade, we listen to the public all the time and experience together. The frustration of our broken public transportation system, and we see that the state and the authorities do not count us - do not go to the field, do not really understand the situation, spend millions And billions and public transportation doesn't really change. It took us many years to convince of the necessity of public transportation - and until we finally have someone to talk to, until they listen to us - the ministers change and suddenly the interest gets smaller and smaller and populist statements come out against critical infrastructure for public transportation - public transportation , metro, bike paths.

Empty or functional?

A public transportation route in Israel,

"We are here to remind the elected officials of the facts, and to help them get out of the populist current in which they were swept towards the realms of logic, facts and real public service."

Yael Dori, head of planning at the Adam Teva and Din organization, one of the signatories of the appeal, said: "If the public transportation is canceled, we will go back - not only in terms of developing a national network, but also in terms of the number of people using buses, especially those who switched to public transportation because it became more efficient and reliable More .

This is one of the most destructive steps a transport server can take.

Instead, it should add toll booths, and allow a high-quality, safe and comfortable ride for the entire public, and not only for private car owners, but also for children, women, those without a license, the elderly, and more."

"The move will only worsen the traffic jams"

Ratem Kaplan, a transportation planner and consultant, told "Israel Hayom": "The importance of traffic lights is in prioritizing public transportation over private vehicles. When there are more traffic lights, the speed of public transportation is significantly higher than when there are no traffic lights. The policy of expropriating lanes in favor of Netzat actually contributes to reducing the traffic jams, contrary to what the minister said."

Kaplan believes that clearing additional lanes for private vehicles will not be beneficial in the long term and warns: "It has been proven everywhere in the world, and in Israel as well - that the more roads and more lanes are added, the more the amount of private vehicle travel actually increases, and therefore the traffic jams only increase because more vehicles are on the road. When traveling If he chooses public transportation, he needs to have a reason - that the travel time will not be significantly longer than traveling by private car, and this can only be done through preferential routes. If the buses get stuck in a traffic jam with everyone else, this is what will lead to the encouragement of private cars and worse traffic jams."

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