Miri Regev presents the transport justice reform for discounts on buses and trains/Ministry of Transportation
Transportation Minister Miri Regev had a moment of personal confession at the press conference for the launch of the "social justice" reform she has promoted over the past year.
Regev recalled how as a young girl she used to travel on a slow bus with many stops from Kiryat Gat to Tel Aviv to buy nail polish shoes for the holiday.
"It was an event that my friends and I had been waiting for all year," she confessed.
Five decades later not much has changed.
Line 369, which stops at Pelugut Junction near the city once every half hour, needed 17 stops to reach Tel Aviv.
Kiryat Gat, a city with almost 70 thousand inhabitants, 3 times what it had when Regev grew up there, still does not have a direct or fast line to Gush Dan.
There is a faster train than a bus, but its station is at the foot of the city.
Will Regev's reform, one of whose stated goals is to help the periphery, improve Kiryat Gat's situation in terms of transportation?
A free monthly ticket including train will cost city residents NIS 205 from today, a savings of NIS 205 a month.
A nice benefit of NIS 2,460 per year, but the Tel Aviv area will still be more than an hour away by public transportation.
The reform will not shorten the travel time between the two cities, nor will it make it easier for the residents of Kiryat Gat to enjoy the abundance of high-paying jobs and the more extensive educational opportunities that await in the center.
Those who live in the periphery to benefit from the lower housing costs, will have to continue working for a lower salary, or spend more time each day on the road.
What is really important to public transport passengers?
Price only after taxes, additional lines and frequencies/Ministry of Transportation
Regev presented at the press conference the results of an undisclosed survey conducted by whom and when, according to which the reduction of the monthly leave will encourage the use of public transportation.
But at a time when the Public Transportation Authority was still doing professional surveys and not to please any minister, just a year ago, it asked passengers what would make them increase the use of buses and trains.
Many more respondents mentioned faster public transportation - that is, private transportation - better routes, faster travel (direct lines, private transportation) and a more pleasant travel experience even before the price.
Ran Shadami, the professional who then managed the Public Transportation Authority Not in the office anymore.
Just like Amir Asraf, the professional who ran the Authority when Regev came to the Ministry of Transportation in the previous term.
Both were replaced by political appointees with no experience in the field.
And TATsim? Regev is doing everything to block them with private vehicles, which slow down the buses.
With the 240 million shekels a year that the first phase of the reform cost, it was possible to add frequencies to existing lines, and operate them until later hours. It was possible to add new lines. Pay more to new bus drivers so that they come to a profession where there is a shortage of 4,000 workers, and there will be no more cancellations of trips due to the lack of an available driver.
What is defined as a reform is more of a political bribe. As soon as Marev Michaeli and Avigdor Lieberman raised the price of travel in ultra-Orthodox cities like Beit in the previous price reform. R. Illit, Elad, Tiberias, Ofakim, and Netivot from 2.5 to 5 shekels, the ultra-Orthodox politicians who achieved these discounts, marked it.
They demanded the cancellation of the coalition agreements and Regev made an effort to please the partners at a sensitive time for the existence of the government.
There is a yeshiva student recruitment law and there is a Rabbi Ko recruitment law.
This can also be seen in the course of the 33% discount for young people aged 18 to 26 in public transport.
18-21 year olds who enlist in the IDF travel for free anyway, when their commanders release them to leave the base. Most of those soldiers, during the service and after it, will want to go out on Shabbat or meet friends. But then they won't have public transportation.
To Walla's question at the press conference, Regev said That you also not allow private companies that are interested in this to operate public transportation on Shabbat, of course you won't operate it yourself. So what is the reasoning for the assumption "to encourage young people to get used to using public transportation and not a private vehicle"? Or is this again a benefit cover for those young people who don't get a free ride as uniformed wearers because they don't enlist ?
The public transportation reform is a waste of public money. It serves political and not transportation needs. It will leave the periphery stuck in exactly the same place, and will not advance an inch the important vision of connecting Israel, lowering housing costs and giving every resident of the country an equal chance to acquire an education and make a living. But as The refusal to take care of the railway bridge over road number 1 will promote the survival of the government, which is the only important thing today for the decision makers.
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Miri Regev