Israel - Reform Movement Threatening Court Action Against Egged Buses, For New Mehadrin Lines That Segregated Men and Women

Israel - A reform movement is threatening to petition the High Court of Justice against the Transportation Ministry over two new segregated bus lines, known as Mehadrin lines, between Ofakim and Bnei Brak, and between Ofakim and Jerusalem, that segregat men and women, bringing to 30 the number of segregated buses that Egged is operating throughout Israel.

Line no. 494, one of the two new Egged Mehadrin lines, is the only bus that goes directly from Jerusalem to the Negev town of Ofakim and it runs at a reduced price. A resident of Ofakim who wishes to ride by regular bus to Jerusalem has to take two separate buses and ends up paying twice as much as those on the Mehadrin lines. That is one of the reasons that the center is demanding Egged define clear criteria for the operation of its Mehadrin lines. The center is not opposed to the idea of operating special lines for ultra-Orthodox passengers.

An Egged spokesman, Ron Ratner, said that the bus cooperative makes decisions according to economic viability. "In the western Negev, our customers are mainly from the religious public," he said. "We estimate that in 15-20 years it will pay off. Then, too, we will be the national carrier but we will specialize in certains sectors. Our crowning glory will be the ultra-Orthodox sector from which hundreds of thousands of passengers use our buses."