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15 Av 5766 - August 9, 2006 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
Egged Plus Chosen to Operate Public Transportation in Beitar Illit

by Yechiel Sabar

After months of deliberations, Egged Plus was selected as the final winner of a tender to run a cluster of bus lines to and from Beitar Illit. An initial agreement was signed by the Transportation Ministry, Egged Plus and Beitar Illit pending the approval of the Jerusalem District Court.

Within a matter of months Egged Plus will bring in a fleet of 60 buses to handle 18 bus lines, including three lines inside the city, five lines to Jerusalem and two lines to Beit Shemesh and Bnei Brak. The new transportation system will significantly boost the frequency of departures and some of the buses feature a lowered floor to accommodate strollers, the handicapped and the elderly.

The decision to grant Egged Plus the franchise requires court approval due to a petition the company filed to disqualify Beitar Tours — which was declared the winner of the tender several months ago — over flaws in the documents it submitted. The presiding judge sent the two competing companies and the Transportation Ministry to settle out of court.

Deputy Mayor Rabbi Meir Rubinstein, who served as a member of the Transportation Ministry's tenders committee for Beitar Illit transportation, took part in the talks between the two companies as part of efforts to accelerate the entry of the new operator for the sake of the city's tens of thousands of bus passengers. The compromise agreement requires Egged Plus to compensate Beitar Tour.

Egged Plus now has less than two months to prepare to take over. If it meets above-average standards of bus service in the Transportation Ministry's annual assessment the company will be eligible for budget increases.

Following Egged Plus' win, Rabbi Rubinstein said every effort was made to straighten out the differences between the two companies and the Transportation Ministry to provide city residents with smooth-running public transportation.

 

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