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.
