Last update - 00:00 04/01/2008
Cyclists off the rails
By Zafrir Rinat
According to Yisrael Bishvil Ofanayim (the Israel Bicycle Association or IBA), the number of people who ride bicycles daily in Tel Aviv has increased over the past decade by 300 percent. Today some 7 percent of trips taken in the city are done on bikes. Recently this two-wheeled public has received real encouragement thanks to the announcement by the Transportation Ministry of an investment of NIS 50 million in the establishment of a national bike-trail infrastructure.
However, the situation is still problematic: The IBA has tried to persuade the management of Israel Railways to arrange for secure parking for bikes at train stations and to allow passengers to bring their bikes onto the train, with whatever limitations may be necessary. Thus far the proposal has been met with refusal, based on the difficulty of creating special places for bikes in the train cars and the need for longer-lasting stops in order to enable riders to board and alight.
The IBA people have not given up and recently they appealed again to the new head of the railways, Yitzhak Harel, for help. Harel again detailed the difficulties and declared that the rail system was not ready at this stage to allow bicycles on board. However, he did afford bike riders a bit of hope when he said that he has asked for a reexamination of the issue during the formulation of Israel Railways' multi-year plan.
In light of the cyclists' insistence, which has already paid off in convincing local councils to establish bicycle paths, it is to be hoped that they will also succeed in moving Israel Railways.