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A move to reduce crowding on Israel's trains by moving IDF soldiers over to bus service on Sunday mornings has been pronounced a success by Israel Railways officials.
Beginning on Sunday, IDF soldiers were no longer able to ride trains for free on Sunday mornings between the hours of 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. Instead, some 300 buses were chartered to transport soldiers to their bases.
According to official IDF figures released later on Sunday, over 6,000 soldiers rode on 243 buses on Sunday morning.
The move was formulated in response to growing crowding on Israel's trains, particularly on Sunday mornings and Thursday evenings, when IDF soldiers, who traditionally use public transportation free of charge, travel to and from their bases.
In an interview broadcast on Army Radio, Israel Railways Chairman Uri Yogev pronounced the move a success. "For the first time in years, the train cars are not crowded," he said.
He added that the crowding was the result of a shortage of train cars and inadequate infrastructure, and estimated that it would take 4-5 years until the gaps could be closed.
At Tel Aviv's central Arlozorov train station on Sunday morning, ushers directed crowds of soldiers toward buses waiting outside while explaining to them that train travel would not be free, as usual, until after 9 a.m. Stands handed out drinks and cookies to soldiers.
At the entrance to the station, several dozen soldiers chose to pay for their tickets, ignoring the ushers.
“You know you have to pay, right?” an usher said to Mor, a soldier in the military police.
“Yes, but what can I do? I need to get to Netanya and I’m already running late,” she responded.
“This is a nightmare, it’s horrible,” said another soldier, who had only heard about the changes that morning. “But at least the ushers explained to me where to go,” she added.
Most of the soldiers, however, seemed to take the changes in stride. As if acting upon orders, they boarded the soldiers-only buses armed with their juice and cookies.
Paratrooper Ariel Rosenberg said he was relatively pleased with the new arrangement.
"Our commanders told us to do our best not to be late, and most people are actually managing fine with the changes," he said.
Homefront Defense Minister Matan Vilnai said he planned to appeal to Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz to cancel the new arrangement. “This is a harsh blow to IDF soldiers and fighters,” he said. “Israel Railways must provide other solutions, such as adding train cars, and not easy solutions at the expense of the soldiers.”
Members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, led by committee chairman Shaul Mofaz (Kadima) came to the station to observe the move first-hand.
"I will not allow this arrangement to continue. Until soldiers are allowed to travel by train for free, we will not deal with the defense establishment's budgets," Mofaz said.
Boaz Goldberg, a father of two combat soldiers from the suburbs of Haifa, came to the train station to demonstrate against the move. “We live in Kiryat Haim [outside of Haifa] and they serve in the south of the country. Usually, they get on a train, but now on the bus they’ll get caught in traffic jams. I plan to give them some money so they’ll get there for sure,” he said.
Ahead of the change, the move was criticized by some as an attempt by the IDF to save money at the expense of soldiers, with several thousand people signing a Facebook petition against the move.
A senior IDF officer confirmed that the new arrangement would require changes to the army's contract with Israel Railways. He estimated that it would save the army some NIS 20 million.
He added, however, that the changes were initiated by Israel Railways, not by the IDF, and that it would be reassessed if and when Israel Railways acquired new train cars.
