Soldiers will no longer ride the train free during Sunday morning rush hour, as the Israel Defense Forces tries to reduce the crush of travelers when troops return to base from weekend leave. The move begins today, from 6 A.M. to 9 A.M.
Instead, the IDF says it is providing 300 special buses. To address concerns that soldiers will have to leave home earlier because riding the bus back to base will take longer, the buses will take fast toll roads: the Carmel tunnels and Route 6.
Soldiers' military ID cards, which allow them to ride the train for free, will not work during the hours in question. The decision barring soldiers from riding free early on Sundays has come under fire from the soldiers themselves, their parents and lawmakers, who say the IDF is trying to save money.
But a senior officer said the IDF would continue paying the same amount to Israel Railways for Sunday travel. The officer added, however, that the new arrangement would change the details of the contract, which is based on an annual fee of between NIS 130 million and NIS 140 million. The IDF has been restricting free train rides for soldiers for several years now.
Deputy Chief of Staff Yair Naveh will take the bus himself today from the Binyamina train station to the Kirya defense compound in Tel Aviv to study the new arrangement first-hand.
Non-commissioned and other officers will be at train stations to make sure the soldiers find the buses.
