Jerusalemites launch public protest against city's transportation system

After nine seemingly interminable years of delays, hitches, mishaps and endless public works detours, Jerusalem residents are losing their patience and launching a campaign against the city's grounded public transit system.

A report published this week by the 15 Minutes citizens' action group for better transit lists Jerusalem residents' complaints with the system. Most have to do with the frequency of buses, lengthy commuting times and a lack of available information.

Yossi Saidov, a resident of the Katamonim neighborhood, says, "I waited a long time on a very hot day at the open air market with a two-year-old for the number 18 bus. It didn't arrive. [We waited for] an hour and fifteen minutes, people with heavy baskets and frayed nerves. In the end, I gave up and took a taxi. I wrote a detailed letter to the Transportation Ministry, to which I received the reply 'Your letter was received' and since then nothing.

"Even when they do decide to do something about the problem," he continues, "they will summon me to a hearing and discuss that particular bus line on that day and then blame the work on the light-rail."

Other complainants mentioned the long, winding bus routes that don't serve residents of outlying neighborhoods and have various service problems. "A number 24 bus was more than 15 minutes late. I asked the driver why and he said he stopped to buy cigarettes," one complainant writes.

"The bus is the last choice for residents to get from place to place, despite various limitations on private vehicles downtown. The low frequency of buses and the unreliable schedules don't allow working people to rely on public transit," writes the report's author, Ehud Uziel.

Staffers at 15 Minutes discovered that the lack of information available on Jerusalem transportation is considered a serious nuisance. "When you get on a bus, the only thing you know is the bus number. You don't know its route, what other lines it meets, you have no way to plan your trip," according to Saidov.

Neither the Transportation Ministry nor the Egged Cooperative have published an updated bus map for years. Aharon Kafka and Dan Sterner decided to fill that void by drawing their own map. "The idea came up after we traveled to Switzerland together, where public transit works much better. When we came back, we began to toss the idea around. We realized that in Jerusalem there's no way of knowing how to get anywhere," Kafka recounts.

But implementing the idea was not easy. Egged had no available database from which to draw the map, so the pair hired a number of students to map the city's bus lines, station after station. "At the end, we had spaghetti," says Kafka, a designer and Bezalel graduate who drew the map schematically, similarly to the familiar London Underground map. The final version, which will also be available in English, will include bus frequencies, operating times and more. Kafka and Sterner didn't just create a map pro bono, they hope to recoup their investment from advertising on the other side of the map.

One of the complaints lodged by 15 Minutes is that the Transportation Ministry doesn't function as a watchdog, but has instead made Egged a full partner in running public transit in the capital. This is a particularly serious allegation, as the agreement allowing Egged to operate in the city expires at the end of the year. New companies may bid to operate in Jerusalem, but Egged - as a full partner in all discussion of future transit - will have an inherent advantage in any tender.

The Ministry and Egged gave Haaretz conflicting comments on the matter. While the ministry said that while Egged "is entitled to present its comments and suggestions," the decision would be made "based on needs." Egged on the other hand stated the following: "Egged representatives are in fact an integral part of the Jerusalem public transit planning team."

Both Egged and the ministry laid most of the blame on the light-rail construction on several major traffic arteries over the past few years for disrupting schedules. "It is improper to examine the quality of service at a time of major construction and record public works," the ministry wrote. Both entities note a recent upgrade that included the addition of six new bus lines. The ministry also said a pilot program is scheduled to launch in the coming days to address the lack of available information, by posting maps along one of the city's major traffic arteries. The ministry further promises that Jerusalem will soon have a network of accurate maps and electronic signs.

Egged stated: "Jerusalem public transit lines are currently undergoing a massive upgrade. This move includes changes in travel patterns and will require a little patience from the public." Egged evaded the map question, again pointing a finger at the light-rail construction works. "There is no point in producing a comprehensive route map, which could never be accurate or up to date. Naturally, when the situation stabilizes, we would be happy to publish a detailed map to help the public."