Starting tomorrow (Sunday), people with disabilities who move in wheelchairs will be able to travel for the first time between Jerusalem and Be’er Sheva in accessible buses. This is part of the effort led by the Minister of Transportation together with the professional bodies to make intercity public transport accessible, in addition to urban public transport.
The accessible buses are a pilot of the National Authority for Public Transportation at the Ministry of Transportation and Road Safety and Egged, on the Jerusalem-Beer Sheva line (line 470). In the first phase, four modern buses will be operated, equipped, among other things, with a wheelchair carrying ladder, accessible doors and a designated place for the wheelchair. Bus stations along the line were also made accessible.
The accessible buses will run Sunday to Thursday, from 05:00 in the morning to 22:00 at night and on Fridays from 06:00 in the morning until 13:00 in the afternoon. On Saturday evenings, the accessible buses will operate from 19:00 in the evening until 23:00 at night. The accessible buses will operate with a frequency of 10 trips in each direction.
Passengers in wheelchairs must reserve a place by calling the Egged call center (2800 *) or by accessible SMS (052-8944887), up to half an hour before the bus leaves the departure station and an hour for immigrants at the intermediate stations. Payment for the trip will be made by credit card, and the discounts to which the passenger is already included.
The experiment, which will last about a year, will examine the infrastructure of the station and bus docks, the method of operation and the degree of satisfaction of passengers, in order to improve the service and expand it to other lines and other public transportation operators throughout the country.
Next year, about 30 accessible buses will be added, and within about two years, another 100 intercity buses will enter service at all public transportation companies in the country.
The Minister of Transportation and Road Safety, MK Merav Michaeli, noted that “the Ministry of Transportation is working hard to make public transportation accessible, and this line is an important step in expanding the accessible service on buses in general and the intercity service in particular. Everyone and everyone deserves an equal opportunity to get from place to place and travel by public transport, this is a basic and important right and we will continue to work hard to enable it in all public transport, in a safe and good way. We are realizing our great responsibility to create alternatives to the private car that can serve as much of the public as possible, while finding solutions for all the different needs and by creating connecting transport networks between the different corners of the country. “
Michal Frank, Director General of the Ministry of Transportation and Road Safety: “For the first time, the line will allow passengers in wheelchairs to travel directly between the capital of Israel and the capital of the Negev, a route that has so far been possible by public transport only by changing two trains. The Ministry of Transportation will continue to connect parts of the country for all Israeli citizens, through reliable, safe and accessible public transportation. “
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