The court authorized the Ramat Gan municipality to operate buses on Saturday

The judge ruled that the Ramat Gan municipality made an effort “to minimize the transfer of shuttle services near religious population centers and synagogues. Accordingly, the shuttle routes were determined mainly in the central districts, without entering neighborhoods characterized by large religious population concentrations.” Also, “this outline was confirmed after many hearings and after the opponents were heard at the City Council meeting.”

Ramat Gan Mayor Carmel Shama Cohen was the first to operate free shuttle services on Saturday. Following him, similar services were provided by the Tel Aviv Municipality and other bars.

The municipality of Ramat Gan has operated about 10,000 thousand trips before being sued by a series of rabbis, including the former chief rabbi of the city of Jacob Ariel, to stop the service. Various petitions were joined in the petition, which claimed the move was illegal.

Among other things, the petitioners argued that the shuttle service meets the definition of “service line”, when the municipality does not have a license to do so. They also claimed that the service could not be called a “special shuttle” (whose activity is allowed) and that there was a prohibition on stopping at bus stops.

The court rejected all the allegations, stating: “It is not disputed that this is a shuttle that has been designated for pickup and dispatch stations and that passengers use these shuttles at their discretion, however, the passengers do not pay for the shuttles at all and are paid by the municipality as the shuttle. The shuttles are available to the commissioner, with the power to stop the shuttles from today to tomorrow and want to continue, so no supervision will be required as was done in operating a service line. ”

It should be noted that the service is not currently functioning due to the spread of the Corona virus.

Attorney Yochi Kadir-Paz, Idan Leron and Daniel Paz from the “Meitar” office, who represented the municipality of Ramat Gan: “The court accepted the municipality’s claims. The ruling recognizes that local authorities may grant shuttles to the public free of charge on Saturday, and that shuttles can stop at public bus stops. In doing so, the ruling imposes on all local authorities in the country, and clarifies the legality of public transport projects. ”