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25 Elul 5768 - September 25, 2008 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
Jerusalem's Mehadrin Bus Lines Threatened by Light Rail System

By Yechiel Sever

The Rabbinical Transportation Committee is calling on all parties involved in the matter to ensure that the Mehadrin bus lines arranged for the chareidi sector are not cancelled when the light-rail systems starts to operate in Jerusalem. A delegation of neighborhood rabbonim visited the home of Maran HaRav Eliashiv shlita to consult with him on the matter. Maran praised their efforts, urging them "to act with all of the means at their disposal to ensure that the Mehadrin lines continue to operate in Jerusalem in accordance with the present arrangement."

Two months ago the Rabbinical Transportation Committee issued a warning about plans to halt the Mehadrin lines once the light-rail trains start running, and the results of an inquiry, including certain documents the committee obtained, point to a genuine threat to their continued operation.

According to the inquiry the planners of the light-rail system overlooked the chareidi sector's spiritual and physical needs. The train lines pass through both secular and chareidi neighborhoods, which makes it clear that separate seating on the trains will be infeasible. Furthermore traveling from city neighborhoods to the downtown area will be via Rechov Yaffo alone, meaning the stops along this street will draw flashy stores and other businesses that create an unwholesome street atmosphere.

The routes will also inconvenience many families, which will have to change buses to reach the central area.

With the use of the light-rail system, the plan is to cancel all trunk bus lines along the route, and to have buses only to feed-in the riders to the trains. This is supposed to provide the swiftest and most efficient transportation, but some way must be found to preserve the strictures of tsnius according to the rabbonim.

Although they were aware of this problem the light-rail planners decided to cancel the Mehadrin lines in order to force chareidi passengers to use light rail, rather than direct Mehadrin buses, which offer quicker, more convenient service and greater tznius.

 

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