More About Arabs on Jewish Buses, Big Problem!

Arabs getting on #86 at Beilinson
Hospital Petach Tikvah

Yesterday, again, I had to deal with the cons, the problems, the disadvantages of Arabs on Jewish buses in the Shomron, Samaria. I must say that we do not have that situation in the Benjamin District, probably because our buses all go into Jewish communities, and that is forbidden for Arabs without papers. 

Arabs getting on #86
at Beilinson Hospital
Petach Tikvah

The Afakim bus company which goes from the Shomron to Petach Tikva, Ariel and Tel Aviv, has many stops on the main road, which brings the Arabs who work in Israel (the Tel Aviv area) near their towns and villages. That is not the case for us. The only stops I've seen Arabs get on and off are Pisgat Zeev and Sha'ar Binyamin, and those Arabs all have permits/papers allowing them into Jerusalem.

In Israel the public transportation, bus companies, although businesses must follow certain government guidelines. That especially pertains to those buses that go to Judea and Samaria, and that is because our bus fares are discounted. The government calculates the number according to Israelis whom they estimate will ride the buses, not taking into account that they permit Arabs to ride them along with us. The result is simple to predict. They buses are full. The buses are overfull, and Jewish Israelis are left waiting.

overfull bus didn't let us on at Tzomet Yarkon (junction)

I was dropped off to wait for a bus to Ariel at Tzomet Yarkon (Junction) yesterday, and I couldn't believe how many people were waiting. Foolishly, at first I thought is was a good sign, that they, wiser than yours truly, knew that buses were about to come. But the sad truth was that buses had come and went without letting on a single passenger. There wasn't even standing room. They were overloaded with Jewish and Arab passengers. The buses just don't come frequently enough. By the time they reach that bus stop, they are packed, like New York City Subways at rush hour. And unlike the subways, they have a driver who controls the doors. Passengers are let off via the back door, while the front door stays shut.

Lucky for me, I'm an experienced trempistit hitchhiker and bus passenger hailing from New York, and I got to the very front when a bus finally did let a few of us in. There were well over a dozen exhausted people left standing in the hot sun waiting for yet another bus.

I had to travel standing most of the way to Ariel. I was one of the only females standing, and I was definitely the eldest standing. The others looked younger than my kids.

If the Israeli government is going to permit Arabs to travel on these buses, they must make sure there are enough buses on the roads for all!!