Public transit – a viable option for Jerusalem? Maybe not yet…

May 6, 2010 - 12:06 PM by Brian Blum

To take the car or the bus. It’s not such a simple question these days when trying to get to downtown Jerusalem. And it’s one I had to address this week when I needed to visit the optometrist to pick up new glasses.

It’s no secret that Israel’s capital has been a mess with the ever-delayed construction of the light rail system. But that’s not the only reason traffic is perpetually snarled.

The city has been actually trying to make it difficult to use your car to reach the center. The aim is to position public transportation as a more viable option. Bus lanes have been built – at the expense of private auto lanes – and many streets are now closed off entirely to anything but buses and taxis.

That’s not a bad thing: many cities around the world are also employing such methods to cut down on traffic, with more drastic measures such as charging drivers to enter the most congested parts of town being implemented or considered in hot spots like London and New York.

The problem is that the alternative – the bus – is not that much better. For sure, where there’s a dedicated public transit lane, the bus zips along its way. But when the lane ends, the bus is stuck in the same snarl of cars as everyone else.

Even worse, Egged (Israel’s national bus company) seems perpetually short of vehicles, so just loading up with passengers downtown for a trip home can take a good ten minutes. Woe is you if you’re at the end of the line.

In Tel Aviv, the Dan bus cooperative is pushing electronic cards that you can fill up with money, allowing frequent travelers to swipe their way on. For now, at least, Jerusalemites without a monthly pass have to present a bus ticket that the driver must then punch (or pay in cash on the vehicle itself, something uniquely Israeli).

A newly instituted system where you can request a transfer good for 75 minutes slows things down even further – the driver has to press a couple of buttons to issue the transfer, then has to take the paper in his hands and punch it manually – what’s up with that?

When I went to the optometrist, I ultimately chose to drive and was, not unsurprisingly, ensnared by a slowly crawling line of cars approaching Bezalel Street. It was so aggravating I nearly decided to abandon my car mid-street and walk the rest of the way. My wife Jody, who was riding with me, had the good sense to do just that as my temper rose and not such nice words escaped my usually more restrained demeanor.

My gut tells me to take the bus next time. It may not be faster, but it’s cheaper (no parking lot or meter fees) and better for the environment. And, hey, some people actually like being packed like a pride of sweaty Sabras in the bowels of an aging bus. Not me, but I’ll keep riding anyway.

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