Israel's National Public Transport Authority has announced that in accordance with instructions from the Ministry of Health, public transport will be shut down in the evenings and on weekends. Buses and trains will stop operating in the evening, and will reach only essential areas and business centers during the day.
Public transport will end at 10:00 PM today and at 8:00 PM starting tomorrow, until the morning. In addition, public transportation will stop operating on Thursday at 8:00 PM until Sunday morning. The stoppage of public transportation in the evenings and on weekends will include bus routes, Israel Railways, and the light rail.
On Sunday-Thursday, public transport will continue operating to essential locations, among them business centers, supermarkets and shopping centers, health funds, and hospitals. Professional sources in the Ministry of Transport said that under instruction from the Ministry of Health, they had decided to halt public transport to non-essential places, including educational institutions.
According to the Public Transport Authority, its professional staff, in cooperation with public transport operators, are updating route maps and considering the necessity of every transportation route. All routes to entertainment sites, night routes, routes for students, and route to educational institutions will be discontinued. Use and the passengers' needs are constantly under consideration.
The number of passengers has declined sharply in recent days, following a call by the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Health to reduce non-essential travel, and because of the large number of people in home isolation, or who do not need to travel to work. The number of passengers is down 50% this week, and professional sources expect the new restrictions to further reduce the volume of traffic.
Ayalon Highways Company reports a 30% drop in the number of vehicles on the road, and Israel Railways reports a 60% decrease.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on March 17, 2020
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