Bus fire shuts down Road 1 for hours

The main artery from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, was shut down for hours; some 200 buses have burned through 2013.

Burning bus on Highway 1, April, 16, 2014.  (photo credit: Courtesy)
Burning bus on Highway 1, April, 16, 2014.
(photo credit: Courtesy)
A portion of Road 1, the main artery from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, was shut down for hours on Wednesday when a bus caught fire near Neve Ilan. No injuries were reported.
Following the incident, Jerusalem's Fire and Rescue Services called upon the Transportation Ministry to approve regulations for the installation of fire alarm systems and smoke detectors on buses. Since the beginning of 2013 alone, about 200 buses have burned, Fire and Rescue Services warned.
In response, the Transportation Ministry spokesman said that Minister Yisrael Katz recently decided to require bus companies to install such systems, following recommendations from Fire and Rescue Services. Upon approval of the necessary standard, which was completed by the Standards Institute a few days ago, the regulations will be formulated and applied, the spokesman said.