Environment Ministry charges Egged with air pollution

Lawyers say bus company bought vehicles that do not comply with updated emissions standard.

By EHUD ZION WALDOKS
egged bus 224.88 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
egged bus 224.88
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
The Environmental Protection Ministry submitted an indictment in the Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court against the Egged bus company for air pollution last week, the ministry announced Sunday. According to the ministry's lawyers, the company was supposed to buy new buses in 2006 that adhered to the "Euro 4" emissions standard, the most up-to-date available. Instead, the company bought 168 buses which adhered to the earlier "Euro 3" standard and just two that complied with the Euro 4 standard. The ministry singled out the head of Egged and the head of the financial branch specifically for braking the law when ordering the new buses. According to the law, Egged must always adhere to the most recent European standards, which in this case, was the Euro 4 rather than the Euro 3. The ministry's lawyers pointed out in the indictment that 168 Euro 3 buses contribute 30 tons more pollution than Euro 4 models would. Moreover, a Euro 4 vehicle emits 30 percent less nitrogen oxide, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide as well as 80% fewer micro-particles. Egged responded that they were at the forefront of environmental consideration. "The issue of environmental protection tops the company's agenda - Egged was the first transportation company in Israel to equip itself with buses which adhere to the "Euro 5" standard during 2008-9. In general, purchasing new buses is coordinated with the Transportation Ministry which heads the outfitting fund and directs its actions. Egged adheres to the most stringent standards regarding environmental protection, and all according to the directives of the Transportation Ministry," the company's spokesman, Ron Ratner, said. "We have yet to receive a copy of the complaint, but when it arrives Egged's legal advisers will respond in depth in court and will prove that Egged acted appropriately and without violating the personal injunctions in this matter. I do not want to expand any more on the issue in the media so as not to take part in this timed media spin," he added. However, Environmental Protection Ministry interim head of the air quality division Avi Moshel said that the Euro 3 buses were still on the roads and that Egged had not replaced its entire fleet with Euro 5 buses. Moshel noted that buses usually lasted for about 15 years each, so the Euro 3 buses were going to be on the road for a long time yet. Transportation Ministry Spokesman Avner Ovadia told The Jerusalem Post, "Everything was done according to European standards and as far as we know, Egged did not violate those standards." Zohar Shekalim of the ministry's legal division explained to the Post that the appeal to the court for intervention came after a lengthy series of interactions with the company. "First there were letters, warnings, and meetings with management. Despite that, they broke the law. A company like Egged, which has public responsibilities, must adhere to the law," Shekalim said. Shekalim said the maximum fine was approximately NIS 200,000 for an individual or NIS 400,000 for a corporation or up to six months in jail. Similar legal processes had produced results in the past, she affirmed.