Post-midnight buses now available in 33 cities

Night bus service to be extended to coincide with summer vacation.

By RON FRIEDMAN
38 bus jlem 311 (photo credit: Sarah Levin)
38 bus jlem 311
(photo credit: Sarah Levin)
Egged announced on Sunday that it was extending its night bus service to coincide with the beginning of summer vacation for high school students on June 20.
Night buses are mainly for partygoers, with routes to and from major entertainment districts. The project was first offered last year in major cities and proved to be quite successful.
This summer, the bus cooperative will offer a thousand weekly departures throughout the country, with new night routes in places such as Rishon Lezion, Holon, Rehovot, Nes Ziona, Mevaseret Zion, Ma’aleh Adumim, Kiryat Bialik, Hod Hasharon, Modi’in, Netanya and Eilat. The buses will operate from midnight to 3:30 a.m.
“The expansion of the night bus service is part of Egged’s commitment to the national battle against traffic accidents,” said its chairman, Gideon Mizrachi.
“Night bus services assist in reducing accidents caused by young and inexperienced drivers, drunk driving and driving under conditions of extreme fatigue.
I call on young people to go out and enjoy themselves, but to leave the wheel in Egged’s hands.”
Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz said that in light of the service’s part success, his office had decided to institutionalize and expand it to additional cities at a cost of NIS 10 million.
This year, seven other public transportation operators will join Egged, bringing the service to a total of 33 locales across the country. More than half a million teenagers are expected to use the buses.