Shuttle bus plan aims to cut down car use

The city of Ra'anana has begun running free shuttle buses to and from the Herzliya train station.

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY (TRANSLATED)
The city of Ra'anana has begun running free shuttle buses to and from the Herzliya train station in an effort to encourage workers to reduce the use of private cars and cut down on pollution, reports www.local.co.il. The venture, titled "Traveling Together and Saving," is being run by the Today and Tomorrow green travel organization in cooperation with the city and with Israel Railways. According to the report, the campaign aims to encourage both people coming in to work in Ra'anana and those leaving Ra'anana to work in other areas to leave their cars at home. Shuttle buses began running along a fixed route between the Herzliya train station and Ra'anana this week, in the mornings picking employees up at the station and taking them to Ra'anana's high-tech industrial zone, and taking Ra'anana residents from the city's main street, Ahuza, to the station; and then doing the reverse in the afternoons. Ra'anana Mayor Nahum Hofree said the city was committed to preserving the environment and to cutting down pollution, and was taking numerous steps to reduce the use of cars in the city, including providing free parking for hybrid vehicles and creating bicycle and pedestrian paths. Hofree said that as well as reducing pollution, the shuttle buses would also increase efficiency and reduce costs for employees during the current economic crisis.