Tel Aviv council says Shabbat buses not religious issue
By NIV ELIS
Pursuing public transport on Shabbat in Tel Aviv is not a question of religious or secular, but good public policy, Tel Aviv Municipal Council member Tamar Zandberg (Meretz) said Tuesday.
Speaking at the Knesset Economic Committee hearing on public transportation on Shabbat, Zandberg said that allowing buses to operate on Saturdays would help reduce energy usage and air pollution while providing an important service to the 40% of Tel Aviv residents who don't own a car."The central issue isn't religion versus the status quo," she said. "The question is whether these people will be stuck in their houses."
Given that a majority of Tel Aviv residents, not to mention the 10% who are not Jewish, supports public transport on Shabbat, she said, the government should oblige.
Nor would it be a first, she added; state-sponsored buses already service hospitals on Shabbat.