Biton, Michaeli end their meeting, without immediate breakthrough

Blue and White MK Michael Biton and Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli end their meeting, with Hebrew media reporting that while it was held “in good spirits,” it hasn’t yielded an immediate solution to disagreements over transportation reforms that have prompted Biton to stop voting with the coalition.

Both politicians reportedly discussed a range of issues, and suggested multiple solutions to the transportation reform issue “that for the moment aren’t boiling down to an agreed-upon solution.”

Despite gaps remaining between their positions, efforts will reportedly be made in the coming days to find solutions.

Biton, who heads the Knesset’s Economic Affairs Committee, has been boycotting most coalition votes in protest over transportation reforms pushed by Michaeli that skirted his committee’s oversight.

Biton says his objections are rooted in both procedure and substance. In addition to sidelining his committee, he says the reforms — which unify public transportation prices across Israel — include price hikes that hurt poor and geographically dispersed communities.