Tel Aviv announces buses for soldiers amid holiday weekend public transportation shutdown

The Tel Aviv municipality announces that it will be providing free buses for soldiers over the weekend amid the Rosh Hashanah holiday and Shabbat shutdown of public transportation.

The already-controversial, longstanding ban on Shabbat public transportation has been subject to further frustration over the holiday weekend, as some reservists called up amid the intensifying fighting with Lebanon’s Hezbollah have been unable to reach their bases.

Much of the anger has been directed at Likud Transportation Minister Miri Regev whose office has failed to provide an alternative for soldiers and has instead claimed that the IDF is responsible for the issue.

Amid the chaos, the Tel Aviv municipality says it will offer buses from Tel Aviv to and from Haifa and Beersheba, near many IDF bases.

The buses will run today and tomorrow, with the first bus leaving at 8 p.m. tonight.

The service is part of Tel Aviv’s “We move on weekends” initiative that offers free buses in and around Tel Aviv over Shabbat when state public transportation isn’t allowed.