After months of preparation: The Ministry of Transportation is concluding with great satisfaction the mass transportation operation for the Rashbi celebration in Meron - which was crowned with great success.
According to the interim recommendations of the Meron Disaster Investigation Committee, the number of people staying on the mountain was limited. Accordingly, staying was only possible by purchasing a ticket in advance.
When the Ministry of Transportation opened the ticket sales system, approximately 60,000 tickets were purchased in the first hour - and in total, 160,000 tickets were purchased throughout the entire sales period, of which 100,000 were for public transportation.
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Ticket booking was designed to guarantee passengers the desired travel time and gave public transportation operators the opportunity to properly prepare for the number of trips required at each travel time. The model has proven itself to be effective and allows for optimal service to passengers.
During all hours of the festivities, the Ministry of Transportation operated an extensive transportation system to Meron from 20 departure points across the country.
Under the direction of Minister of Transportation Miri Regev and as part of drawing lessons from previous years, the Ministry of Transportation significantly upgraded the bus parking lots: this year, shade was provided at the bus stops, refreshment tents, baby changing areas and restrooms were installed, and drink stations were distributed. Throughout the festivities, stewards and ushers from the Ministry of Transportation were available to the public on the islands of the festivities, who kindly helped direct passengers to the appropriate parking lots and terminals, and handed out orientation maps.
The National Public Transportation Authority in the Ministry of Transportation operated a special situation room on Mount Meron equipped with advanced technologies, headed by the Authority's Director, Ran Shadmi, with the aim of providing an immediate response at any given moment to manage the event in real time. The situation room was staffed by management levels of the National Public Transportation Authority and representatives of the companies operating public transportation.
All departure points for the various bus lines and terminals were also staffed with representatives from the Ministry of Transportation to ensure adherence to schedules and to provide a real-time response to events on the ground.
A system of direct bus lines to Meron was operated from 20 central locations across the country, and in light of the success, the Ministry of Transportation is considering adding destinations in additional cities next year. There has also been a reduction in congestion on the return route thanks to the increased train service from Karmiel operated by the Ministry of Transportation.
As part of the service, anyone who purchased a public transportation ticket was able to return from Miron via the Karmiel train to anywhere in the country at no additional cost. As stated, the train was increased by 4 additional trips throughout the night of Lag BaOmer.
In the Ministry of Transportation's situation room, situation assessment meetings were held every few hours, and bus schedules and the availability of the shuttle system were closely monitored.
In the middle of the night, following the security incidents in the south of the country, the Ministry of Transportation received an order from the Israel Police to stop bus departures towards Meron, which caused a bottleneck that threatened to affect the transportation system.
Thanks to an emergency plan prepared in advance by the Ministry of Transportation, and professional management of the Emergency Management Agency headed by the ministry's professional staff and Deputy Minister Maklev, who personally supervised the management of the event, this was hardly noticeable among the public ascending to the mountain, and within a short time the gaps were reduced throughout the country.
The office placed special emphasis on providing transportation for the families of the 'Meron disaster' to and from the memorial event that took place at dusk on Lag BaOmer, and made sure to adjust travel times according to the families' needs.
The professionals remained at the checkpoint throughout the day, some without closing their eyes during the entire celebration, to ensure that the last of those who climbed the mountain returned home.
A lessons-learned meeting will be held at the Ministry of Transportation in the coming days, headed by Minister Regev and Deputy Minister Maklev, with the aim of improving and streamlining the service for next year.
Minister of Transportation and Road Safety Miri Regev: "Despite the many concerns, the large and important event of the celebration of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai in Meron passed peacefully and successfully. The extensive transportation system operated by the Ministry of Transportation operated with maximum efficiency and allowed hundreds of thousands of celebrants to reach their destination and return home safely, comfortably and without delays.".
Despite the many voices calling for the event to be canceled, we decided to hold it as scheduled, drawing lessons from the previous event and taking all necessary steps to ensure the peace of the celebrants - and we kept our promise.
"I would like to thank the public transportation personnel who handled the event professionally, the professionals at the Ministry of Transportation, the Director General, the Deputy Director General, and the public transportation operators in cooperation with the Israel Police and the Deutsche Project.".
Deputy Minister for Haredi Development in the Prime Minister's Office and Transportation, Uri Maklev: "We are now concluding the major transportation operation in Israel with great success, after a great investment by dozens of employees of the Ministry of Transportation and hundreds of employees of the operating companies who left their families in recent days and worked throughout the country to make the event a success.
""The positive feedback from the public gave us the encouragement to act for passengers even in challenging moments. The ability of the ministry's employees to act under security instructions with great professionalism and creativity, and within a few hours, they returned the traffic circles to full activity in a manner that was not disruptive to passengers.".
""I would like to commend the fruitful cooperation with the project manager, Rabbi Yossi Deitch, the Minister of Jerusalem and the Heritage of Rabbi Meir Porush, the police commanders, and the National Traffic Police for the success of the event. The goal now is to expand the service and provide better quality service to passengers in the future.".
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