Let me start off by saying that I’m 22 years old and I’m scared to cross the street. I know this confession may strike some as the psychological aftermath of some tragic incident of my childhood. However, let me assure you it’s not. The reason is far simpler than that- Israelis are crazy drivers.
There are more people who died from car accidents in Israel than people who have died in all the terrorist attacks since the first intifada. Many of these deaths were pointless. They could’ve been avoided if the drivers were more concerned about others than just themselves. But I digress. The point of this blog is not to place the blame on our society riddled with bad drivers, but pay homage to a very under-appreciated persona in Israeli society- the Egged Bus Driver.
As the provider of an important public service (most people take the bus some time or another), Egged drivers have to put up with a lot- disgruntled passengers, road work, and traffic.
In a state where things are known to be perpetually late, Egged drivers are known for being relatively on time. There are times when they are late, but that is usually due to extraneous circumstances such as traffic or road work as opposed to being the fault of the bus driver himself.
Drivers also have to deal with less than pleasant passengers who frequent their buses—rude, loud people, people, or people who talk back to them and argue or complain. Sure, sometimes they’ll fight back; I’ve witnessed some intense arguments between drivers and passengers. Usually though, they won’t. But they will wait patiently while the old lady gets off in the back, all while she’s yelling “rega, rega” because she’s scared he’ll start driving before she has a chance to get off.
Egged drivers are also they only bus drivers I know who are brave enough to tackle hard-to-drive-through areas, such as Me’a She’arim and Geula, where the streets are extremely narrow. They offer discounted tickets for people traveling to “less safe” areas, like Gush Etzyon or the Shomron. The buses will have the words “Chag Sameach” running across the zipper of the bus before every holiday. It won’t run during the holidays, because Egged buses are Jewish, so they don’t run during Shabbat and Chag..
So, to this under-appreciated, integral part of Israeli society- Here’s to you.
