(haipo) – The Ministry of Environmental Protection imposed a financial sanction of NIS 842,720 on Egged Transportation Company Ltd., after documenting a series of repeated violations of the obligation to silence bus engines when parking. The ministry emphasizes that these are violations that harm efforts to reduce air pollution in the urban area, and that they continued even after the enforcement process against the company was initiated.
Repeated documentation of buses with running engines
The sanction was imposed as part of the enforcement of the provisions of the law to prevent and reduce air pollution from vehicle emissions, by virtue of the Clean Air Law, 5768-2008. During inspection activities carried out by the Ministry of Environmental Protection at various bus terminals across the country, cases were documented in which buses were parked for more than ten minutes with their engines continuing to run, contrary to the instructions and obligations applicable to the company.
Following the findings, the ministry notified Egged in July 2025 of its intention to impose a financial sanction on it. Egged subsequently presented a series of steps intended to prevent a recurrence of the violations, but additional monitoring activities carried out by the ministry revealed that the phenomenon was continuing. Seven additional observations found repeated violations of the engine shutdown obligation.
The reduction request was rejected.
The Environmental Protection Agency requested a reduction in the amount of the fine, claiming that corrective actions had been taken to prevent recurrence. However, the Ministry of Environmental Protection rejected the request after follow-up inspections revealed additional violations even after the notice of intent to impose the fine was sent.
In addition, in accordance with the Financial Sanctions Regulations, the maximum sanction amount was reduced by 20%, since no information was found about previous violations committed by the company. After the reduction, the final sanction amount was set at 842,720 shekels.
"A simple action that prevents unnecessary pollution"
Iris Shalit, Senior Deputy Director for Supervision and Enforcement at the Ministry of Environmental Protection, said that the ministry continues to work determinedly to reduce air pollution from transportation.
She said, "The Ministry of Environmental Protection is working on an ongoing basis to supervise and enforce the provisions for reducing air pollution from transportation. Turning off the engine while parking is a simple action that prevents unnecessary pollutant emissions, especially in urban areas where the public is exposed to many emission sources. In this case, the ministry documented repeated violations over time, and even found additional violations after the enforcement process was initiated. The ministry will continue to supervise and enforce the provisions of the law and act to reduce air pollution from transportation and protect public health."
Even modern buses emit pollutants
The ministry emphasizes that not turning off engines when parking causes the emission of air pollutants that can be easily prevented by turning off the engine. According to them, even modern buses that meet the Euro 6 standard, while emitting fewer pollutants than older vehicles, still cause unnecessary emissions when the engine is running unnecessarily.
We will continue enforcement actions.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection announced that it will continue to carry out supervision and enforcement activities in the transportation sector, with the aim of ensuring compliance with legal provisions, reducing the scope of pollutant emissions, and preserving air quality and public health.
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What about all the delays and skipping lines and stations because of the longest lines in the country from one bad and far-flung central station to another through all the traffic jams in the city because there are no bus routes either?
This is where you deal with starting or shutting down engines.
When tens of thousands sit at stations for hours every month because of delays and delays or lines that don't even work because there's some kind of holiday in the sector right now... we're tired of a failed, fourth-world country, if not a fifth-world one.
Die!!!