Israel’s Bus Operators Face Shortage as Veteran Drivers Are Pushed Out

Israel’s public transportation system is in one of its deepest crises, with the industry saying it is short at least 5,000 bus drivers. The shortage is felt daily by millions of passengers through last-minute cancellations, chronic delays and crowded roads, and it has prevented any serious expansion of routes or addition of service in growing neighborhoods.

Against that backdrop, the country’s largest and oldest bus company, Egged, is encouraging some of its most experienced drivers, those on a defined-benefit pension track, to retire early even if they are healthy and want to keep working. One of them, Meir Asor, a bus driver with 40 years of experience, said he was repeatedly placed on the retirement list despite making clear he did not want to leave. He said: “The reality has been turned upside down,” adding that in earlier years the company tried to keep drivers because of the shortage, but in recent years “the agreement with the Finance Ministry hurt our working conditions and also our pension.”

Asor said that when he turned 64 he was told he would be leaving, and after refusing several times he was threatened with legal action. He said he eventually had to give in because he expected a long, bureaucratic fight. “If there is a shortage of drivers, how is it that a driver like me is now in a hearing process?” he asked. He said the move damages not only his income but also his dignity and status.

Other drivers described similar experiences. One 63-year-old who was retired recently said the company had moved from sending only a few workers a year into early retirement at the start of the agreement to sending out dozens in the latest year. Another driver, retired at 58 after 35 years at Egged, said he was told he had traffic offenses that later turned out to be largely untrue. He said he was forced out on 70% of base pay, with long-serving workers losing the conditions they had earned.

The article says the policy stems from a rigid 2018 financial agreement between Egged and the state, part of the national reform to break up Egged’s monopoly and open the sector to competition. The deal was meant to sharply cut the cost of veteran drivers, whose wages and benefits had built up over decades, and replace the old pay structure with a uniform system based mainly on seniority. Israel Ganon, head of the drivers’ union in the National Labor Federation, said it makes no sense to replace loyal, experienced drivers with cheaper, younger, inexperienced ones, while the state still pays for it. Egged denied the accusations, saying most retirees left voluntarily under a collective agreement with improved severance and pension terms, and that it continues hiring new staff while trying to retain experienced drivers.