Meet SHABUS founder Dr. Laura Wharton

2 September 2015

Dr. Wharton immigrated to Israel from her home in New Jersey thirty years ago. Since then, she has served in the army, joined a kibbutz, and earned her doctorate. Today, Dr. Wharton is a proud Jerusalem resident, a member of the city council, and a professor of political science at Hebrew University. NIF caught up with her to discuss the latest developments with SHABUS, her initiative to address the lack of public transportation in Jerusalem on Shabbat.

Why is SHABUS necessary?
The government doesn’t allow public transportation Friday night through Saturday night, but there are a lot of people who want to go out, see friends, and enjoy the city. If they don’t have a car of their own, they have no way of getting there.

The lack of public transportation is a problem in Jerusalem because it’s such a big city – some of the neighborhoods are ten kilometers from downtown. You can’t just walk. And taking a taxi is very expensive.

Jerusalem is experiencing a cultural rebirth right now. There’s more to do in the center of town so the frustration is increasing. We are providing a service to Jerusalemites and visitors who want to go out and don’t have the means to. But we also want to encourage all the flourishing cultural and entertainment ventures in Jerusalem. If people don’t have a way to go into the city, the growth of all these initiatives is limited. We’re a really important connector for providing life in Jerusalem.

How did it start?
It started almost two years ago when a number of people started talking to me about their travel problems. I got together with a bunch of friends who were concerned about the issue and we started working on a charter for cooperative transportation.

How does it work?
It’s important for us to make it easy to join so it’s widely available and as accessible as possible. You go onto our site shabus.co.il and fill out a form along with 20 shekels to become a member. As a member then you have the opportunity to take our minibuses that run on Friday nights from 6 in the evening until 4 in the morning.

Why did you make SHABUS a cooperative?
The ministry of transportation refuses to approve any kind of public transportation. But if one founds an NGO or a cooperative and the cooperative runs the transportation, it’s considered private. So we got our charter approved for “The Cooperative Transportation Association of Jerusalem.”

Is there a possibility that this could go national?
Since we established SHABUS in May, a number of other cities have started similar initiatives and we’ve been helping them. Just this morning I read about another one in Rishon Lezion. There’s one in Tel Aviv and Givatayim that’s doing very well. The guy that founded it is in touch with us and we’re very proud to be his inspiration.

We’re also very proud that this grew out of a grassroots initiative and we’re really filling an important role. We now have a working, legal alternative in a field that the government has been negligent in dealing with.

Has there been a lot of opposition?
Surprisingly not. The Ministry of the Economy approved it and it’s a private thing. And we’ve done everything we could so it doesn’t offend or trouble anyone. We don’t go through any religious neighborhoods, we use mini, not full-size, buses so they don’t make a lot of noise. We actually even received an award in the Knesset for being a green initiative that provides an alternative to private cars.

So what’s next for SHABUS?
We’re looking into partnerships with other businesses and organizations we can work with, all kinds of places around town that are open on Fridays and Saturdays. Last week we formed a partnership with the Hapoel Katamon soccer club. Their games start late on Friday afternoon and don’t end until after Shabbat so there’s no public transportation for people who want to see them play. We specially altered our route so fans who want to come to the game can do so. We advertise the soccer club games and the soccer club advertises our services. Otherwise, there would be no alternative for their fans.

We’re interested in expanding and working on Saturdays as well so we’re looking for new backers and supporters who can help us. We expect that, in a year or two, we’ll be able to balance out but at this point we still need help in expanding and growing. We welcome help and partnerships with anyone interested and willing to support us.

Last month, NIF made an emergency grant to SHABUS to help keep the project running. The grant was made as part of NIF’s investment towards establishing civic spaces and advancing religious freedom in Israel.

Photo Credit via Facebook