Environment Ministry Fines Egged NIS 842,720 Over Repeated Bus Engine Idling

Israel's Environmental Protection Ministry has imposed an administrative financial penalty of NIS 842,720 on Egged after repeated findings of buses left running while parked. Reports published on November 4 described inspections at terminals in different locations and at different times, where engines remained on for more than ten minutes, contrary to requirements intended to reduce air pollution. The ministry notified Egged in July 2025 that it intended to impose a financial sanction. The company then presented measures aimed at preventing further violations. According to the ministry's account, however, seven subsequent monitoring checks found additional instances of parked buses with their engines still running. The checks were the basis for rejecting Egged's request for a reduction linked to the corrective measures it had presented. The ministry did apply a separate 20% reduction under the regulations because Egged had no previous recorded comparable violations. That reduction brought the final penalty to NIS 842,720. The reported enforcement account therefore distinguishes between the reduction Egged received for its previous record and the additional relief refused because the idling continued. Iris Shalit, the ministry's senior deputy director general for supervision and enforcement, said: “Shutting down an engine while parked is a simple action.” She said doing so prevents unnecessary emissions, particularly in urban areas. The ministry also stressed that even newer Euro 6 buses emit harmful pollutants when their engines run unnecessarily, and said it would continue inspections and enforcement to protect public health.