Greyhound, Peter Pan, and the world-famous PVTA are all bus companies with which most all of us are familiar. There is another bus company that I believe deserves much recognition and somehow tragically goes greatly unnoticed. This transporter is called Egged.

Egged is the primary form of transportation serviced here in the state of Israel. Dating back to 1938, Egged has ventured onto roads main and obscure bringing the citizens of Israel from one destination to another. So? Big deal… that’s what buses do, right?

What makes Egged unique from other bus companies is the great risk it must undergo in order to operate. For the company, drivers and passengers, the hazard is enormous and often life-threatening.

Last semester, I traveled to the ghost town of Hebron. The situation in Hebron is one of the largest centers of dissention between the Jews and the Arabs as both stake a claim to the city. As a result of the inability for a truce to be made, the entire city is under scrupulous watch and guard by the Israeli army. The Jewish inhabitants of the city comprise a mere 400 while the surrounding Arabs make up a shocking 15,000. I traveled to Hebron via bulletproof bus, and as we rode through the steep and winding streets surrounded by gripping Arab livelihood, I could not help to notice my bus’ great role in the city.

Upon my arrival I saw a few cars in the parking strip; however, I realized that most of the citizens relied on the bus for their main exit and entrance to and from their homes. Due to the great danger for Jews posed by the Arabs in Hebron, driving out of the city in a standard car is highly unexercised. When putting myself in the shoes of the inhabitants of this imaginary universe, I felt tremendously helpless. The thought of only accessing my home by means of public transportation seemed implausible. It was at the awareness of this thought that I realized how colossal a role Egged plays in the lives of so many.

After this realization I began to take note of the bus’ position in other facets of Israeli society. One inescapable aspect of Israeli life is that of the haunting terrorism which pervades everyone unpredictably at any place in the sphere of the entire general public. More frequently than not however, this location is on the bus to and from work, the bus visiting one’s relatives, or even on the bus to university as was the case just a few weeks earlier. After a bomb exploded on the very bus route I used to get to my university, on which my very own roommate was traveling just 20 minutes before its explosion, I thought once again about Egged’s huge courage by continuing to operate. The great liability the company encounters so regularly alone makes its continued existence unbelievable. Additionally the drivers exercise incredible bravery simply by waking up each day and going to work. Aside from the unknown threat of terrorism with which he/she must be aware of, he/she is also constantly subject to regular security checks, suspicion and check points. And of course, the passengers also bear the awful understanding that they too might not make it to their destination. Unfortunately, due to the poor economic situation, most don’t even have the means to travel in any other way. It is all the more tragic that their only means of transport carries such a lingering weight over their shoulders.

For all of the aforementioned reasons, I feel it is imperative to recognize Egged as a knight in shining armor in a land of terror and fear. Let us all rise up and appreciate its existence and operation. “Yashar Koach” (“May You Have Strength” in Hebrew) Egged!

Leah Vitale is a Collegian columnist.