Saturday 8 August 2015

Synchronization on the mini-bus

Most of us have heard about the book Start Up Nation, which attests to many of Israeli’s great achievements, largely in technology, but the Sherut (pronounced: shay-root) are in my opinion one of Israel’s best inventions. They are a combination between a bus and taxi. I am told they are mainly the result of an inadequate bus system, so they mini-buses try to fill that gap. They follow the same routes as the buses, but with the convenience of a taxi – one cannot get on and off at any time.


The sociological brilliance of them is that they serve as a great insight into the people of Israel. Everyone takes them – young and old, poor and rich, beach goers and business people, tattoo artists and soldiers, and even dogs.


I was also touched by a small gesture, which for some reason I could never imagine people in other cities or countries doing.  A person got on the Sherut and sat down towards the back without paying. They then passed their money up to the driver with each person in the Sherut passing it on-and-on, aisle-by-aisle and then the reverse reversed when the driver returned some change. Two aspects of this observation struck me. Firstly, in other cities I have lived people seemingly try to avoid touching one another and handing off items, particularly money, which is perceived to be one of the dirtier items one can come into contact with. Secondly, I was pleasantly surprised by how little effort it took for the people to understand what was going on and what had to be done. Sure, it wasn’t a complex task, but the people went from devout solitude in the morning rituals, whether that be closing their eyes, listening to music, or reading, to forming a synchronized transportation line. This aforementioned point is perhaps, yet again, an interesting insight into Israel – the different people on the Sherut come together from their distant nature in a moments notice.


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