Question:
I was recently took a bus from Yerushalayim to Tzfas. The bus company was Netiv Express. There were no Rav Kav machines on the bus. When I got off the bus I realized (after the bus had already left) that I had never paid. I asked my friend when I was supposed to pay and he told me that the driver was standing by the door in front of the bus asking us to pay in cash. I went out the door towards the back of the bus, so I never saw him. Isn’t there some Israeli law that I don’t have to pay if there’s no machine?
Answer:
Thank you for your question.
It seems to be correct that Misrad Hatachbura (The Ministry of Transportation) stipulates that if the bus company sdoesnt provide a way for the passanger to pay that the pasenger indeed doesn’t have to pay for the ride. If the bus didn’t have a working machine to take the money and give the passengers a receipt, as to their payment, then you would not have to pay. The fact that the driver was standing at the front of the bus asking for payment would be valid if indeed he had the proper machine to record the payments. If he didn’t have such a machine, and he was specifically asking the passengers to pay (him) in cash, without giving them a valid receipt sounds very suspicious.
