"Egged’s participation in the Jerusalem Mass Transit System will harm competition."
The Antitrust Authority has rejected a request for a merger between Egged Israel Transport Cooperative Society Ltd. and the City Pass consortium, the Jerusalem Mass Transit System franchisee. Egged will therefore have to quit the consortium. The Antitrust Authority decided that Egged’s participation in the Jerusalem Mass Transit System would severely harm competition in public transport in the city. It said that Egged, which operates public buses Jerusalem, could not participate in another public transport system in the city.
Egged’s franchise to operate public transport in Jerusalem expires in 2009, when the city’s light railway is due to begin running.
Egged is also a partner in the MTS consortium, which this week won the tender to build and operate the NTA Metropolitan Mass Transit System’s Red Line in Tel Aviv. In view of the Antitrust Authority’s decision about City Pass, Egged’s activity in the Dan region will be reviewed, and it will be forced to reduce that activity if there is concern about harm to competition.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on January 2, 2007
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2006