A private organization will provide bus service on Friday nights in Jerusalem, a city that has never offered public transport on the Jewish Sabbath.

The Cooperative Transportation Assoc­iation of Jerusalem will run three buses throughout the city for seven hours on Fridays starting at 8 p.m. The service, dubbed the Shabus, began on May 1.

“Our goal is to enable all those who can’t afford a car or do not want to drive on the Sabbath to travel in Jerusalem,” CTA organizer Tamar Mokady told the French news agency AFP. “We want to pressure the state into allowing public transport, both buses and tramways, to operate just like any other major city in the world.”

To ride the Shabus, passengers must purchase a monthly membership for 50 shekels, about $13. According to AFP, nearly 900 private donors have given 110,000 shekels, about $27,500, to the organization to fund the service. — jta

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This content is distributed by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency news service.