15.01.2011                     10.Shevat, 5771

Jerusalem:

Bus drivers take the wheel as light rail reaches the Holy City

Drivers of Jerusalem's light rail train are practicing their new skills on the tracks, and getting used to a new celebrity status.

Uzi Ovadia, a bus driver until nine months ago, will be among the most important people of the new year in Jerusalem. Starting this summer, Ovadia and 50 of his colleagues will be sitting in the driver's seat of the light rail trains that will crisscross the capital and – it is to be hoped – restore to Jerusalemites the faith that one day the interminable infrastructure work will end and they will be better off.
Ovadia, 44, a resident of Ma'aleh Adumim, is among the first light rail drivers in Israel. He studied the mysteries of this profession in Nice, France, where the Veolia company operates a light rail system; it is also the company in charge of operating the system in Jerusalem. Currently, even before he has had the privilege of transporting passengers, Ovadia is also working as an instructor for other new drivers, all of them also former bus drivers….