The complainants are the elderly parents of a girl with special needs, residing in a sheltered care facility in the town of Rechasim, in the northern Haifa District of Israel. The complainants filed a complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman about the refusal of the National Public Transport Authority, within the Ministry of Transport, to add a bus stop on the intercity bus lines of the Egged Public Transportation Company, close to their daughter's place of residence, thus enabling convenient access for visitors to the facility.
The complainants claimed that while there was a bus stop close to the facility, the intercity buses did not stop there. Instead, the bus stops of the intercity buses were situated at a distance from the entrance to the facility, making it difficult for visitors coming from outside Rechasim.
The Authority contended that according to the policy of the Ministry of Transport, there were presently no grounds for adding an extra bus stop and that the existing bus stops served bus lines in the metropolitan area of Haifa.
The Office drew the attention of the National Public Transport Authority to the special circumstances of the case and the tribulations of the residents of the facility and their relatives. The Authority consequently reexamined the case and after visiting the site, instructed Egged to add a bus stop close to the facility, on the intercity bus routes.