Lately, I have become sickeningly addicted to playing Monopoly. I don’t know what form of capitalist virus has invaded my brain but it has made me feverish for the game. (The iPad application is pretty impressive, I should add). Over the course of more than a handful of tackles with the computer player, I have developed a foolproof tactic. Control the railways and you win. Let them go to your opponent and you’re toast.
Looking at this morning’s brand new train strike, it occurs to me that the managers of Israel Railways feel the same way. If I had a nickel for every time the train stopped running, I’d have a whole bunch of nickels. In fact, the rail has recently trumped Car2Go as the most complained about form of transportation in my life.
This morning, like many mornings since I began working outside of Tel Aviv, I woke up to the familiar panicky feeling of a potential train strike. Kind of like the promise of a snow day but not at all fun or pretty. Despite a court order to keep the trains on their tracks, the worker’s committee has decided to stand their ground.
I, unlike many Israelis, depend on the train only twice a week. I ride from central Tel Aviv to Hod Hasharon and back in the afternoon to teach about one hundred girls how to dance. And somehow, I’m sure this is just paranoia, it seems that the angry train employees strike only on the days that I need to get to work.
It would be one thing if there were another option. But there just isn’t. The bus takes over an hour once it arrives, which means with waiting time close to two hours. And a taxi one-way costs about a quarter of what I earn. It also seems that the public is expected to just deal with the inconvenience. No compensation is offered to customers who find themselves unexpectedly without a mode of transportation. Even those who purchased monthly passes are hung out to dry.
With all of the commotion, the locomotion has become a kind of flighty boyfriend. You like him, but you can’t count on him to call. What should be a staple of every day life in this county has been demoted to a fair-weather trinket, a bonus service on lucky days.
No one will deny that the Israel Railways workers deserve suitable conditions and fair pay; however, all they seem to be producing is headaches, lateness and animosity towards themselves and their cause.