JERUSALEM (VINnews) — At first glance, the accident on Road 1 did not appear to be serious. A car had crashed into the back of a stationary bus, but the car was not completely wrecked. Only the front of the car appeared crumpled, but despite this a terrifying fate had met the occupants of the car. Two – a baby and its mother, Avinoam and Ayala Davidson – succumbed to their injuries, while the driver and the father of the baby, who has five other children to raise, suffered serious injuries.

The shocking reason for this became apparent within a short time. Most of the occupants of the car were not wearing a seatbelt. A most basic requirement in driving had been flagrantly violated, and two people had paid the ultimate price.

The car was an unauthorized pirate taxi – known as a “driver” in Israeli jargon and representing an industry which has expanded exponentially in recent years, especially in charedi circles. People reluctant to pay high prices for official taxis have found convenient solutions within the community by paying unofficial conveyors to take them from place to place at half the price or less. The flip side of this is that they have no insurance, no transport training and no safety regulations in place. Their goal is usually to speed people to their destination as fast as possible – to enable more journeys and more income.

Police are investigating what exactly happened on the road in the moments when the “driver” collided head-on with a bus that was standing on the right shoulder with flashing lights on, apparently after breaking down. Among other things, investigators are checking whether he was using a cellphone or making an illegal pass on the right shoulder and failed to return to the driving lane in time.

Kobi Israel, a resident of Bnei Brak, said that the “driver” service is viewed as legitimate in the charedi community. “There are dozens of dispatch stations. You can order the service through a bot, a dispatcher, or closed groups,” he explained. “The main consideration is price. Instead of paying double, you know a friend or acquaintance. It’s convenient, the driver comes right to your house. These are people from our own community.”

Israel’s illegal ride-service market has operated under the radar for about 13 years, but recently it has grown dramatically, with estimates suggesting it has surpassed the regulated taxi system. According to data presented to the Knesset Economics Committee about a year ago, around 35,000 unlicensed private drivers (“drivers”) operate in Israel, compared to only about 25,000 licensed taxi drivers. The phenomenon generates hundreds of millions of shekels a year in unreported cash and endangers passengers due to the lack of proper insurance coverage. Police admit that because of other priorities they rarely issue fines, while the Ministry of Transportation employs only a handful of inspectors, leaving most enforcement to tax authority raids and arrest operations.

In recent months, the Knesset advanced an “Uber Law,” which some claimed was intended to legalize the illegal phenomenon. Although the bill passed its first reading in the Knesset plenum, its progress has currently stalled and it has not become final legislation. The main obstacle was strong opposition from taxi drivers, who are considered a significant political force, many of whom are identified as a hard core of Likud voters. It is possible that the approaching election campaign is the reason the bill was buried in committee.

Zohar Golan, chairman of the Taxi Drivers Association in the Self-Employed Forum, claimed: “This is a very organized system. They have their own apps, codes, and shortcuts. Ever since the Knesset started advancing the ‘Uber Law,’ they no longer operate under the radar. Apparently they understand they have political backing preventing action against them.”

According to transportation regulations, up to age five a child may ride in a taxi while strapped to a parent, and up to age one the child must sit facing the opposite direction of travel. Footage from the accident indicates that the vehicle itself was not severely damaged, and the assessment is that if the baby had been secured in a child safety seat, he likely would have survived. Yehuda Bar-Or, chairman of the National Taxi Drivers Union, warned that the phenomenon has already spread beyond the charedi sector. “These drivers are a danger to the public. Passengers want to save a few shekels and endanger their lives,” he said.

The Ministry of Transportation stated: “The National Public Transportation Authority views with great severity any operation of illegal passenger transportation services, which endanger public safety and operate contrary to the law and mandatory safety regulations. Regarding the serious accident on Highway 1, this is a tragic event and the circumstances are being investigated by Israel Police and the authorized authorities. At this stage, the Ministry of Transportation has no information confirming the published claims, and any determination regarding the circumstances of the accident or the driver’s responsibility will be made only after the investigations are completed.”