The petitioners, which included a number of liberal groups and MK Tamar Zandberg of the left-wing Meretz party, argued that standards of “equality, dignity, freedom of movement and freedom from religion” should require the state to provide transportation on Shabbat.

But the the State Prosecutor’s Office said in a letter to the court Tuesday that “the attempt by the petitioners to establish a claim whereby public transportation is a vital need does not succeed.”

In its response to the petition, the state cited a current regulation allowing for public transportation on the Jewish day of rest for “essential” reasons, saying the petitioners argument did not meet the standard of “essential.”