Transport in Israel

Highway 1: from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv

Israel's road network spans 18,096 kilometers (11,244 mi) of roads,[2] of which 449 km (279 mi) are classified as freeways.[3] The network spans the whole country.

Route 6, the Trans Israel Highway, starts just east of Haifa down to the outskirts of Beer Sheva, about 200 km (120 mi). Route 1 between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and Route 2 between Tel Aviv and Haifa are well maintained highways.

Tel-O-Fun in Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv has a growing network of bike paths, with more than over 360 kilometers (224 miles) existing or planned.[4] In April 2011, Tel Aviv municipality launched Tel-O-Fun, a bicycle sharing system, in which 150 stations of bicycles for rent were installed within the city limits.[5] Jerusalem has over 125 kilometers (78 miles) of cycleways, either existing or planned.[4]

The National Bike Trail, when completed will take riders from the southern city of Eilat to the border with Lebanon, passing though Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and several other cities.[4]

The Field Route of the Ofnidan inter-urban cycle network passes over Yehudit Bridge in Tel Aviv-Jaffa

As of 2021, construction was underway on Ofnidan, a cycle network of seven inter-urban routes connecting the cities of the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area, with some segments already open.

Egged articulated bus

Buses are the country's main form of public transport. In 2017, bus passenger trips totaled approximately 740 million.[6] In 2009, 16 companies operated buses for public transport, totaling 5,939 buses and 8,470 drivers. Egged is Israel's largest bus company, and operates routes throughout the country.[7] Bus routes in some areas are operated by smaller carriers, the largest being the Dan Bus Company, operating routes in Gush Dan. Kavim is the next largest.

Bus stations in Israel, other than standalone bus stops, come in two types: terminals (masof, pl. mesofim) and central stations (tahana merkazit). Each terminal serves a number of routes, usually over a dozen, while a central station may serve over a hundred bus routes. The largest central bus terminal in the country is the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station, which is also the second largest bus terminal in the world.

On August 5, 2010, the Ministry of Transport opened a website that contained information about public bus and train routes in the country.[8] Previously, information was given only by the individual public transit operators.[9]

Israel has one bus rapid transit system in Haifa, called the Metronit, which consists of three lines connecting Haifa to its suburbs. In addition, there are BRT feeder lines to the Jerusalem Light Rail, running on dedicated bus lanes from Southern Jerusalem to the Northern Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramot crossing the light rail line at the intersection of Jaffa and King George Streets.

Israel also has a share taxi service (Hebrew: שירות, sherut), run by several private companies, depending on location, in addition to regular taxicab services. The shared sherut service usually appears a yellow minivans and travel along the same path as the normal buses with identical route numbers. For a slightly higher price, the shared sherut service allows passengers to both hop on and hop off anywhere along the path of travel. During peak travel, often the time of travel can be shortened as the number of passengers is significantly small compared to normal bus services. Some routes continue to travel through the night and on Shabbat providing transport needs to the population when normal buses services cease. The beginning and end of the sherut vans may differ from the central bus station and on the weekends and evenings, the routes can also be altered for some services. In 2015, share taxis carried 34.7 million passengers, 15.2 million of which were transported on city routes, with the rest going to suburban and inter-city routes.[10]

Modern Israeli buses used by the Dan Bus Company.

Taxis, often called "special taxis" (Hebrew: ספיישל) in Israel, to distinguish them from share taxis, are regulated by the Ministry of Transport. Aside from individual taxi companies, Gett is the primary digital taxi hailing service in the country.[11] In 2017, approximately 90 million rides were made using taxis.[6]

Jerusalem Light Rail tram on Jaffa Road in Jerusalem

The 13-kilometre-long Jerusalem Light Rail system began operation in August 2011 and is being extended. The Tel Aviv Light Rail, serving Tel Aviv and surrounding cities, has opened its first line, the Red Line, in August 2023. A significant portion of it is underground, and two other lines are underway, the Green Line and Purple Line. A small portion of the Green Line will be underground while the Purple Line will be entirely above-ground. In addition, the Tel Aviv Metro, a subway system which will serve Tel Aviv and neighboring cities in the Gush Dan area, is planned. It will consist of three lines labelled M1, M2, and M3. The first public opening is expected to occur in 2032.[14][15]

Haifa's Carmelit, an underground funicular railway, was Israel's first subway line. It is listed in Guinness World Records as the shortest subway system in the world, being the second smallest track network (after the Tünel in Istanbul,) but being the smallest "system" by virtue of being the only urban rail network in the city. The Haifa–Nazareth railway, a planned light rail system from Haifa to Nazareth, which will serve numerous cities and towns along the route, is planned to open in 2025. In August 2023, the construction of the Beersheba Light Rail was approved. The system will serve the city of Beersheba, as well as several towns and a military base near the city. It is expected to be completed in 2033.[16]

The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Israel, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 70 min. 22% of public transit riders, ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 16 min, while 25% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 13.6 km, while 29.% travel for over 12 km in a single direction.[17]

Ships in Haifa port

• Ashdod Port
• Haifa Port

On the Gulf of Eilat:

• Eilat Port