 Hello friends and subscribers, welcome back to my YouTube channel. This is Daniel Rosal and you can find videos here about Jerusalem and Israel. Today I thought it would be fun to talk about public transport in Israel. I want to give an overview of where we stand in the year 2023 and where things might be expected to evolve from here. I don't know about you but I'm a big believer that public transport and micromobility are the ways beyond our problems with traffic congestion both around the world and here in Israel. I've made a few videos previously about the high population density in Israel and the generally abysmal state of our traffic congestion here. Things have only gotten worse since the pandemic. These days trying to get around Jerusalem and Tel Aviv by car and find a parking space has become an exercise in frustration. With more than 3.5 million vehicles on the road in a country only slightly larger than the state of New Jersey, the level of private car ownership in Israel today is unsustainable. And it was demographers predicting that Israel's population will rise to 15 million by the year 2050 unless something changes that gridlock is only going to get drastically worse. A key path forward for Israel, vastly increasing the efficiency and availability of public transport. This seems to be the long-term policy direction that Israel is banking on. Government ministers have stated explicitly the plans to upgrade public transport are intended to decrease the dependence on private cars and to reduce congestion on the roads. In other words, Israel isn't only making its public transport network better because it's more sustainable, it's also doing so because it really has no other option for getting people around. The developments on the public transport front have been coming in faster than I've been able to update this video script. This week, Prime Minister Netanyahu proposed a fast rail link that would connect Kiryat Shmone, the country's northernmost city, with Eilat, which is its southernmost one. Hoping for the success of a future peace treaty with Saudi Arabia that, as of yet, has not been realised, and which remains really very married in politics, the Prime Minister even suggested that in the future the rail link could be international, stretching throughout the Middle East. But for today's video, let's focus on things as they are, or as they might be in the closer future. Recently, Jerusalem announced ambitious plans to add two more stations in Jerusalem to the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem Train Link, which will stretch direct connectivity with Tel Aviv into the city's southern suburbs. And in a less useful development just this week, the city of Jerusalem inaugurated a new suspension bridge in southern Jerusalem. The latter project has drawn criticism for being a waste of public funds. Let's return to the bigger picture. Public transport in Israel consists of three main systems, and we'll look at them briefly one by one. First, there are municipal and nationwide bus systems, this is really the backbone of the public transport network. Secondly, there's a rail network, this consists of both a national rail network, and local light rail systems operating in several cities. And finally, although this isn't always grouped under public transport, there are several domestic flying routes within Israel. Even though Israel is a small country, there are regular flights between Tel Aviv and Elat. When it comes to mass transit systems, there is no such thing as an international rating chart that compares how different cities and countries are doing, at least not that I'm aware of. So judging how good Israel's system is, is a pretty subjective consideration. Personally, I think that Israel's public transport network is pretty good, and I tried to use it whenever possible. This of course doesn't mean that it's perfect, and you wouldn't have to look far to find those who would argue that it's well behind international standards. But as a general rule that I think most people would agree upon, public transport between major cities in Israel tends to be relatively good and reliable, but getting to more rural locations such as Moshe Vim and Kibbutzim, which are kind of Israel's agricultural communities, tends to be extremely time-consuming and inefficient. Buses. Israel's main bus company is called Egev, and this is its distinctive livery. Thanks to the chaotic decision-making process of Elon Musk, its logo now bears an uncanny resemblance to that of Twitter, or I should say X. According to Wikipedia, Egev provides 35% to transport services in Israel and moves almost 1 million passengers every single day. And here's the facts about Egev that even many Israelis don't know. Egev has a European subsidiary called Egev Group, which operates bus services in, of all places, the Netherlands. According to Egev Europe, Egev drives about 12.5 million miles in Poland alone every year. So don't ever say that you didn't learn random facts from this YouTube channel. Egev operates the majority of municipal bus lines in Jerusalem. In fact, until very recently, 2021 to be exact, Egev was actually the only licensed bus operator in Jerusalem. In November of 2021, Superbus began operating bus lines in Jerusalem, thereby breaking Egev's monopoly. These days, there are four bus companies operating in Jerusalem, and that's not counting the two so-called Arab bus companies, which operate routes between Jerusalem and the nearby cities of Bethlehem and Ramallah, governed under the Palestinian Authority or the PA. For more information about how Jerusalem has two parallel bus systems and bus stations, I'll put a link to a video I made about that in the comments. Bus transport in Israel is generally paid for using either smartphone apps, this is the more modern solution, or with a physical transport card called the RavKav that can be loaded at terminals or via a smartphone using NFC. Now here's the huge catch about attempting to get around Israel or even within cities by bus. In general, public transport in Israel does not operate on Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest, which runs from Friday evening through to Saturday after Sunday. The exception to this rule is Haifa, which is a mixed Arab Jewish city, and where buses do run on the Jewish holiday. The Shabbat happens every single week, so for many less religious people, this is kind of a big deal. As you might expect, this lack of public transport for half of every single weekend is a major bonus contention for Israel's secular population, and for non-Jews living in Israel. Shereroots, which are shared mini buses, do run on Shabbat, but these are relatively loosely regulated and don't run on regular schedules as conventional buses do. In Tel Aviv, Shereroots and other forms of privatized Shereroot transit often run in parallel to bus lines on the Shabbat. According to the Ministry of Transport and its latest data updated in 2019, there are in total 17 licensed bus operators in Israel. Between them, they operate a fleet of just over 10,000 buses, with Egid being the largest operator in the country with 2,832 buses, followed by Kavim, with a fleet size of about 1,700, and Dan, with a fleet of about 1,200 buses in operation. Note that this data is about three years out of date, and the fleet size have likely increased since then. Trains. Israel's national rail operator is called Rekevit Yisrael. It's a state-owned company with a network of slightly over 1,100 kilometers of track running throughout Israel. Israel's railways are standard gauge, and even though the Tel Aviv to Jerusalem rail line is commonly referred to as being high speed, with a top speed of only about 160 kilometers per hour, it's not actually considered high speed by most international standards. Despite that fact, and the fact that the railways opening occurred long after schedule, the train connecting the two cities has proven overall to be a pretty great success. In Jerusalem, the railway terminates in the Yitzrach-Navon Station, which is the third deepest railway station in the world, and which was constructed especially for the purpose of this new railway. Recently, Israel announced plans to connect the railway to two additional stops in Jerusalem, one near the First Station complex in South Jerusalem, and with the second stop at the former Jerusalem railway station in Malcha. Since the Jerusalem to Tel Aviv train opened, the old railway line, which began in Malcha, has formally ceased operations. Importantly, the Jerusalem to Tel Aviv train stops at Ben Gurion Airport in both directions. For Jerusalem residents, the train has become the most popular means of traveling to and from the airport. My only criticism of the Tel Aviv Jerusalem train is that it's not frequent enough. Currently, during the day departures are once every 30 minutes, but it's important to note that Israel has planned to increase their frequency to once every 15 minutes in both directions. Traveling on the train is comfortable, unlike the rest of public transport in Israel, fares are relatively reasonably priced. Currently, the desert city of Bersheva is the southernmost city connected to Israel's national railway network, which is why the planned line connecting Kiryat Shmone with Elat would be so significant. The northernmost station is Naharia. While the network is reasonably extensive, it still leaves large sways of the country, particularly in the north and the Golan Heights, entirely unconnected. Altogether, there are 66 stations in the railway network, and the train company has almost 200 locomotives in its fleet. The best known intra-city rail service in the country is the Jerusalem light rail. At present, the light rail only has one line, the red line, although a second line, the green line, is currently under construction. The line is 14 kilometers long and has 23 stops. Construction on the light rail began in 2002, and the service began operations in 2011. The light rail is extremely popular in Jerusalem, and is used by both locals and tourists alike. At its northernmost reach, the light rail extends to Piskat Se'ev, at its southernmost extension, it connects to Mount Herzl. For fares, the light rail is interoperable with the bus network, meaning that residents can get a bus trip and a train journey on one fare if they transfer within a specific time window. In Tel Aviv, the first light rail system, also called the red line, is about to begin operations, specifically on August 18th. Depending on when I get round to finishing this video and uploading it to YouTube, that's in about two weeks time, so assuming that there won't be any more delays, this information will very quickly be outdated, and the line will have opened. The Tel Aviv light rail is expected to serve 234,000 passengers daily. It will have a 24 kilometer line with 34 stations, and will connect Tel Aviv itself with the adjoining commuter towns of Peytartikva, Benay Brak, Ramat Gan, and Baciam. Probably the most unique form of public transport in Israel is the underground funicular railway in Haifa, which is called the Karmalit. Currently, it's the only underground transit system in Israel, although that's going to shortly change once the underground component of the Tel Aviv light rail begins operations. Here's a cool fact. The Karmalit is the smallest subway system in the world. It only has four cars, six stations, and runs through one single tunnel. Its entire track is only 1.8 kilometers long, and it connects between the main train station in Haifa and Karmal Center. It runs up and down Mount Karmal, and there is a stop in downtown, which is known among locals as the Ir Tachtit, meaning the Lower Sound. Although there have been small air routes connecting small Israeli airports in the past, right now the major domestic air route in Israel is the one between Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv and Ramon Airport near Elat. Traditionally, the Tel Aviv to Elat flight has been an important transport conduit between the remote southern part of the country and the center, and has been offered at subsidized rates to local residents. The route is operated by both Arkea and Israel using Airbus aircraft. If you're interested in learning more about aviation in Israel, I have a separate video discussing the three major Israeli airlines, El Al Arkea and Israel. Israelis commonly complain about the state of public transport in the country. As a daily user of the system, except that is on Shabbat, I think that some of the criticism is unwarranted. Where I live in Jerusalem, I find that the buses are often overcrowded, and recently there has been a huge uptick in ticket inspections, which I personally find rather annoying. My personal record is having my ticket validated by three different inspectors on the same line in the space of just 10 minutes. Naturally, fare evasion is a problem for operators, but I think that enforcement can also be overly aggressive. When I visited Frankfurt earlier this year, I was impressed to see that the public transport network there runs entirely on a trust system with no ticket barriers. While public transport within cities is often usable, albeit somewhat unpleasant at times, the system really falls down when it comes to connecting everywhere that's not a city. Taking a hypothetical bus journey between an address in Jerusalem and the northernmost city of Matulah, for example, would require making four transfers and would take almost five hours. My opinion though is that the major problem with public transport in Israel is actually not the system itself, but rather the fact that many people simply refuse to use it. All in all, fare prices are pretty reasonable and government subsidized, but it remains extremely common to see long traffic jams filled with plenty of single occupant cars. Although my wife and I share a car, I try to avoid using it whenever possible. Israeli drivers are kind of insane, and I find that I can get most places I need to on a daily basis by either walking or taking public transport. What are your thoughts about public transport in Israel? How do you think it could be better? And what could be done to encourage more people to use it to get it right? Let me know in the comments. 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