Bus travel in Israel fares and tickets · Fares and tickets in Bus travel in Israel
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Fares and tickets in Bus travel in Israel
Fares and tickets in Bus travel in Israel
Fares are considerably lower than most Western European and North American countries. A single urban ride cost around 6.40NIS in most metropolitans, but could be as low as 3 NIS in smaller cities. Intercity fares don't follow a nationwide fare system, so you can find significant differences between journeys of similar length. The most expensive journey is between Haifa and Eilat, that cost 80NIS one way.
Tickets can be bought from drivers on the bus or at ticket booths in terminals. Exact fare is not necessary, and drivers or cashiers would give change from notes up to 10 times of the fare (so you can use 50NIS note for in-city rides worth 6.40, 100NIS notes for fares over 10NIS, 200NIS notes for fares over 20NIS). Payment by credit card is accepted at ticket booths for fares over 22NIS.
In general, journeys with connection require separate ticket for each segment. Though most metropolitans (Haifa, Jerusalem and the entire Tel Aviv area) now feature transfer tickets (Kartis Hemshekh or Kartis Ma'avar). The transfer tickets are usually valid to anywhere between one and two hours, depending on the city.
Multi-ride tickets, giving reduction of 15-20%, are available in the form of two-ride (or return) tickets and so-called Kartisiya for 5 to 20 journeys with the same fare on the same company. These multi-ride tickets can be used by several passengers. Daily pass (Hofshi Yomi) is available in some cities, including Tel Aviv, and there is a wide range of monthly passes (Hofshi Hodshi) designed for commuters. Recently, Egged and Dan introduced a new ticket for students of unlimited travel for the entire semester or academic year that costs between 500 and 1000 NIS (or twice as much for an entire academic year) depending on the zones included in the pass.
Reservation is available only for buses to/from Eilat, and can be done at a ticket booth, by phone or internet or text message.
Today, a new smart card, called Rav-Kav, is in use. Its aim is to integrate the payment system for all the companies in the country thus simplifying the use of public transport and to replace all existing paper tickets.
The card can be charged with pay as you go credit and with special fare cards (called contracts) like a daily or monthly pass or a multi-ride ticket. Once implemented, apart for a regular single fare, no paper cards will be sold (Dan has stopped selling paper multi-ride cards and daily/monthly passes on March 1st 2010).
It can be obtained at service points throughout the country (most central bus stations and terminals will have one) and usually it will be issued free of charge (provided you charge it with credit). The card can be charged at any service point or by the bus driver, there is a 20% discount for each charge (by adding 25% to the amount of money that was charged).
In most parts of the country the card must be charged separately for each company so a service point or a driver of one company cannot charge the card for another company and the money that you charge for one company cannot be used with a different company. In case of a card problem you must contact the company that issued the card.
On July 1st 2011 the first stage of the public transport reforms started in "Gush Dan" and it includes the Dan, Egged, Metropline and Kavim companies.
The area is divided to 3 zones:
Zone 1: Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, Giv'atayim, Bnei Brak, Holon, Bat Yam, Rishon LeZion, Petah Tikva, Or Yehuda, Kiryat Ono, Giv'at Shmuel, Ganei Tikva, yahod
Zone 21: Herzliya, Ra'anana, Kfar Saba, Hod HaSharon
Zone 22: Rosh Ha'Ayin
A single ticket inside each zone costs 6.40 NIS and includes unlimited changes of buses of all participating companies within 90 minutes.
A single ticket between 2 zones costs 10 NIS and includes unlimited changes of buses of all participating companies within 90 minutes.
In a trip from Rosh Ha'Ayin to Petah Tikva the price is like inside one zone.
You can use the amount of money that you charge on the Rav-Kav card for all 4 companies, but only on the mentioned areas.
As mentioned above, on other parts of the country you still need to separately charge the card for each company (including the companies that participate in this reform).
There are 2 types of cards:
Unregistered: An anonymous card that can be charged with money or with some special fare products (like a regular multi-ride).
Registered: Includes the passenger's details and photo. This type is obligatory for some special fare cards, like the daily and monthly pass or for receiving a youth, student or senior citizen discount. A registered card is insured for loss or theft. The passenger's usage history will be recorded and saved for statistical purposes.
Current problems (06 February 2010):
- Due to the lack of a central clearing system the card must be charged separately for each company, with the exception of "Gush Dan", where the first stage of the public transport reforms has started.
- The card does not provide free transfers between different lines, with the exception of "Gush Dan", where the first stage of the public transport reforms has started.
- Not all buses are currently using the card. During 2011 all companies, including Egged, are expected to implement it.
- Israel Railways is set to implement the card in the future.
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