Transportation in Tel Aviv: All You Need to Know

Transportation in Tel Aviv: All You Need to Know

Project Description

Planning to visit Tel Aviv? Avoiding the congestion is definitely possible. Here is all you need to know about transportation in the city

.

Tel Aviv is about a 25 minute drive from Ben Gurion International Airport. From the airport you can take a taxi or train to the city. Once you are in Tel Aviv, you will find that it’s easy to get around. Here is some information about the buses, trains, shared taxis and bikes to help you navigate around Tel Aviv. Depending on your route, time of day, and preference, you will have various transportation options to choose from.

Riding along the beach - Tel Aviv promenade

How about a skate board? Tel Aviv promenade

Always buy a Rav Kav

Your trips on the light rail, bus or intercity trains can be paid using the Rav Kav, Israel’s public transportation pass. This card enables the user to preload a balance to be used for trip fares on all public transportation (except for shared minivans or taxicabs). The cost of a Rav Kav card is 5 NIS, available at Ben Gurion Airport, central train stations, all light rail stations in Jerusalem, or directly from any bus driver. Download the Rav Kav application (search for ‘Rav Kav’ in Apple’s Appstore or Android’s App store), to add to the card balance via your mobile phone any time you want.

Note that any use of the Rav Kav is valid for 90 minutes, so that if the trip includes transferring between buses or a light rail trip in Jerusalem there is no need to pay separately for each ride, provided that the passenger transfers within 90 minutes.

Bus

Tel Aviv has several bus stations, with the biggest one, which is called the Central Bus Station, (or Tahana Hamercazit in Hebrew) located in the south of the city. From the Central Bus Station you can find many inner city buses as well as intercity buses to most parts of the country. There are various other bus stations as well in Tel Aviv such as Reading Terminal, Carmelit Terminal and Arlozorov Terminal. The three main bus companies in Israel are Dan, Egged and Metropolin.

Buses in Tel Aviv

A bus in front of Israeli towers in Tel Aviv

Train

Israel Railways is a fast and efficient way to access Tel Aviv from Ben Gurion and from various other Israeli cities.
Tel Aviv has four train stations: Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv Savidor Central, Tel Aviv HaShalom (near Azrieli Center) and Tel Aviv HaHagana (near the Central Bus Station).

Tel Aviv by train

The train arrives to tel aviv

Service Taxi

The service taxi, or Monit Sherut, is a minibus service that goes along some bus routes and offer competitive prices that are in line with the bus fares. There are only a few lines of the service taxis but can be useful if traveling from the Central Bus Station to the Arlozorov bus terminal, Allenby Street, and to a selection of other cities in Israel.

Bike Rentals

Tel Aviv provides a bike sharing service called Tel-O-Fun. There are plenty of docking stations throughout the city. Daily and weekly rentals can be bought at bike stations via credit card.

Biking is the most recommended way to get around in Tel Aviv

Electric scooters

In addition to the bikes, Tel Aviv is adopting the electric scooters rental trend, inspired by similar programs in some European capitals. They are rented via applications such as Bird, Lime and others. There are several hundred electric scooters scattered throughout Tel Aviv. The scooters are a quick, cheap and eco-friendly means of transportation. The smartphone applications can locate and reserve the closest available scooter.

The cost of renting a scooter is typically 5 NIS plus ½ NIS for each minute of transportation. You may leave the scooter on the sidewalk after you have finished using it. Note that most companies grant generous discounts to users who charge the scooters, and it is recommended that you ask about this if you are staying at a location where scooters can be charged.

Useful Tips:

  • If you chose to travel on the Service Taxi you can signal the driver anywhere along the route and ask to be let off anywhere on the route
  • Congestion is common when traveling inside the city and on highways during rush hour and on Fridays, so please allow for extra travel time
  • Please note that buses and trains do not run on Shabbat. They stop in the late afternoon on Fridays and resume services on Saturday night.  Monit Sheruts and Taxis do work on Shabbat
  • There are taxis on the streets at all hours, which is a good option when you are out late enjoying the Tel Aviv night. Most bus lines end at midnight, and although there are a few night buses that run into the morning hours, they are infrequent.
  • If taking a taxi, ask your driver to turn on the meter as it is not uncommon for cab drivers to overcharge tourists. It is not customary to tip the cab drivers in Israel.
אהבתם? שתפו
Go to Top