Israel’s new budget, if approved, will lay the groundwork for a massive transportation and infrastructure overhaul over the coming years. But several controversial plans to raise payments for services have citizens up in arms.
A record budget of NIS 35 billion for 2021 and NIS 38b. for 2022 was approved, along with a comprehensive five-year plan to invest NIS 7.5b. to improve public transportation.
Taxi drivers at Ben-Gurion Airport will protest a reform approved in Israel's new state budget on Wednesday evening, by not picking up any passengers, according to Israeli media. The new cab reform is set to reduce the price of taxis in Israel.
According to the taxi drivers, the new reform will hurt their income and will protest as the Finance Ministry and the Transportation Ministry did not offer an answer to their concerns.
Earlier this week, the cabinet approved the Finance Ministry’s proposal for the state budget for 2021-2022. The Knesset Finance Committee is now preparing it for the Knesset plenum, where it must pass into law after three readings by November 4.
One of the most controversial clauses in the new budget is a new “congestion tax” that will be launched in 2024 forcing drivers to pay to enter the Gush Dan area in private vehicles during certain hours. Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli was originally opposed to the idea, but she has now embraced it as a quick short-term solution to Tel Aviv’s traffic problems, and as a source of funding for other transportation projects.
Another plan that has bus and train riders furious is a move to cancel an estimated NIS 250 million in state subsidies for public transportation. This would include removing the “accumulated value” bonus for people using Rav Kav cards, which adds extra credits whenever a multi-ride payment is made. The Finance Ministry argues that these benefits – originally intended to incentivize riders to pay for multi-ride instead of single-ride tickets – are no longer relevant.
The scope of the projects these cuts will help finance is massive. The largest project on the list is the enormous NIS 150b. metro project to be constructed throughout Gush Dan.
This includes the creation of three new underground subway lines spanning 145 km. and 24 municipalities, connecting Tel Aviv with Givat Shmuel in the west, Ra’anana in the north, and Holon in the south. Excavations for the country’s largest infrastructure project ever are scheduled to begin in 2025, with operations planned to begin around 2032. This is in addition to several light rail lines currently under construction in the Tel Aviv area.
Among other infrastructure investments, approximately NIS 3.5b. will be invested in the next five years in building 30 bus terminals with 2,500 electric charging stations. Some NIS 6b. will be invested in paving public transportation routes, and 3,500 buses will be purchased over the next five years, of which 2,500 will be electric. To support this, thousands of new bus and train drivers will be trained, on a budget of NIS 220m.
In addition, more than NIS 2b. will be spent to improve roads, sidewalks, public transportation and other infrastructure in Arab cities over the next five years. And another NIS 2b. will be invested over five years to create safe and effective bicycle paths throughout the country.
About NIS 1b. will be invested in improving road safety, including improvements for high-risk roads.
The sum of NIS 90m. will be invested in increasing accessibility to public transportation. Included in this will be 10 intercity bus lines with new wheelchair-accessible buses that have not been used in Israel previously, according to the Ruderman Family Foundation’s Link20 Network, which advocates for people with disabilities.
The government will also establish an enforcement unit for intercity traffic to ensure fast travel. NIS 100m. will be directed to improving information and ticketing systems, as well as NIS 250m. for three years for traffic management systems.
“This is the first transportation budget that has a vision of freedom of movement and equality, a budget that serves not only drivers in private vehicles but also pedestrians, passengers, commuters, seniors, people with disabilities, Jews, Arabs, Druze and cyclists,” Michaeli said following the budget’s approval. “The first stop on the track is approaching.”