“The commute to work is a daily nightmare of two hours each way,” said Sharon Betzalel, a resident of the northern town of Pardes Hanna who works at Airport City and relies on public transportation to commute to and from her workplace in central Israel every day. “In many cases, buses simply arrive completely packed and the driver continues driving without stopping at the station.”
Betzalel, like all road users in Israel, had been eagerly awaiting the reform that was supposed to pass this week with the approval of the Metropolitan Authorities Law. The law is currently not on the Knesset’s agenda, which is set to disperse Friday, and its implementation will likely be delayed by more than a year.
Betzalel, an experienced public transportation user, said she has grown tired of promises. “The biggest absurdity is that there is no proper direct line between the train station at Ben Gurion Airport and the nearby Airport City. A place that hosts so many major businesses should have offered a proper connectivity solution. In practice, there is no such bus and in most cases we have to get off at a nearby intersection and walk a long distance.”
According to her, “Political motives are pushing aside the treatment of public transportation, and that is extremely painful. The public in Israel is not receiving the attention it deserves on this issue. Quality public transportation has a tremendous positive impact on quality of life, the environment, everyone’s wallets and the connection between the center and the periphery. It is a shame that this issue is not being treated with the seriousness it deserves.”
Coalition whip Ofir Katz of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party decided to remove the Metropolitan Authorities Law from the agenda following pressure from ultra-Orthodox lawmakers, who demanded priority for the “deal” legislation they reached with Netanyahu.
The bill, which had reached the final stages after decades of power struggles and political disputes, was pushed aside in favor of sectoral interests despite government promises to advance the groundbreaking reform.
Congestion is just one of the perennial transportation problems plaguing Israel
(Photo: Yair Sagi)
The plan to establish three independent transportation authorities in the Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem metropolitan areas was intended to transfer authority from the Transportation Ministry in Jerusalem directly to local bodies. Now, however, the reform is expected to be buried until the next Knesset session.
The result will be at least a one-year delay in the legislative process alone. Since transportation projects require lengthy planning and implementation, residents are unlikely to feel any change on the ground for years.
Public transportation passengers will continue to suffer from a frustrating lack of coordination between buses and trains, as the smart coordination that was supposed to take place at the metropolitan level will be lost. Passengers will continue waiting at isolated and distant stations without reliable connections.
Cyclists and scooter riders will also continue risking their lives on busy roads, as bike lanes will continue to be cut off and disappear at the arbitrary boundaries between neighboring municipalities. The possibility of managing traffic through regional smart traffic lights and reducing parking prices in lots and blue-and-white curbside parking zones has also disappeared.
'An unwritten policy of non-enforcement'
Vered Klein, a resident of Petah Tikva who commutes to work in Tel Aviv by public transportation, expressed disappointment that the bill was not brought to a vote.
Vered Klein
(Photo: Oz Moalem)
“I waste a lot of time on the roads because of poor public transportation management,” Klein said. “This law could have improved the situation, including bus traffic, by creating continuous public transportation lanes between municipalities and coordinating the schedules of different modes of transportation. The state has an interest in getting people to use public transportation, and it is absurd that such a historic opportunity is being missed because of political motives.”
The road is also difficult for cyclists. Rei Hillel Solberg, a Jerusalem resident who commutes by bicycle, said he fears for his life every time he rides.
“When I ride in the afternoon, the bike path on Elazar Hamoda’i Street is regularly blocked by parked cars, forcing me onto the road and putting my life at risk,” he said. “On Brody Street, we recently requested a crosswalk, but the municipality refused because it would eliminate parking spaces. The ability to make comprehensive changes to parking management in the city without electoral considerations has simply been lost. Today there is an unwritten policy of non-enforcement and chaotic sidewalk parking that creates anarchy and inequality.”
Solberg said, “The law was intended to bridge the gap between a municipality’s dependence on its voters and its obligation to serve all road users. The fact that the law did not pass leaves us in an era where every municipality thinks only about what is good for its own residents and opposes anything that benefits all citizens of the country.”
Rei Hillel Solberg
(Photo: Alex Gamburg)
“Our ability to get out of traffic jams is moving further away”
Traffic jams, of course, also affect private vehicle owners, who are often forced to find creative solutions.
“Because there is no normal public transportation here, I am forced to keep a motorcycle, even though 10 years ago I was in a serious accident and my entire body is full of metal implants,” said Dori Rachmilov, a Tel Aviv resident who works in Rishon Lezion and Haifa and mainly gets around by private car and motorcycle.
“I did not want to return to riding a two-wheeler, but I simply have no choice. These traffic jams are genuinely dangerous; they push people onto motorcycles and scooters even when there is no suitable infrastructure.”
Dori Rachmilov
(Photo: Yuval Chen)
Sivan Shmuelovich, CEO of public transportation advocacy group 15 Minutes, said, “The stalling of the Metropolitan Authorities Law is the dangerous result of political games and extortion that harms every citizen in Israel. We have been waiting for this reform for 30 years, and during those years, the transportation crisis has only worsened.
“Anyone who thinks the legislation can be postponed until the next Knesset does not understand the depth of the crisis. In transportation, time is critical because planning and construction processes are very lengthy.”
She added, “When we are facing a transportation crisis that is only deepening, every day of delay on this law is another day in which our ability to get out of traffic jams moves further away. The entire Israeli public cannot continue waiting because of political games and extortion.”
Haim Bibas, chairman of the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel and mayor of Modi’in-Maccabim-Reut, sent an urgent request to Transportation Minister Miri Regev, coalition whip Katz and Knesset Economy Committee Chairman David Bitan, demanding that the Metropolitan Authorities Law be brought immediately for final approval in the Knesset plenum.
“I am turning to you urgently on behalf of local government and the residents of Israel. The attempt to manage a complex public transportation network in a centralized and remote manner has failed, and the time has come to transfer authority to those who know the local reality up close,” he wrote.
Bibas said there was no public justification for delaying or stopping a law so vital to citizens’ welfare at this stage due to irrelevant considerations.
“The public expects results on the ground. I call on you to show national responsibility, put aside any considerations that are not professional and work together to bring the bill to final approval.”