Public transit users in Israel will have noticed changes in the fares they pay for the bus, train, and light rail, following a transportation reform that took effect late last month. The Transportation Ministry has presented the reform as “significant news for the citizens of Israel,” but Davar analysis reveals that only a small percentage of the Israeli population will actually benefit.
The reforms come alongside a dramatic 33% hike in the price of public transit, bringing the total price increase over the past year to 44%. Those aged 67 and over received a full exemption from payment for public transportation—an achievement for the Retirees’ Union after years of struggle, which began under the previous minister, Merav Michaeli. Those under age 27 can receive a 33% discount, and residents of underprivileged areas can receive a 50% discount—but those price reductions are largely absorbed by the rising base fare.
Besides the full exemption for senior citizens, the main discounts are for young people and residents of socioeconomically disadvantaged areas, joined by several discounts relevant to additional groups such as people with disabilities and National Insurance recipients.
Another price update is planned for this coming June, during which another increase is expected. The Knesset Economic Affairs Committee, headed by MK David Bitan, called during an April discussion to cancel the June update, but the Transportation Ministry has not committed to doing so.
The clear losers in the reform are citizens aged 27 to 67 who do not live in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas—the middle class in their working years. For them, public transportation is becoming dramatically more expensive, with no new discounts and no improvement in service. The harm to the middle class is expected to spill over to lower-income earners as well.
“The reform does not improve public transportation for weaker sectors and it pushes those who own a car to use it all the time, and those who can afford to, to buy one,” Yossi Saidov, founder of the public transit users group 15 Minutes, told Davar. “As a result, the roads are becoming more and more congested.”
As in other cases, damage to public services for the middle class—even if accompanied by benefits for those in a low socioeconomic position—is expected to eventually lead to a general decline in service quality. As Saidov put it, “The biggest problem with the reform is the message that public transportation is a solution for the poor, instead of the future for everyone.”
The discount for young people aged 18 to 27, introduced in April, is 33% off for monthly and annual passes. However, these young people are also affected by the general 44% price increase and will therefore pay almost the same amount as they did last year.
The discount based on geographic segmentation, called the “geographic profile,” is a 50% discount on monthly and annual passes. It is available to those who live in areas defined as socioeconomically disadvantaged. These users will indeed enjoy a significant discount compared to last year, but its scope is far from 50%, for the same reason: they are also affected by the 33% general price increase.
It is important to emphasize that no discounts for young people or geographic segmentation are given for single rides or daily passes. A Davar investigation, based on data from the Moovit and HopOn public transit apps, showed that about 88% of users do not travel frequently enough for a monthly or annual pass to be worthwhile. (The Transportation Ministry claims that the data for manual Rav-Kav card top-ups differ from those in the apps, and that the monthly and annual pass discounts are relevant to about 40% of users.)
There are two additional issues with the geographic profile. One relates to the definition of residential areas eligible for the benefit, which can be arbitrary. “The CBS’s indicators for low socioeconomic status, which include a high number of children and lack of education, create absurd situations,” Saidov said. “Residents of the prestigious Rehavia neighborhood in Jerusalem, for example, are eligible for the discount because the neighborhood is ultra-Orthodox; likewise on Caspi Street, where billionaires with swimming pools live; while in the Katamonim neighborhood, where I lead the community, there are street after street not eligible for the benefit.”
Another problem is the bureaucratic difficulty of activating the profile for those who are eligible. In contrast to the seniors’ profile, which only requires an ID card, the geographic profile also requires an updated ID appendix with the address (which can take a long time to obtain), as well as a property tax or water bill in the customer’s name. Activating the profile on a Rav-Kav card also requires a phone with NFC technology, which many phones lack—especially in the ultra-Orthodox community, where only about 36% have smartphones, according to a 2024 study by the Haredi Institute for Public Affairs.
