Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 85.65.99.40 (talk) at 16:30, 3 March 2011 (→Bus service). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Transportation in Israel is continuously being upgraded to meet the demands of population growth, political factors, the Israel Defense Forces, tourism and increased traffic. All facets of transportation in Israel are under the supervision of the Ministry of Transport and Road Safety.

Highways

Israel's road network spans 18,096 km of roads, of which 230 km are classified as freeways. The network spans the whole country.

Bus service

Buses are the country's main form of public transport. In 2009, bus passenger trips totaled approximately 654 million. In the same year, 16 companies operated buses for public transport, totaling 5,939 buses and 8,470 drivers. The Egged Bus Cooperative is Israel's largest bus company, and operates routes throughout the country. Bus routes in some areas are operated by smaller carriers, the largest being the Dan Bus Company, operating routes in Gush Dan. Kavim is the next largest.

Bus stations in Israel, other than standalone bus stops, come in two types: terminals (masof, pl. mesofim) and central stations (tahana merkazit). Each terminal serves a number of routes, usually over a dozen, while a central station may serve over a hundred bus routes. The largest central bus terminal in the country is the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station, which is also the second largest bus terminal in the world.

Israel also has a share taxi service (Hebrew - Sherut), run by several private companies, depending on location, in addition to regular taxicab services.

On August 5, 2010, the Ministry of Transport opened a website that contained information about public bus and train routes in the country. Previously, information was given only by the individual public transit operators.

Railways

• Total: 1001.4 km 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) (standard gauge)

Many of Israel's railway lines were constructed before the founding of the state during Ottoman and British rule. The first line was the Jaffa–Jerusalem railway, followed by the Jezreel Valley railway, which formed part of the greater Hejaz railway. World War I brought the creation of multiple new lines out of military needs: Portions of what is now the Coastal railway were built simultaneously by the Turkish and British and later merged during the British Mandate. Southern lines were also built by the warring states—from the north by the Ottomans, and from Rafah in the west by the British.

Beginning in the mid-1960s, railway development stagnated, and a number of lines (notably, the Jezreel Valley railway and the Eastern railway) were abandoned altogether. Development restarted in the 1990s, the opening of Tel Aviv's Ayalon railway in 1993 signaling a new era of rail development. Lines under construction in the 2000s include the high-speed railway to Jerusalem, an extension of the coastal railway directly from Tel Aviv to Ashdod through the northern Shephelah, and a line from Ashkelon to Beersheba via Sderot, Netivot and Ofakim, as well as a complete reconstruction of the line from Lod to Beersheba.

Light rail/subway

Two light rail systems are in advanced planning stages or under construction in Israel - one in Tel Aviv and one in Jerusalem. A subway also exists in Haifa, called Carmelit. It is listed in Guinness World Records as the shortest subway system in the world, being the second smallest track network (after the Tünel in Istanbul,) but being the smallest "system" by virtue of being the only rail network in the city.

Air transport

As of 2010, there were 48 airports in Israel, the largest and most well known being Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV) located near Tel Aviv used by most international flights to Israel. Flights from Israel travel to North America, Europe, the Far East, and neighboring countries in the Middle East. Domestic flights are available between Tel Aviv and Haifa, and the southern city of Eilat. Some international charter flights land at Ovda International Airport. In 2007, passengers on international flights surpassed the 10 million mark. Boeing estimates that 60-80 new aircraft will be purchased by Israeli airlines over the next 20 years.

According to the Israel Civil Aviation Authority, as of 31 January 2008, Israel's civil aircraft fleet consisted of 53 aircraft; 47 passenger planes, 5 freighters and one convertible. 41 of these were Boeing jets, 2 Airbus, and 10 turbo-prop produced by ATR and Dash.Airlines include El Al Israel Airlines, Sun d'Or International Airlines, Arkia Israel Airlines and Israir Airlines.

Airports with paved runways

• Total: 30
  • over 3,047 m: 2
  • 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
  • 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6
  • 914 to 1,523 m: 11
  • under 914 m: 6 (2010)

Airports with unpaved runways

• Total: 18
  • 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
  • 914 to 1,523 m: 3
  • under 914 m: 14 (2010)

Heliports

• 3 (2010)

Ports and harbors

Mediterranean Sea

• Ashdod (Ashdod Port)
• Ashkelon
• Hadera
• (Haifa Port)
• Herzliya
• Tel Aviv

Red Sea

On the Gulf of Eilat:

• Eilat (Eilat Port)

Merchant marine

• Total: 18 ships (with a volume of 1,000 GRT GRT uses unsupported parameter (help) or over) totaling 716,382 GRT/845,053 t DWT DWT uses unsupported parameter (help)
• Ships by type: Cargo ship 1, Chemical tanker 1, Container ship 16 (2006)

Many ships owned and operated by Israeli companies operate under foreign flags of convenience. Israel's Zim Integrated Shipping Services is one of the largest shipping companies in the world.

Cable cars

There are currently six tourist and leisure oriented cable car systems in Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories: In Haifa connecting Bat Galim on the coast to the Stella Maris observation deck and monastery atop Mount Carmel. In Kiryat Shmona, linking it to Menara 400 meters above the town. There are several chairlifts and cable cars in the Mount Hermon ski resort in the Golan Heights. The historic site of Masada, near the Dead Sea, has a cable car system to enable tourists to quickly reach to mountain top site. In the Superland amusement park near Rishon LeZion; and in the Rosh HaNikra grottoes site, a chalk cliff and cavernous tunnels on the Mediterranean cost. A public transport-oriented cable car is being developed in Haifa—the Haifa Cable Car.

Sustainable transportation

There is a growing awareness in Israel that the common use of private automobiles is having many negative effects. An effort is now being made to make Israel a "greener" country in its modes of transportation. There is increasing collaboration between transportation professionals, politicians, and environmental organizations to work towards increasing the accessibility of public transportation, cycling, and walking in order to lower the use of private vehicles. One organization that works towards this goal is Transport Today and Tomorrow. Based in Tel Aviv, this organization works with a dedicated community of professionals and activists whose aim is to make public transit the dominant mode of travel and commuting in Israel.

Segway

In 2006, the Segway scooter was approved for use on sidewalks and other pedestrian designated locations, as well as roads that have no sidewalks, obstructed sidewalks or sidewalks lacking curb cuts. The user must be over 16 years old. No license is required. The maximum allowed speed is 13 km/h (8.1 mph), enforced by electronic restriction put in place by the importer. Companies offering tours of Jerusalem use the second generation i2 model, equipped with Lean Steer Technology that facilitates ski-like steering.

References

1. Bar'eli, Avi (October 2010). "Too Narrow to Contain". The Marker Magazine: p. 50. {{cite journal}}: |page= has extra text (help) Template:He icon
2. Hazelcorn, Shahar (May 28, 2010). "Special: Which Bus Company Provides Acceptable Service". Ynet. Retrieved 2010-05-29. Template:He icon
3. http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3930960,00.html
4. Statistics - Israel Railways (Hebrew).
5. Israel special - Flag carrier El Al thrives despite high fuel costs and competition
6. PORT2PORT - Israel's Trade Portal
7. ^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/is.html
8. "Haifa". Weizmann Institute. Archived from the original on 2008-01-19. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
9. "Transportation regulations". rsa.gov.il. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
10. Segwayz, Green Tour of Jerusalem

External links

• Ministry of Transport
• General bus route information website, encompassing numerous companies
• Transport Today and Tomorrow
• http://www.walk.org.il/ Walking Toward the Future
• http://transportation.dofinity.com/ Green Commuting

v t e Transport in Israel
Roads	Highways 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 12 13 16 20 22 23 25 31 34 35 38 40 41 42 44 45 46 50 55 57 60 65 66 70 71 73 75 77 79 80 85 87 89 90 91 92 98 99 Routes 109 171 200 204 206 211 222 224 227 232 234 264 293 333 367 386 404 411 412 417 431 436 443 446 458 471 505 508 531 541 578 675 864 866 886 888 899 918 959 977 978 989 999
Bus operators	Afikim Ta'avura Dan Dan BaDarom Dan Beersheva Egged Illit Kavim Metropoline Metronit Nateev Express Superbus Night bus lines
Rail transport	Intercity Haifa–Nazareth Light Rail (planned) Israel Railways Urban Jerusalem Light Rail Jerusalem Metro (planned) Carmelit Tel Aviv Light Rail Tel Aviv Metro (planned)
Cycling	Ofnidan (Gush Dan Cycle Network) Tel-O-Fun Israel National Bike Trail
Sea ports	Ashdod Eilat Haifa
Aviation	International airports Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion Haifa-Uri Michaeli Eilat-Ramon Airlines airHaifa arkia El Al (Sun d'Or Up) Israir
Cable cars	Haifa Rakavlit Bat Galim Manara Masada Jerusalem
By city	Beersheba Bnei Brak Jerusalem Petah Tikva Tel Aviv
Smart cards	Rav-Kav
Israel Port Authority Israel Airports Authority Vehicle registration plates Road signs

• Transport in Israel