Last Updated on November 4, 2021

Israel’s Bus Service; Egged, Dan, Superbus, Kavim, Golanbus…

The Israel bus service is served by 8 different bus companies with Egged and Dan being the most popular. Egged operates from North to South and Dan focuses on Tel Aviv and surrounding Dan region. The Israel bus service is reliable, on-time, runs frequently and connects to almost everywhere in Israel.

Israel’s major bus companies, offering services, are:

• Easy Hebrew lesson – learn words for transport and 100 other free word sheets. With English and transliterations

The Tel-Aviv Bus Service

Tel-Aviv is served by both the Egged and Dan bus services. Dan is the main bus company inside the city of Tel Aviv, and Egged is the main bus company outside of Tel Aviv. The Central Bus Station (Tachanah Merkazit), Azrielli and Tel-Aviv Central (Arlozorov/Savidor) are the three main bus stations in Tel Aviv.

Jerusalem’s Central Bus Station

Jerusalem is served by the Egged and Dan bus service. Urban and inter-city buses run to and from the Central Bus Station on Jaffa Rd. Many interurban buses leave from Zalman Shazar Blvd., across the street.

Haifa’s Central Bus Stations

Haifa is served by 6 different bus companies. The two main bus stations are the Carmel Beach Central Bus Station (Merkazit Hof Hacarmel) at the southern entrance to Haifa and the Haifa Bay Central Bus Station (Merkazit Hamifratz) at the northern entrance to Haifa at the “Checkpost”. Both are adjacent to train and Metronit stations. Haifa is a hub for public transportation and serves the entire north as far as Kiryat Shmona. The newly revamped bus station at Merkazit Hamifratz was opened in June 2018, and it was designed to transport more than 60,000 passengers daily.

The new cable car connecting Merkazit Hamifratz with the Technion and the University of Haifa is expected to be operational in the second half of 2021.

Bus Tickets & Fares

There no ticket purchase on the bus – all ticket purchases are made on the Rav Kav mult-transport, smart card at vending machines at the central bus stations, or selected ATMs or online.

You can purchases your route fares and pay by credit card at one of the vending machines or at the ticketing office.

RavKav app allows you to load fares on certain smartphone models only.

Single Journey

A regular one way fare (Heb: kartis), in most places, is 5.90 ILS. Incorporated into the fare is a 90 minute continuation ticket  (Heb: Kartis Ma’avar). It allows you to ride the bus as many times as you need within a 90 minute window. This is automatially loaded into your Rav Kav smart, transport card.

Bus fares between cities are determined by distance.

Multiple Bus Journeys

• A pre-paid season tickets (Kartisiya) allows you unlimited rides on routes within a predetermined zone or ‘ring’, where the regular bus fare is levied.  This is really an economical option if you are catching more than 2 buses a day.
• Student tickets cost half of the regular fare when purchased with the Rav-Kav
• A pensioner’s ticket is also available at a reduced rate with the Rav-Kav.
• Children under the age of 5, who do not occupy a seat, travel for free.
• Travel by bus, by train, light rail, Metronit or Carmelit underground in Haifa – a day pass allows you unlimited use of the transport system until 03:00am on the same day.

The Rav Kav (Multiple Journey Ticket)

In 2010,a  pre-paid magnetic smart card, the Rav Kav, was introduced for multiple rides and season tickets.  It can be purchased at any central bus station.  You will need to produce an identity document when purchasing the Rav Kav.  A digital photo of yourself will be processed onto the card (just like on your driver’s license). The Rav Kav is issued on the spot and your personal identification details are printed on the underside of the bus card.

Once you have paid, the fare is loaded and credited to the card.  Each time you use the bus, you swipe the Rav Kav card in the card reader and the appropriate  fare is deducted from the balance.

The inner-city fare for a single ride is valid for 90 minutes. This means you can get on and off the bus or public transport system (not including the train), an unlimited number of times  within a 90 minute window, and still only pay the ILS 5.90 fare.

A Rav Kav Anonimi  (an anonymous card which does not have your photograph) is available for a one time payment of 5 shekels. The Rav Kav Anonimi does not give you student, pensioners or other discounts.  The 90 minute transfer window applies.  This is an ideal solution for tourists. More…

School Bus Routes

Student routes are marked at the bus stop.  On one side of the sign it will say “STUDENTS” in English and on the other side it will say ‘talmidim’ in Hebrew – תלמידים

Panoramic Bus Tours in Jerusalem & Tel Aviv

The panoramic bus tour in Jerusalem (Bus no. 99) is the best way to see thescity.  The day-long excursion, on the open-top bus, allows you to hop-on and hop-off at various stops of public interest and tourist attractions.

Tel Aviv city tour invites you to a panoramic tour of Tel Aviv in a two story bus along the main sites of the city. There are 28 stops.

Transport tip:  Guided tours on the panoramic buses, are available in 8 different languages  Contact +972 3639 4444 (Tel Aviv) or +972 50 842 2473 (Jerusalem)

The Disabled & Wheelchair Bound

Inner city buses in Israel are wheelchair friendly and the bus driver is obligated to help any person who is wheelchair bound to get on and off the bus.  Buses are equipped with a ramp for easy wheelchair access that the driver has to engage.  Once the wheelchair has been positioned in the designated area of the bus, the driver will strap and lock the wheelchair into position.  When the passenger gets off the bus, the driver will perform the reverse operation.

A cute story

Circa 1990 – somewhere in Israel, a man gets on a bus and move towards a seemingly unoccupied seat next to an old lady. As he approaches, he sees her little dog sitting next to her on the seat. He asks the old lady, politely, to move the dog. She ignores him. He asks her again. She refuses and an argument ensues. Other passenger on the bus join in the argument. No one can agree on what should be done. They turn to the driver for a solution. The driver confirms that the lady bought a ticket for the dog. The dog is entitled to the seat. The passenger admits defeat, he sighs and looks for another place to sit.