A National Plan to Fix Transportation in Israel
The B’Yachad party presents our national plan to free Israel from traffic jams.
We’ll open hundreds of kilometers of public transit lanes, increase the frequency of trains and buses, and accelerate construction of the metro system and mass transit in the metropolitan areas.
We’ll run public transport on Shabbat, in coordination with the local authorities and in keeping with the character of each municipality.
We’ll end the discrimination in fare pricing, roll out smart traffic lights and real-time traffic management, and transfer management powers to the metropolitan authorities.
We’ll also lead a determined national campaign against road fatalities and guarantee competition between airlines in the skies alongside building an airport to compete with Ben Gurion.
Together, we’ll save families thousands of shekels a month, cut travel times and give you back precious time at home.
What’s the problem?
Israel has made progress on transportation, but not fast enough.
The past two decades have brought real achievements. Israel Railways expanded, light rail lines opened in Gush Dan and Jerusalem, public transit lanes were opened, and bus services grew. But the pace of development and the level of service still aren’t keeping up with the demand for transport that’s fast, frequent, reliable and comfortable.
In most of the country, citizens have no real alternative to a private car. Metropolitan areas in Western Europe invest around $15,000 per resident in public transit infrastructure. In Gush Dan, it’s just $2,000.
The result is second-rate service for the public and ₪55 billion a year that traffic drains from the economy. And the price isn’t measured in money alone. Israel keeps breaking records for road accident deaths: 459 killed in 2025, the highest number of fatalities in 19 years, and no one is leading the fight against this.
This isn’t fate. It’s a failure of management. A single ministry in Jerusalem is trying to run 3,500 bus routes across 259 local authorities. Infrastructure projects are held up for a long time before breaking ground and construction itself isn’t fast enough either. The Red Line was built at 3 km a year. The Madrid metro, more than 16.
There’s no single hand on the wheel. Priorities shift with every minister, construction following the decision to build an additional airport has been stalled for 17 years, and the light rail was delayed by nearly 27 years. In recent years this has only gotten worse: professional officials are leaving, and politically-connected appointees are taking their place.
The State of Israel still hasn’t met the most basic task of all: letting every citizen get from point A to point B quickly and comfortably.
What’s the solution?
Together, we’ll clear up gridlock at its roots. The solution is clear: stop managing traffic jams and start managing traffic.
What does that mean in practice? A bus that runs on time and at high frequency, arriving every few minutes and that never gets stuck in traffic because it has its own lane – and another 200 km of new dedicated lanes to run on. A train every 10 minutes to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Be’er Sheva, with more railcars and longer operating hours.
We’ll expand public transport so that it runs on Shabbat, in coordination with local authorities and in keeping with the character of each one.
A metro in Gush Dan and mass transit in Jerusalem, Haifa, and Be’er Sheva, built at the world’s pace, not the Red Line’s slow one. One ticket, cheaper, from home to work. Discount arrangements focused on the working and serving public, in line with our plans to put the enlisting public first.
And on our roads themselves, a national campaign against traffic accidents with clear targets, proper road infrastructure and enforcement that deters. Because there’s no reason Israel should be breaking records for traffic deaths.
For this to actually happen, and not stay on paper like 30 years of other plans, we’ll change both who manages things and how things are managed: professional appointments only, instead of cronies. Decisions on routes and frequency made by the authorities that know their residents, not by a ministry in Jerusalem. Construction being handed to the private sector, which knows how to build faster. And smart traffic lights and real-time traffic management, the Israeli technology already working in the world’s biggest cities, finally in place here at home, too.
We’ll keep Israel connected to the world: we’ll encourage competition between airlines in the skies and build an airport to compete with Ben Gurion. We’ll also stay connected with the world even in national emergencies.
The bottom line:
For every hour stuck in traffic, you’ll get 13 minutes back. A household that can give up a car will save up to ₪2,755 a month.More time at home, more money in your pocket, and you’ll choose your next job based on your abilities and desires – not based on where you live.
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How will we know we’ve succeeded?
Traffic flows
Precious time given back to the public: 13 minutes returned for every hour wasted in traffic.
Fast, reliable public transport
A 35-45% improvement in average travel speed on public transport.
You can give up your car
Giving up a private car will save a household up to ₪2,755 a month
The Path Out of Gridlock
01
An emergency plan to break the gridlock
We’ll upgrade public transport to cut travel times and provide a reliable alternative to cars.
We’ll build a network of frequent, fast bus routes across the whole country: within the metropolitan areas and on lines that connect every town to the national network. We’ll pave about 200 km of public transit lanes and give buses priority at traffic lights. On the rails: we’ll increase frequency – 6 trains an hour, a train every 10 minutes between Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Be’er Sheva, with more railcars and longer operating hours.
We’ll expand public transport so that it runs on Shabbat, on urban and intercity lines, in coordination with the local authorities and in keeping with the character of each one.
We’ll recruit drivers and direct them and their buses to where demand is high, and we’ll change the contracts with the bus companies so they profit when the passenger is satisfied, not just when the route starts running.
02
We’ll fight road deaths like an epidemic
The plague of road accidents isn’t fate – it’s a management failure. We’ll lead a coordinated national campaign headed by the Minister of Transportation together with other relevant government ministries, with in-depth data analysis, clear targets, and measured results. No more plans that stay on paper.
We’ll invest in safer, better infrastructure for pedestrians and vehicles, encourage the introduction of life-saving systems in vehicles, and advance a scrappage program to take older, less safe vehicles off the road. We’ll promote road safety education and awareness and step up enforcement through technological means.
03
Building a Metro System, Connecting Israel
A giant leap for the Gush Dan Metro: we’ll expand and accelerate the metro network planned for Gush Dan, alongside advancing mass transit systems in Jerusalem, Be’er Sheva, and Haifa. And this will be built at the world’s pace, not at the slow pace of today, with schedule delays starting before digging even begins.
We’ll work toward good connectivity between the metro, trains, the light rail, and buses: we’ll set up a frequent, fast bus network in the cities, with an emphasis on cities of 100,000 residents and more. We’ll build shaded bike and walking paths. We’ll complete the rail connection to the north up to Kiryat Shmona: the periphery will be connected to the national network and not left out. Your next job will be determined by your talents and desires, not by where you live.
04
Making travel cheaper
We’ll simplify and lower fares and passes with an emphasis on the day-to-day needs of the working and enlisting public, in line with our plans to put the serving public first. The “Transportation Justice” reform established discrimination in fare pricing between passengers and significantly raised the price for the general public. We’ll abolish it.
05
Professionalism, not politics, in setting transportation policy
No petty politics: we’ll restore professionalism to the transport system by having solely professional appointments at the Ministry of Transportation and the executing companies, clear performance targets, and managerial accountability for results.
Major transport projects will be given national priority status and multi-year budgets that don’t change when ministers do, a national committee will remove obstacles, and we’ll take the politics out of transportation.
06
Moving the decisions from Jerusalem to you: your route will be planned by the people who use it
You can’t run 3,500 bus routes across 259 authorities from a desk in Jerusalem. The Ministry of Transport will stop being an “operator” and become an “enabling regulator.” We’ll establish metropolitan transport authorities so that decisions on routes, frequency, and service are made closer to the people who use them.
07
Bringing Israeli hi-tech home: a green wave instead of a red light
We’ll roll out smart traffic lights that create “green waves” based on demand and integrate advanced technologies into public transportation management, safety, and enforcement. We’ll also advance innovative and autonomous transport solutions, remove regulatory barriers, and let technologies that already know how to improve traffic flow work for Israel’s citizens, too.
08
Keeping Israel connected to the world
We’ll bring competition to the skies with incentives and guarantees for international airlines to operate alongside El Al. We’ll also build an additional international airport to compete with Ben Gurion, which has been stalled for 17 years. We’ll make arrangements in advance so Israel stays connected to the world during national emergencies. We’ll advance IMEC as a national priority project – the rail corridor from India and the Gulf states to Europe via Israel, a geopolitically critical project for strengthening alliances, the economy, and the strategic resilience of the State of Israel.
A good transport system doesn’t end at the road near your home, it connects all of Israel to opportunity, to commerce, and to the world.
