The new fast lanes on Route 20 and the Coastal Highway opened two months ago, but only about 6,500 passengers a day are using the shuttles allowed to travel there, even though current service levels could carry roughly 30,000 passengers daily. The poor early figures came after the launch followed the end of Operation "Roar of the Lion" and was then interrupted by a run of holidays, including Shavuot, Holocaust Remembrance Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day and Passover. Officials say the real test will come in the summer.
According to Ayalon Highways, private cars are expected to be allowed into the lanes in the first quarter of 2027. Toll prices in the Gush Dan fast lanes will range from 7 to 105 shekels per segment, with seven segments in all. In theory, a driver using the full route at rush hour could pay more than 700 shekels, a level that is effectively unrealistic for most motorists.
Transport expert Nitzan Yotzer, who was part of the planning team and followed the project through the tender stage, said the toll is meant to manage traffic, not simply finance the road. He called it a "balance toll," explaining that it rises and falls to keep the lane full but moving, and that in some situations entry may even be barred if capacity is exhausted. He also said the project cost 8 billion shekels, but argued that critics wrongly calculate only the direct cost to users and ignore the broader benefits, including faster traffic on nearby roads.
Yotzer said congestion cannot be solved by better public transport alone or by adding road capacity, because of "hidden demand," meaning drivers who stay off the road only because it is crowded. He said more efficient roads create new trips that fill the space again, and that the only way to prevent this is through tolling. He added that the same logic applies to the planned congestion charge and warned that if tolls are too low or too high, they will not create equilibrium. He argued that private cars remain too convenient to displace and that the only way to reduce congestion is to offer a better alternative, including free shuttles. To support his case, he pointed to the fast lane on Route 1, opened in 2011, saying measurements show it carries 1.3 times more passengers than the three regular lanes beside it and keeps traffic moving at at least 70 km/h, while adjacent lanes can slow to 15 km/h in rush hour.
Ayalon Highways said in response that the project, launched about two months ago, is already changing travel habits for thousands of Israelis who save hours on the road each week. It said the lanes will run in a test phase over the coming months for shuttles and buses only, before opening later to high-occupancy vehicles and tolled cars.
