Israel's Transportation Ministry Slashes Public Bus Improvement Budget by 90%
The Israeli Ministry of Transportation has drastically cut its budget for improving public bus services for the general population, reducing it by 90% for 2025. A report by TheMarker reveals that a budget of approximately half a billion shekels allocated for 2024 to enhance bus services nationwide was effectively eliminated, with only 50 million shekels designated for the same purpose in 2025. This represents a tenfold decrease in funding for general public transport improvements.
Concurrently, the ministry allocated 100 million shekels from coalition funds to bolster bus routes serving the ultra-Orthodox community. These allocations, while not directly comparable as they stem from different years and budgetary channels, highlight a shift in priorities. The funding for the ultra-Orthodox sector was part of a political agreement rather than the ministry's professional work plan, a pattern previously noted in early 2023 when plans were made to add routes for this community despite low ridership.
The report further details that 46 dedicated bus routes, primarily serving ultra-Orthodox students, continue to operate with extremely low passenger numbers. Data from the Ministry of Transportation itself, analyzed by TheMarker, shows some routes averaging as few as three passengers per day, far below the ministry's own threshold for route cancellation. For instance, route 910, serving a seminary between Bnei Brak and Tel Aviv, averages three passengers daily, while routes serving Belz Hasidic institutions average five. This contrasts sharply with the ministry's decision to cancel approximately 60 permits for buses operating on Shabbat, demonstrating a capacity and willingness to cancel services when deemed necessary.
The disparity in resource allocation is starkly illustrated by the fact that parents in the state education system often have to pay up to 1,000 shekels per month for school transportation, while similar services for ultra-Orthodox students are publicly funded. This situation has persisted for at least three years, with reports indicating that bus routes are sometimes rerouted to serve specific educational institutions, potentially at the expense of the general public transport allocation for cities.
The Ministry of Transportation, headed by Minister Miri Regev, is responsible for these decisions. While the ministry has previously stated there is no connection between route allocation and sectoral characteristics, the data on low ridership on some routes, the cancellation of Shabbat permits, and the significant budget cut for general improvements challenge this assertion. The report also notes broader systemic issues within public transportation, including inadequate infrastructure, insufficient oversight, and poor service.
