Get around in Tel Aviv

By bus: Tel Aviv has a modern, regular, cheap and widespread bus network run mostly by a company called Dan. Bus services start at 05:00 and stop at midnight, though some of the lines stop earlier, so do check. Single tickets within the city and the close suburbs (Bat Yam, Holon, Ramat Gan, Bney Brak, Givatayim) cost 6 NIS, around $1.5US (as of January 2011).

A daily pass called “Hofshi-Yomi” is also available, and cost less than the price of three rides. Note that this ticket is only valid from 9:00. There is also the new Dan Chip Card (free signup at Central bus or trainstation required) which can be charged up by paying a lump sum of your choice on buses, and resulting in a 20% discount on each ride. Monthly tickets are also available and offer cost savings per ride. People visiting the city for longer periods would find the Hofshi-Hodshi the most economic transport ticket.

Tickets can be purchased either at the driver of any bus line, or at the New Central Bus Station. Exact change is not necessary, but a driver may refuse payment by notes of 100 or 200 Shekels.

Suburban lines are also operated by Egged (mainly to the southern suburbs) and Kavim (to Kiryat Ono region) companies. Multi-ride tickets are not exchangeable between companies.

The most popular bus route in the city is bus route number 5, which connects the Central Bus Station (departure from 4th floor, westernmost platform) in the south with the Central Train Station. It goes through Rotschild Boulevards, Dizengof Street (Including the Dizengof Center Mall), Nordau Boulevard, Pinkas/Yehuda Maccabi Street and Weizman Street or Namir Road.

Another popular bus route is number 18, connecting the Central Train Station with the southern neighbourhoods of Jaffa and Bat-Yam. It also has a stop in Rabin Square.

Like most Israelis, the bus drivers in Tel Aviv speak and understand English well, and in most cases will kindly answer questions about the destination of their bus or ask other passengers to let you know, when to get off.

By taxi: You can hail a taxi (“mo-NIT”, מונית) in the street or call one (with extra surcharge). Taxis are obliged to give you a metered ride unless you settle for a price, so insist on the driver using the meter (“mo-NEH” in Hebrew, pronounced like the painter “Monet”), unless you are sure what the price to your destination should be. And no, the meter is never broken. A local ride without meter should be 20-30NIS in the downtown core, and up to 50 or 60 to the immediate suburbs.

If you go for a price fixed in advance, haggle with your driver a bit, you can generally knock a few shekels off the price. Cutting a deal in advance is especially recommended on Friday night and Saturday, when there is a surcharge. Plus, if you get stuck in Tel Aviv’s notorious traffic, you won’t sit there watching your money tick away.

In addition to normal (called “special”) taxis, there are 6-12 person van-sized taxis that supplement some bus routes (“sheh-ROOT”). This alternative is often faster, slightly cheaper, and more frequent than taking a bus, and they operate 7 days a week. If requested, the driver will stop outside the designated bus stops. Such service is available on bus routes no. 4, 5 (but note that these taxis don’t reach the train station), 16, 51 and 66.

By bicycle: Given Tel Aviv’s flat and coastal geography, mild weather, and a growing number of bicycle paths throughout the city – bicycle travel in Tel Aviv is an Ideal way to get around. Several shops through out the city offer bicycle rental, and cheap Chinese made bicycles can be purchased for several hundred shekels on longer stays. Be sure to lock your bicycle at all times and dont leave it outside at night, even proper locks get cut by electric cutters in under 15 seconds.