In a significant change to Israel’s public transportation system, the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee on Tuesday approved legislation championed by Transportation Minister Miri Regev and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to establish metropolitan transportation authorities.

The new authorities will gradually take responsibility for planning, coordinating, and managing public transportation systems in major metropolitan areas, shifting key functions from the central government to regional bodies working alongside local municipalities.

Under the first phase of the plan, metropolitan transit authorities will be established in Yerushalayim, the Gush Dan region, and Haifa. The model is expected to expand to additional metropolitan areas in the future.

Supporters of the legislation say the reform will allow transportation services to be tailored more effectively to local needs, improve coordination between buses, trains, light rail systems, future metro lines, bicycle infrastructure, and transportation hubs, and accelerate long-delayed transit projects.

Officials hope the move will help ease severe traffic congestion, which costs the Israeli economy tens of billions of shekels annually through lost productivity and longer travel times.

Metropolitan transportation authorities are already widely used in many developed countries and have long been recommended by transportation experts in Israel. Despite broad professional support over several decades, previous efforts to implement the model stalled for political and bureaucratic reasons.

Transportation Minister Miri Regev called the measure a “historic reform” that will strengthen cooperation between the government and municipalities while improving transportation planning and reducing congestion.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the authorities will enable more efficient transportation management, closer cooperation with local governments, and faster implementation of solutions designed to improve public transit and save commuters valuable time.

The approval follows weeks of negotiations among municipalities in the Gush Dan area regarding governance, voting power, and leadership of the new authority. A compromise was ultimately reached, including the future addition of Rishon LeZion to the Gush Dan authority beginning in 2029 and the inclusion of a voting representative from civil society.

The legislation now advances toward final approval in the Knesset.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)