How to Pay for Public Transport
Buses are cashless and there are no paper tickets. My recommendation is to pay from the app, and there is also a plastic card if you prefer.
My recommendation: pay from the app
- 1Download HopOn (Rav-Pass) and enter a credit card once.
- 2Load a digital card or choose to pay per ride, and tap from your phone on the bus.
- 3No cash and no hunting for a top-up machine, everything is on your phone.
- 4If you prefer a plastic card: an anonymous Rav-Kav costs 5 ILS, and you load stored value or a daily pass on it.
Two ways to pay
The HopOn app (Rav-Pass)
By distance, charged at the end of the month
- Download it, enter a credit card once and tap from your phone
- Load a digital card or pay per ride
- Especially handy if you land and want to travel right away
Rav-Kav card
5 ILS for the card plus what you load
- Works on buses, on the light rail and on the Carmelit in Haifa
- Load stored value or a daily pass
- Top it up at any service point, at the big bus stations and at the airport
What it costs
The fare is set by the distance the ride covers:
| Zone and distance | Single bus ride | Daily pass |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow · up to 15 km | 8 ILS | 17.5 ILS |
| Green · 15–40 km | 14.5 ILS | 29 ILS |
| Light blue · 40–75 km | 19 ILS | 37.5 ILS |
| Blue · 75–120 km | 19 ILS | 37.5 ILS |
| Purple · 120–225 km | 32.5 ILS | 60.5 ILS |
| Grey · over 225 km | 74 ILS | 79.5 ILS |
Free transfers within 90 minutes apply only to short rides of up to 15 km. On everything else, each segment is a separate fare.
A national monthly bus pass costs 315 ILS, worth it only if you travel a lot.
Trains cost more than buses, between 11.5 and 52.5 ILS depending on distance.
Validate every ride, even on an empty bus. Inspectors board along the way and the fine is expensive.
Before you set off
There are no trains and almost no buses on Shabbat: service stops on Friday afternoon and returns at the end of Shabbat. Around Tel Aviv and the Sharon, free weekend lines do run.
On the Dead Sea lines the bus stops on the side of Route 90, so signal the driver before your stop.
Always check the time of the last bus back before you start a hiking trail.
What to download before you go
You do not need a rental car in Israel. Trains and buses reach almost everywhere a traveler wants to see. My recommendation: download HopOn and pay for your rides with it.
HopOn (Rav-Pass)
The app I recommend: pay for your rides from your phone and tap on the bus, with no cash and no plastic card.
Moovit
Enter where you are and where you are going, and get the exact line, a live arrival time and the stop to get off at.
Google Maps
Works very well for public transport in Israel and folds the ride into your regular navigation.
Want me to combine this with a tour and a ride?
If you would like a guided tour, a pickup from where you are staying, or just help building the route and the timing, I am here. We can plan it together before you set off.
Talk to mePrices, lines and operating hours change from time to time. Before traveling, check the exact details for your day in Moovit or on the Ministry of Transport website.