Rav-Kav
Encyclopedia
Rav-Kav is a form of electronic ticketing used in several bus companies in Israel
. Launched in August 2007, Rav-Kav was expected to be integrated by all public transportation companies nationwide by late 2009, bureaucratic problems have caused this date to be pushed back several times .
Once the project is completed, Rav-Kav is expected to replace all the existing paper tickets, and serve as a joint fare collection system for the different public transportation operators in the country. It is also expected that Rav-Kav will shorten boarding times significantly, as the existing system of purchasing tickets from the bus driver in cash is messy and dangerous.
, a small bus company serving the suburban cities of Kiryat Ono, Or Yehuda
, Yehud
and Petah Tikva
, as well as several other destinations in the Jezreel Valley
area in northern Israel. Several other small companies were to start offering Rav-Kav in the following months, however these were all delayed.
The first major company to offer Rav-Kav was Dan
, which serves many bus routes in the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area
. Although Dan was originally supposed to offer Rav-Kav to all passengers in August 2008, Dan only started limited service for student card holders in October, and full service started in January 2009. In March 2010, Dan stopped issuing paper monthly passes, which can now be purchased only with Rav-Kav.
Egged, the largest bus company in the country, did not have a final date set for the introduction of Rav-Kav at the time of its announcement. This was attributed to its large fleet of buses which required a longer integration period. On May 25, 2010, Egged started offering limited Rav-Kav services in the city of Rehovot
. These services were later expanded to Karmiel
and the Sharon areas, and they include monthly passes and special student and elderly discounts but not the pay as you go product. Egged has provided full Rav-Kav service in the Gush Dan
Metropolitan Area starting on July 1, 2011, and joined the existing joint fare collection system between Kavim, Dan and Metropoline. Egged also started offering Rav-Kav service in Jerusalem and Haifa
in July 2011.
Israel Railways
also did not have a set date for the introduction, however the ministry's spokesman stated at the time of Rav-Kav's introduction that it would be within several months. As of June 2011, Israel Railways is expected to fully integrate Rav-Kav by early 2012.
CityPass, the Jerusalem Light Rail
operator, started offering Rav-Kav in May 2011, in advance of the opening of the first line in August.
As of August 2011, ten out of twelve bus companies offer Rav-Kav, some of which have not yet fully integrated it. For example, Veolia Transport Israel only allows specific products to be stored on the card such as monthly passes, and does not provide the pay as you go product. Egged supports Rav-Kav only in selected areas.
The introduction of Rav-Kav cards are part of a larger effort to create bus priority
in order to quicken the process of riding a bus and encourage people to uses buses over cars. This effort is being led by groups like Transport Today and Tomorrow, which aims to expand sustainable transportation in Israel.
has yet to offer any Rav-Kav services at all. Also, some of the companies which already offer Rav-Kav only provide limited services. This gives Rav-Kav a smaller customer base.
Finally, after much delay, a temporary joint collection system was implemented on May 3, 2010, between the three bus companies currently providing service within Gush Dan- Dan, Kavim, and Metropoline (which only began operating in the area on this date with its acquisition of seveal bus lines from Dan serving the Sharon region). Customers can now purchase pay-as-you-go credit and use it on any of the three companies in the area. As part of a major reform of the area's bus system, Egged will join the system on July 1, 2011. However this is a temporary system devised by the companies, and it is not yet known when a full joint collection system will be implemented in other areas or between other companies.
, known in Hebrew as Sherut, are a popular form of public transit in Israel. However, they are currently left out of the Rav-Kav roll out process. The Sherut Taxi Organization claims that leaving the taxis without Rav-Kav would harm their customers and the taxi companies, and that they had demanded to be included in Rav-Kav before the project began. The Ministry of Transportation expressed its support to include taxis in the project.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Launched in August 2007, Rav-Kav was expected to be integrated by all public transportation companies nationwide by late 2009, bureaucratic problems have caused this date to be pushed back several times .
Once the project is completed, Rav-Kav is expected to replace all the existing paper tickets, and serve as a joint fare collection system for the different public transportation operators in the country. It is also expected that Rav-Kav will shorten boarding times significantly, as the existing system of purchasing tickets from the bus driver in cash is messy and dangerous.
History
Rav-Kav was first introduced in August 2007 by the Ministry of Transportation. Operations started on August 28, 2007 by KavimKavim
Kavim is an Israeli bus company. It was founded in 2000 and provided lines in the eastern Gush Dan region - the towns/cities Kiryat Ono, Petah Tikva, Or Yehuda, Giv'atayim and others. In February 2005, Kavim expanded to the north, where it started providing bus lines in Afula, Bet She'an and the...
, a small bus company serving the suburban cities of Kiryat Ono, Or Yehuda
Or Yehuda
Or Yehuda is a city in the Tel Aviv District in Israel. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , the city had a population of 32,200 at the end of 2007.-History:Or Yehuda is located where the biblical city of Kefar Ono used to stand....
, Yehud
Yehud
Yehud is a city in the Center District in Israel that is part of the joint municipality of Yehud-Monosson. In 2007, Yehud's population was approximately 25,600 .- History :...
and Petah Tikva
Petah Tikva
Petah Tikva known as Em HaMoshavot , is a city in the Center District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv.According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2009, the city's population stood at 209,600. The population density is approximately...
, as well as several other destinations in the Jezreel Valley
Jezreel Valley
-Etymology:The Jezreel Valley takes its name from the ancient city of Jezreel which was located on a low hill overlooking the southern edge of the valley, though some scholars think that the name of the city originates from the name of the clan which founded it, and whose existence is mentioned in...
area in northern Israel. Several other small companies were to start offering Rav-Kav in the following months, however these were all delayed.
The first major company to offer Rav-Kav was Dan
Dan Bus Company
Dan Bus Company is an Israeli bus company based in Tel Aviv. It operates local bus service in the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area as well as some intercity bus services between the Gush Dan area and nearby regions such as Samaria, and a connection between Bne Brak and Jerusalem. Dan operates 1,200...
, which serves many bus routes in the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area
Gush Dan
The Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area , or Gush Dan , is a metropolitan area including areas from both the Tel Aviv and the Central Districts of Israel. The area is closely linked to the city of Tel Aviv through social, economic, and cultural ties. It is located along the Israeli Mediterranean coastline...
. Although Dan was originally supposed to offer Rav-Kav to all passengers in August 2008, Dan only started limited service for student card holders in October, and full service started in January 2009. In March 2010, Dan stopped issuing paper monthly passes, which can now be purchased only with Rav-Kav.
Egged, the largest bus company in the country, did not have a final date set for the introduction of Rav-Kav at the time of its announcement. This was attributed to its large fleet of buses which required a longer integration period. On May 25, 2010, Egged started offering limited Rav-Kav services in the city of Rehovot
Rehovot
Rehovot is a city in the Center District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , at the end of 2009 the city had a total population of 112,700. Rehovot's official website estimates the population at 114,000.Rehovot was built on the site of Doron,...
. These services were later expanded to Karmiel
Karmiel
Karmiel is a city in northern Israel. Established in 1964 as a development town, Karmiel is located in the Beit HaKerem Valley which divides upper and lower Galilee. The city is located south of the Acre-Safed road, from Safed and from Acre...
and the Sharon areas, and they include monthly passes and special student and elderly discounts but not the pay as you go product. Egged has provided full Rav-Kav service in the Gush Dan
Gush Dan
The Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area , or Gush Dan , is a metropolitan area including areas from both the Tel Aviv and the Central Districts of Israel. The area is closely linked to the city of Tel Aviv through social, economic, and cultural ties. It is located along the Israeli Mediterranean coastline...
Metropolitan Area starting on July 1, 2011, and joined the existing joint fare collection system between Kavim, Dan and Metropoline. Egged also started offering Rav-Kav service in Jerusalem and Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
in July 2011.
Israel Railways
Israel Railways
Israel Railways is the principal passenger railway operating company in Israel, and is responsible for all inter-city and suburban rail way passenger and freight traffic in the country. All its lines are standard gauge. The network is centered in Israel's densely populated coastal plain, from...
also did not have a set date for the introduction, however the ministry's spokesman stated at the time of Rav-Kav's introduction that it would be within several months. As of June 2011, Israel Railways is expected to fully integrate Rav-Kav by early 2012.
CityPass, the Jerusalem Light Rail
Jerusalem Light Rail
The Jerusalem Light Rail is a light rail line, the first of several rapid transit lines planned by Israel for Jerusalem, Israel's capital city. Construction began in 2002 and ended in 2010, when the testing phase began. It was built by the CityPass consortium, which has a 30-year concession to...
operator, started offering Rav-Kav in May 2011, in advance of the opening of the first line in August.
As of August 2011, ten out of twelve bus companies offer Rav-Kav, some of which have not yet fully integrated it. For example, Veolia Transport Israel only allows specific products to be stored on the card such as monthly passes, and does not provide the pay as you go product. Egged supports Rav-Kav only in selected areas.
The introduction of Rav-Kav cards are part of a larger effort to create bus priority
Bus priority
Bus priority or transit signal priority is a name for various techniques to speed up bus public transport services at intersections with traffic signals amongst other methods. Trams and light rail vehicles can also be given priority...
in order to quicken the process of riding a bus and encourage people to uses buses over cars. This effort is being led by groups like Transport Today and Tomorrow, which aims to expand sustainable transportation in Israel.
Personalization
Rav-Kav cards can be either Personal or Anonymus. Personal cards carry the passenger's name and picture, and allow the purchase of a wider variety of products such as monthly passes, student passes and senior-citizen passes. Also, Personalization provides insurance in case of a lost or stolen card. Personal cards can only be issued at the designated purchase points. Transactions carried out on personal cards are anonymously tracked for statistical purposes.Problems
There has been much criticism over the implementation of Rav-Kav, primarily over delays and the lack of a joint fare collection system for all public transportation companies, which severely limit the effectiveness of the card. Also, there have been concerns about the Ministry of Transportation's lack of regulation of the project, as it failed to prevent the delays and bureaucratic issues which have plagued it from the start.Delays
The Rav-Kav project suffered many delays since it was first introduced. It was originally intended that all companies providing public transportation services will integrate Rav-Kav by late 2009. However as of August 2011, Egged, the largest bus company in the country, offers Rav-Kav only in metropolitan areas, leaving the majority of the intercity bus network uncovered. Israel RailwaysIsrael Railways
Israel Railways is the principal passenger railway operating company in Israel, and is responsible for all inter-city and suburban rail way passenger and freight traffic in the country. All its lines are standard gauge. The network is centered in Israel's densely populated coastal plain, from...
has yet to offer any Rav-Kav services at all. Also, some of the companies which already offer Rav-Kav only provide limited services. This gives Rav-Kav a smaller customer base.
Joint fare collection
The ongoing decentralization of Israel's bus network has created a market of twelve different public transportation companies, and in some cases different companies provide services in the same area. This caused a problem for passengers who require the services of more than one company, since they now have to pay separately for each company's services. Rav-Kav was expected to solve this problem as a joint fare collection system.Finally, after much delay, a temporary joint collection system was implemented on May 3, 2010, between the three bus companies currently providing service within Gush Dan- Dan, Kavim, and Metropoline (which only began operating in the area on this date with its acquisition of seveal bus lines from Dan serving the Sharon region). Customers can now purchase pay-as-you-go credit and use it on any of the three companies in the area. As part of a major reform of the area's bus system, Egged will join the system on July 1, 2011. However this is a temporary system devised by the companies, and it is not yet known when a full joint collection system will be implemented in other areas or between other companies.
Sherut taxis
Share TaxisShare taxi
A share taxi is a mode of transport that falls between taxis and conventional buses. These informal vehicles for hire are found throughout the world. They are smaller than buses, and usually take passengers on a fixed or semi-fixed route without timetables, usually leaving when all seats are filled...
, known in Hebrew as Sherut, are a popular form of public transit in Israel. However, they are currently left out of the Rav-Kav roll out process. The Sherut Taxi Organization claims that leaving the taxis without Rav-Kav would harm their customers and the taxi companies, and that they had demanded to be included in Rav-Kav before the project began. The Ministry of Transportation expressed its support to include taxis in the project.