Taub Center

Donate

  • About Us
    • Mission, Vision and History
    • Researchers and Staff
    • Board of Directors and General Assembly
    • Policy Program Fellows
    • International Advisory Council
    • Organizational Policies
    • Job Opportunities
  • Research and Publications
    • What research areas interest you?
      • All Research
      • Economics
      • Health
      • Welfare
      • Education
      • Labor Markets
    • What type of content are you looking for?
      • Videos
      • Podcasts
      • Press Releases
    • What topics are trending?
      • #Israel at War
      • #Early Childhood
      • #Environment and Health
      • #Demography
  • Activities and Impact
    • Events
    • Impact
    • Annual Report 2023
  • In the Media
    • Press Releases
    • Articles
    • Videos
  • Our Blog
  • Contact Us
    • General Contact Information
    • Request a Lecture
  • Main Publications
    • State of the Nation Report
    • A Picture of the Nation
Newsletter
  • English
  • עברית

Subscribe to our newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter and stay up to date

הודעת דוא"ל זו אינה חוקית
Terms of Use Privacy Policy

Home Page » Researches » Fewer Vehicles Per Capita; Much Greater Road Congestion

Fewer Vehicles Per Capita; Much Greater Road Congestion

January 2011

Author

Taub Center Staff

 

Road transportation is by far the most prevalent means of transportation for both people and goods in the State of Israel. But the capacity of Israel’s roads is failing to keep pace with the increase in their use. A recent Taub Center study by Yoram Ida and Gal Talit, Transportation Mobility and Its Influence on Accessibility in Israel, shows just how far Israel’s highway infrastructure lags behind.

The Ministry of Transportation website reports that “the number of vehicles in Israel has doubled from about one million in 1990 to about two million today, while the increase in population was only about 51 percent. As a result, the level of motorization has risen about 40 percent, to about 300 vehicles to 1000 residents.”  This elevated level is only one-third to half the level found in Europe and the United States – suggesting that the level of motorization per capita will continue to rise.  The Ministry acknowledges “a widening gap” between use and capacity.

Ida and Gal illustrate the full extent of this gap. The figure below shows the cumulative growth since 1990 of kilometers traveled, number of vehicles, and highway area. The number of vehicles has far more than doubled, growing by more than 110 percent by 2006, while the number of kilometers traveled increased even more – by over 130 percent. Surface area of roads, by contrast, increased during this period by only about 60 percent, meaning that the amount of congestion increased considerably.

Fig 7B Eng

Ida and Talit demonstrate further that the increase in road travel is in itself partially a consequence of insufficient infrastructure investment in  public transportation, which ideally should have been absorbing much of the increase in travel that has so far been borne by private vehicles.

A massive increase in Israel’s transportation capacity is necessary merely to catch-up with the increasing road travel of recent years, and even greater investments are necessary if the country is to keep pace with the expected future level of travel on Israel’s roads. In addition, a parallel increase in public transport supply and improvement in service level of the existing public transport system should help mitigate the rapid upward trend in private vehicle use.

More research on this topic

Back and Forth: Commuting for Work in Israel

Back and Forth: Commuting for Work in Israel

Executive Summary The subject of commuting has attracted more...

Haim Bleikh
Have a Good – and Expensive – Trip

Have a Good – and Expensive – Trip

The toll road traversing Israel from north to south...

Taub Center Staff
Transportation Mobility and Its Influence on Accessibility in Israel

Transportation Mobility and Its Influence on Accessibility in Israel

This study examines the amount of mobility in the...

Yoram Ida Gal Talit
Running on Empty

Running on Empty

In the beginning of September, Israel’s government-regulated gasoline prices...

Taub Center Staff

About  

  • Mission, Vision and History
  • Researchers & Staff
  • Board of Directors and General Assembly
  • Fellows
  • Organizational Policies
  • Job Opportunities

Research

  • State of the Nation Report
  • A Picture of the Nation
  • All Research
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Welfare
  • Labor Markets

Additional content

  • Blog
  • Our Videos
  • Podcasts
  • Infographics
  • Annual Report 2023

Activity and impact

  • Events
  • Impact
  • Press Releases

Contact

  • Contact Us
  • Request a Lecture

Subscribe to our newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter and stay up to date
הודעת דוא"ל זו אינה חוקית
Terms of Use Privacy Policy

anova :web development