#15 Public transportation is free for anyone 75 and over

Rav-Kav (meaning: multi-line) is a reusable contactless stored value smart card for making electronic payments as a joint fare collection system for the different public transportation operators across Israel. In 2022, a change was introduced so that passengers 75 and over can travel for free travel. Senior Citizens (women 62 and above and men 67 and above) will continue to travel at a 50% discount.

Rav-Kav can be used in public transportation such as all bus companies, light rail trains including Jerusalem Light Rail, as well as the national railway in Israel.

Rav-Kav was first introduced in August 2007 by the Ministry of Transportation. Operations started on August 28, 2007 by Kavim, 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. Rav-Kav was fully integrated by Israel Railways in 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.

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 use public transport over cars. The effort is being led by groups like Transport Today and Tomorrow, which aims to expand sustainable transportation in Israel.

In 2019 in Jerusalem, Rav Kav is the only payment method on buses, whose drivers do not accept cash for the ticket but only for the purchase of a new Rav Kav. Cash will soon no longer be accepted in some other cities.

Rav-Kav cards can be either Personal or Anonymous. 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 tracked, in order to provide the insurance – on report of a lost or stolen card, a new card is issued with the set of credits equivalent to the state of the card when last legitimately used. Data is also aggregated anonymously for statistical purposes.

Recharging a Rav Kav

Rav-Kav can be recharged either by an automatic machine by some bus stops, any Citypass light-Rail stops, Convenience stores or a dedicated web site (ravkavonline.co.il/ or HopOn.co.il) and with the RavKav Online or the HopOn mobile apps (for iPhone and Android devices with NFC).