The City of Tel Aviv-Yafo is home to 470,000 inhabitants, while the greater metropolitan area has a population of 3.9 million which is projected to double within the next 30 years. As a result, the city is in constant development and is accelerating construction to accommodate the expanding workforce and increased need for commercial spaces and new services. A new transportation system is therefore also under construction, and will include light rail, metro, railway, electric buses, as well as a significant upgrade to the railway and improvements to walking and cycling conditions for short and medium distances. Currently there are three Light Rail Transit (LRT) lines under construction, with a total of 59 stations to be ready by 2027, which will have a combined capacity of 500,000 passengers per day. Similarly, an extensive Metro Network of 150 km, consisting of three lines and 100 stations will be ready by 2035, and will accommodate 2,000,000 passengers a day. 

The City’s Transportation Vision is to significantly reduce the scope of private car use, and to provide residents and visitors with sustainable mobility alternatives that are safe, fast, convenient and cheap. Ultimately, the aim is to reverse the mobility pyramid, whereby walking, cycling and micromobility are prioritised, followed by public and shared mobility options, with motorised vehicles for commercial use and the private car at the bottom of the pyramid.

According to theTel Aviv-Yafo website, “The municipality's vision for sustainable transportation sees the ability to move around the city as one of the services that should be provided to the city's residents, and not a result of owning a private vehicle.”

Cycling at the heart of new development

In 2020, the modal share was 16% walking, 12% cycling and 17% public and shared transportation. The target for 2025 is to reach 18% walking, 22% cycling and 21% public and shared transportation, and for 2030 to achieve 20%, 25% and 25% respectively as depicted in the infographic below.

Source: City of Tel Aviv-Yafo

Today approximately 20% of the city’s area is allocated to transportation infrastructure, with 70% of that space for private vehicles and only about 4% allocated to bicycle paths and public transportation. The city is also working intensively to reallocate public space for pedestrians, cyclists and public transportation routes, such that the number of people choosing to use these options meets the targets stated above.

Tel Aviv-Yafo’s cycling network has been in development since the mid-1990s. To this day, 160 km of lanes have been built. However, in recent years, increasing ridership in a fragmented network coupled with the uptake of micromobility has increased friction with pedestrians. As a result, a Strategic Planning process was initiated in 2020, to harness the immense cycling potential of the city as approximately 70% of residents’ trips are less than 5km, and 60% of the workforce lives withing cycling distance of their workplace.

Source: City of Tel Aviv-Yafo

The key outputs have been the building of high priority cycle lanes, regulating the use of shared micromobility devices, a rental bike e-bike system Tel-O-Fun, and the development of education and community programmes, along with awareness and safety campaigns e.g. Bike Theft Hackathon, cycle training for women, courier riders and children, and bike fix centres.

Tel Aviv-Yafo joins a network of cities and regions committed to promoting cycling as a mode of transport and leisure, collectively representing over 50 million citizens across Europe and beyond. 
For more information on ECF’s CRC network and how to join, visit our Cities & Regions for Cyclists page. 
For more information on Tel Aviv-Yafo, click here.