Odelia Taxi Chief Says Heavy Losses Put Service Routes Under Pressure

Uri David Hai, chief executive of Odelia Taxis, says the company is running its service-taxi operations at heavy financial losses. In an interview published on November 14, the operator of Tel Aviv route 16 said he had asked the Transport Ministry about a month earlier to issue a new tender to help keep the service operating. Hai criticized tenders that prioritize the lowest fare without adequately reflecting operating costs. Using the roughly 25-kilometer Petah Tikva–Tel Aviv route 66 as an example, he contrasted a listed NIS 16.50 fare with a NIS 6 tender bid. He said a journey could take an hour and 45 minutes, while ten paying passengers would bring in NIS 60. “How can you operate a service route at such a price?” he asked. Hai said he continued operating out of responsibility to passengers, particularly those with limited means, and to the company's reputation. Tel Aviv–Yafo Deputy Mayor Meital Lehavi, who oversees transport and road safety, said repeated short extensions of operating agreements had discouraged operators from purchasing vehicles. A State Comptroller audit published in November 2024 documented the sector's earlier contraction. Operating service taxis fell from 844 in 2017 to 59 in 2023, a 93% decline, despite a reform target of 2,500 vehicles. At the audit's conclusion in May 2024, 59 of the 400 vehicles planned for the awarded operating clusters were running.