Tel Aviv Plans Seven Kilometers of New Bus Lanes in 2027

Tel Aviv–Yafo Municipality plans to add approximately seven kilometers of dedicated public-transport lanes during 2027, expanding a network that currently stretches about 75 kilometers. The plan, presented on Sunday, includes seven corridors and traffic arrangements intended to give buses priority as light-rail construction and preparations for the metro affect travel across the city. The proposed routes include Dizengoff Street between Yirmiyahu Street and Ben-Gurion Boulevard, Rothschild Boulevard between Bezalel Yaffe and Herzl streets, and Yitzhak Sadeh Street between Yigal Allon and HaMasger streets. Additional lanes are planned on HaYarkon Street, Rokach Boulevard in both directions, Pinchas Rosen Street and the exit from the Savidor terminal toward Begin Road. The municipality also plans clearer, accessible pedestrian connections between railway, light-rail and bus services. For the next two years, the municipality has set targets of improving bus travel speed by 25% and service reliability by 50%, alongside a 30% increase in public-transport passenger numbers. It cited an existing traffic filter on Kaplan Street, between Dubnov and Ibn Gabirol, where private cars are directed through Dubnov while buses continue directly toward the center. Municipal figures indicate approximately 70% faster bus movement on that section and around eight minutes saved between HaShalom railway station and Dizengoff Center. Deputy Mayor Meital Lehavi, who holds the transport portfolio, said the city had established a professional public-transport planning unit despite planning and operating powers resting with the state. She argued that municipalities need authority to manage transport solutions during construction and expressed hope that the newly constituted Knesset would advance a metropolitan transport authority.