Coming2Israel.com - Israel Bus Companies

  We will start with the main companies and their main areas of coverage.  Main being the active word as we have already said, there is a lot of overlap in the bus coverage in Israel.  The Two Main Israeli Bus Companies: Egged and Dan.  Yes, there are others, but for now, both of these companies have made an effort at an English Website with much of their route information available there.  The sites are far from perfect and some sections may not be complete yet, but in the meantime, they do offer a pretty good service for the English Speaker Coming to Israel. Egged - the biggest bus company in Israel. The Egged website in English is here: http://www.egged.co.il/eng/ The Egged Wikipedia page here (has a link to Egged bus routes - we're just not sure how current the list is, but still worth a look.) Wikipedia Egged Web SIte How to Use The Egged Bus English Web Page: Once you are on the Egged English Home page, the first two items that should be of initial interest to you are the top two links to Find A Timetable and, Plan A Trip.  The main difference between the two is that the Timetable link gives you the option of entering a Route number, of course, assuming that you already know it. We will assume that you do not yet know which number bus you need, so we will concentrate on the Plan A Trip Link. The Trip link allows you to enter a departing destination and an arriving destination, without previous knowledge of the Route number. At the top of the Trip page you have these options: Hebrew   Home   Clear   Feedback   Map   Direct Lines   Help The first two options should be obvious:  The Hebrew link changes the page to Hebrew, and Home is, well, the link to the home page.  Clear resets the page.  Don't bother with Map as it is pretty useless right now. But, Direct Lines does offer an interesting option as a starting point for you.  From this link you are presented with the option to enter two city locations and see all of the Direct lines between the cities.  This is a good place to start because now you can see a list of the bus routes available for use between these two destination cities.  Then, you can further dig through the trip planning or timetable pages to zero in in your best route option. Admittedly, it's not a perfect system, but they have set up a site in English and once you figure out how to go through it, it should become relatively easy to figure out how you can get to where you want to go. Along with the intercity travel, Egged also runs most of the buses in Jerusalem, Haifa and Eilat  and some through Tel Aviv.  See our link to down-loadable PDF maps. There are some route maps available on the Wikipedia List of Egged Bus Routes In Israel, here: Wikipedia List of Egged Bus Routes In Israel The Egged Bus Route Maps available are from the following Israeli Cities: Eilat, Kfar Saba, Ra'anana, and Rishon LeZion. But you should know that the text of the maps is in Hebrew. Dan Bus Company Dan runs the buses through Tel Aviv and the Gush Dan.  The Gush Dan is basically the built up, outlying area around Tel Aviv. Wikipedia Dan Bus Company here: Wikipedia Dan Bus Company Dan Bus Company website in English is here: Dan Bus Company But, unfortunately,  it really isn't that great yet, as once you select a route, you are still taken to a Hebrew listing of the stations.  The Timetables Link at the top of the page does work, to a point.  Once you have sorted out which Dan Bus route you need, you can select it from the scrolling list and the click “Go”.  The page comes up with an overview of the route - where it stops and where it starts and the hours that it operates for that day.  Below you will have a listing of the departure times for each end of the Route.  Although it doesn't show a stop by stop timetable, you can, at least, have an idea of how often, or how many buses run that route per hour. Clicking on the time links currently does nothing. Dan Bus Routes Map: They do have a route map.  Just not in English yet and thus not available from the English page.  Currently, it is only available from the Hebrew site, but here is the link: Dan Bus Routes Map It is a pretty large file - almost 2.5 MB.  About The Dan Bus Routes Map: Once you look at it, you will see that it resembles the wiring diagram for the command module of the Apollo Saturn rockets.  And it is in Hebrew. But we'll try and help you out a little with some reference points: First, note that some colors are used more than once.  • Once you have found your route, follow it by the color and the corresponding Route number. • Main roads/highways are marked as the black diamonds.  20, 4, 1, etc. • Near the top left hand side, the little airport marker is for Sde Dov regional Airport, which is just north of the Reading Terminal and power plant (Yellow diamond with front of the bus icon and the Hebrew word for reading).  As well as the new old port of Tel Aviv (yellow diamond with the anchor in it on the left. • Ben Gurion Airport is not shown on this map, but it would be located, if you continued with Highway 1, somewhere just after the legend and at the bottom right hand corner of the map. • Below The Reading Terminal indicator, in big Hebrew letters it says Tel Aviv. The big green belt, just above where its written Tel Aviv, is, of course, the HaYarkon Park. • Below Tel Aviv, across the 20 to the right, it says Ramat Gan.  Directly to the right of Ramat Gan and just a little upwards, is Bnei Brak - the two words, with one on top of the other. • Southeast of Ramat Gan is Givatayim. • Due South of Bnei Brak and southeast of Givatayim , is also written Ramat Gan.  • North east of Bnei Brak is written Petach Tikvah and south of that is Givat Shmuel. • Moving back to the left hand side, and on the coast, the little three letter word is for Jaffa, or Yafo. • South of Yafo is Bat Yam. • North east of Yafo, near the Road 44 marker is Holon. • Due south of Holon is Rishon LeZion, the last city listed to the left of the map legend. • Right above the left hand side of the legend is Azor. • As you come down from the top of the map, staying on the Ayalon highway - marked as 20, the train stations are also shown. They are indicated as a reddish circle with the icon of the front of a train. 1)  Tel Aviv University Station. 2)  Savidor - Arlozorov Station. 3)  HaShalom (Azrieli Center). 4)  HaHagana Station. 5)  Holon Junction Station. The 20 turns to the left now, and then back to the south. 6)  Wolfson Station. 7)  Yoseftal Station. 8)  Komemiot Station. 9)  Moshe Dayan Station.  The Other Bus Companies in Israel: Of course there are many other bus companies in Israel.  As of yet, we have not been able to find an English website for those companies.  But, we have provided for you a listing of them with their Hebrew website below. You can always ask someone to help you while you are here in Israel, as despite our tough and gruff mannerisms, Israeli's love to help people (read as offer their advice - render their opinion) when they need assistance.  And they especially like helping foreigners while they are here.  Company    Area of Coverage Website Superbus Center www.superbus.co.il Kavim Center, North www.kavim-t.co.il Connex Center, North www.connex.co.il Nateev Express North www.nateevexpress.co.il Nazareth Buses North www.ntt-buses.com Metropoline South www.metropoline.com Golanbus North www.golanbus.co.il

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