Public transit fare payment apps set to start operating in Israel by the end of 2020

Israel's public transit system is set to finally support fully digitized payment through mobile apps by the end of the year after the Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Finance agreed over recent weeks to implement the changes requested by transport minister Miri Regev. Among the changes Regev requested was including reduced fares for people using public transport in Israel's periphery.

Rides of less than 15km in cities like Kiryat Shmona in the north of the country or Dimona in the south are now set to be priced at three shekels, similar to the prices currently being paid in those regions and almost half of what they were originally set to be priced at in the apps.

The new payment method will allow users to pay for rides using their phones, with the system automatically applying all relevant discounts as well as a maximum daily cap, without requiring a physical bus pass.

The companies to win the tender to offer the payment option on their apps were public transit navigation app developer Moovit App Global Ltd. in partnership with smart parking operator Pango Pay & Go Ltd.; Isracard Ltd., a Tel Aviv-listed credit card that spun off of Bank Hapoalim; and public transit payment app developer HopOn Ltd. in collaboration with Bank Discount's peer-to-peer payment app PayBox.

The mobile payment option was originally scheduled to start operating in June, but its launch was delayed due to privacy concerns raised by Israel's Privacy Protection Authority and Regev.