Treasury: Congestion charge to raise NIS 1.3b annually

Senior Ministry of Financial officials today told the Knesset Finance Committee that the proposed congestion charge for the Tel Aviv metropolitan area will raise NIS 1.3 billion annually when the system is fully operational. The congestion charge is planned to be introduced from March 2024.

The matter was being discussed today by the Knesset Finance committee as part of the Economic Arrangements Bill, to which it is attached. Under the congestion charge the Tel Aviv metropolitan area will be divided into inner, middle and outer rings with charges imposed for entering them during the morning and evening rush hours.

The inner ring will include central and south Tel Aviv. The middle ring will include Ramat Gan, Givatayim, Bnei Brak, Holon and Bat Yam and Azur. The outer ring will include Herzliya, Petah Tikva, Kiryat Ono, Givat Shmuel, Ganei Tikva, Yehud Monoson, Or Yehuda, Rishon Lezion and Beit Dagan. The maximum charge for entering all three rings during the morning or evening rush hours will be NIS 25. The Ministry of Finance officials also confirmed that Ben Gurion airport would be included in the outer ring of the congestion charge.

The Knesset Finance Committee debate was stormy with opposition MKs saying that the plan would discriminate against residents of Israel's periphery who would in effect be funding the welfare of Tel Aviv's residents. They said that the plan would push residents of the periphery even further away from the center.