Here's the money: The Treasury's road maintenance program - Walla! Of money

2021-09-23T15:42:38.430Z

The congestion charge, which at first seemed like a "goat" in the Arrangements Law, remained a part of it - and if it is indeed imposed, it will make the entrance to Gush Dan Likra. Who will win, who will lose, and most importantly: where will the billions go?

Of money
All articles

Here's the money: The Treasury's road maintenance program

The congestion charge, which at first seemed to be a "goat" in the Arrangements Law, remains a part of it - and if it is imposed, it will make the entrance to Gush Dan Likra.

Who will win, who will lose, and most importantly: where will the billions go?

Part One: Review of the Finance Plan for Eliminating Traffic Burdens

Good to know (promoted)

Due to the growing demand for effective pain treatment: B-Cure laser in a special operation

To the full article

Piccadilly Circus in London: The congestion charge was imposed on it in 2003.

The difference: an alternative to the private car in the form of efficient public transportation (Photo: ShutterStock)

Israel Katz objected

In Israel, if the Knesset approves the congestion fee section of the Arrangements Law, the maximum payment will be NIS 37.5 per day, assuming that the driver crosses the three rings during rush hour.

This is a significant amount, say opponents of congestion charges. But already today there is a similar payment for the trip on Road 6 - so a driver who goes through four sections back and forth pays about 40 shekels per day, only no one complains about it, perhaps because the road was inaugurated as a toll road, which also has alternatives for those who are willing to extend the road without To be required to pay, which is a little less likely in the case of Ayalon routes for example.

The issue of congestion fees also came to the forefront of former Finance Minister Israel Katz. And then when he served as finance minister.

This, even when his office staff formulated a concrete proposal to impose congestion charges about two years ago.

Unlike Katz, Lieberman does not see the fees as a "cut", but a step designed to change behavior, similar to the taxation of sugary drinks and disposable utensils.

Israel Katz: Strongly opposed the congestion charge when he was Minister of Transportation, and later also Minister of Finance (Photo: Reuven Castro)

Transfers resources from strong populations to weak populations

The Ministry of Finance's travel habits survey shows that 84% of drivers who will have to cross all three rings (and pay the maximum amount of NIS 37.5 per day) belong to the high income deciles - 7 to 10.

Weak populations tend to use public transportation at a higher rate and the proposed tax should be Fully channeled to improve this service. Populations are in the center of the income distribution as well have also benefited from the move, about 50% of those entering the morning Tel Aviv metropolitan area public transportation According to the survey, are associated with income deciles 5-7.

In addition, the congestion tax is expected to increase the accessibility of downtown Tel Aviv, allowing populations More and more remote access to the main employment centers From these data from the Ministry of Finance, the obvious conclusion is that congestion charges transfer resources from strong populations to weaker populations.

And back to Route 6, where the average daily fare on the round trip is higher than the maximum amount of congestion fees offered.

Route 6 as mentioned, has an alternative and is a trip on alternative roads, albeit congested and longer, but free.

Train as an alternative: decades behind most Western countries (Photo: Reuven Castro)

So what is the alternative to a private car?

The alternative to a private car is of course public transport, which despite many attempts to improve it, is still not efficient enough. The Ministry of Finance expects to bring in NIS 1.3 billion a year as a result of collecting congestion fees, of which NIS 600,000 will be invested in the first year in increasing the supply of buses and the rest will be used to finance the metro.

The Treasury's goal is to start a massive investment in public transport even before congestion fees take effect, in March 2024. The Treasury believes the pyramid can be reversed and make people prefer public transportation over private car use, and congestion fees are a major tool in their toolbox.

The plan includes a significant increase in the service offering of public transportation and the establishment of a supportive infrastructure of preference, operation, and parking lots.

Here are some notable articles in the program that came to Walla! Of money:

• Budgeting an additional service in the amount of NIS 600 million from the revenue of the congestion tax in favor of operating about 1,400 new buses. This involves the addition of high-speed lines to Tel Aviv, whose routes will pass through public transportation routes, and depart from cities such as Rehovot, Modi'in, Netanya, Lod and more.

• For the first time, the Ministry of Finance will allocate a budget to be used for bus service additions in the Gush Dan metropolitan area over the next five years. According to the plan, these additions will reach an investment of NIS 2.4 billion per year in 2025. The budget for the plan to raise the level of service will begin as early as next year.

In addition, the finance plan includes investment in a preferred infrastructure for public transportation. This, in order to raise the level of service - save as much as possible the traffic jams for bus passengers and allow a high level of certainty and reliability of the service.

Also in the planning: Completion of the "Fast to the City" project - the construction of a 140 km long public transportation network and a total cost of NIS 3.8 billion, completion of preference routes in the metropolitan corridors - continued budgeting and implementation of the preferred infrastructure on Roads 1, 2, 4, 5, 20, 44, 412, 461, 471, 481, the mother of the colonies (Petah Tikva), a pharmacist and La Guardia (Tel Aviv).

"Hana VeSa" parking lots of the coastal estates.

The Ministry of Finance guarantees the addition of tens of thousands of parking spaces adjacent to efficient public transportation to the center of Gush Dan (Photo: Walla! NEWS system, Ahuzot HaHof)

Tens of thousands of parking spaces, outside the city

In addition, the Ministry of Finance plans to invest in the construction and expansion of parking lots and parking lots, which provide parking spaces on the edge of the metropolis, and transportation service from them to demand destinations (whether by shuttles or public transport). .

solution park & ride provides a solution more flexible service bus and allows driving part in private vehicles. treasury talking about the addition of 40,000 parking spaces in the coming years:

the completion of the expansion of parking benign - 3,800 parking spaces instead of 2000 exist today.

completing a project of lanes the fastest way to No. 20 - Finished

Construction of

Shefayim and Holot parking lots - 10,500 parking spaces

Construction of the highway parking lots of Road No. 5, including the completion of the franchise outline for their construction and operation and the operation of the lane itself - Kesem, Tikva and Morasha - 15,000 parking spaces.

Construction of parking lots, mass transit systems - pilots, and Bilu - 7,600 parking spaces.

Beyond that, the Ministry of Finance plans to improve train services. "A, additional service during peak hours by equipping new carriages and purchasing multi-story trains.

Moving?

A light rail test ride.

It is estimated that the first line will open in about a year and a half (Photo: Reuven Castro)

Decades behind

The plans to improve the array of buses and trains, to add Hana and Saa parking lots seem promising on paper, but it is clear to all that only mass transit systems, such as the metro and light rail, will succeed in lowering the critical mass of congestion on Israeli roads.

Israel is hugely lagging behind in terms of its transportation infrastructure compared to other developed media, and this lag of decades will not be easy to complete. Projects such as the red line of the light rail in Gush Dan, the high-speed line of the train to Jerusalem or the fourth track in Ayalon last about two decades.

Even if the state were to decide tomorrow on the construction of the metro and budget for it, promoting it in a crowded urban environment is a particularly complex task. This is exactly what the Metro Law, which was removed from the Arrangements Law and was supposed to promote in a slower legislative path.

The first line of the light rail, the red line that will be launched in about a year and a half, is expected to serve about 250,000 trips a day in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, and will give the first serious blow in the fight against traffic jams.

The next project in line is the purple and green lines - they are also promoted through NATA and are expected to serve about 125,000 trips a day.

Tomorrow at Walla! Money - the second part of the project: Avi Simhon, who was former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's adviser, responds to the plan Treasury congestion charges.

Share on Facebook
Share on WhatsApp
Share on general
Share on general
Share on Twitter
Share on Email

0 comments

Source: walla

All business articles on 2021-09-23