The signage with the new parking prices in Tel Aviv. They will come into effect in the coming weeks (Photo: Tel Aviv Municipality)
"Doubling the price of parking in Tel Aviv for non-residents is unreasonable, and must be canceled," announced today the Chairman of the Economy Committee, MK David Bitan (Likud) in a discussion dealing with the cancellation of the supervision of the maximum parking price in the local authorities.
A move that resulted in the Tel Aviv Municipality raising the price of parking in Blue and White for those who do not live in the city from NIS 6.70 to NIS 12 per hour. The
move is intended to allow municipalities to charge higher prices in areas of demand, as is done in private parking lots, and thus encourage those who come to Tel Aviv from cities Others make the journey by public transport, train or bus.
In the coming months, the first light rail line will also start operating in the city, partially underground, which will allow the residents of Petah Tikva, Bnei Brak and Bat Yam to enter it through it.
The head of the Department of Planning and Development and Infrastructure at the Ministry of Transportation, Shai Kedem, who this week was dismissed by Miri Regev and will soon end his position despite the great professional appreciation he has accumulated, said that the intention was to manage demand and allow the authorities to set a rate that would reflect the cost of the resource.
Kedem also said that, unfortunately, the provision that states that the difference between the cost of parking for a resident and the cost for a non-resident will not exceed 30% will only come into effect in 2025.
The director of the Traffic and Parking Authority in the Tel Aviv Municipality, Ofir Cohen, said that the city has 340,000 parking spaces, which is not enough to meet demand.
According to him, the parking crisis will not be solved by adding more parking spaces, but by charging a realistic price.
Chairman Bitan and MK Shalom Danino (Likud) asked why the price was doubled, and Chairman Bitan added that there is no reason for it. Cohen replied that the expected revenue from the rate increase is less than 0.3% of the municipality's budget and repeated that the idea was to regulate demand. He added that the price of parking in the public parking lots will not increase.
A Walla test revealed that even after the increase, the price of parking in Tel Aviv will be significantly lower than in other major cities in the world, such as London, which charges 22-44 shekels per hour, or in Tokyo, the world record with 81 shekels per hour. Chairman Bitan requested a reference from the municipality within two
weeks to the demand to lower the price, and said that if the municipality does not do it itself, the committee will initiate a bill on the matter.
According to Chairman Bitan, this is not a threat, but a step of having no choice because the doubling is inappropriate. He added that he intends to also allow the Ministers of Transport and the Interior to review such decisions in the future, review them and ask for explanations from the authorities. MK Ahmed Tibi (Ta'al) added Because this is a new tax, while Tel Aviv is the most established city in the country and can afford not to raise the price.
Tel Aviv Municipality representative Cohen promised to respond to the committee in accordance with Chairman Bitan's request. Transport Ministry representative Kedem said: "In the end, we need to understand that we need to create a balance,
Even before the opening of the red line of the light rail, Tel Aviv was the city with the best public transportation in Israel (photo: Walla! system, NTA)
The director of the Traffic and Parking Authority in the Tel Aviv Municipality, Ofir Cohen, said that the city has 340,000 parking spaces, which is not enough to meet demand.
According to him, the parking crisis will not be solved by adding more parking spaces, but by charging a realistic price.
Chairman Bitan and MK Shalom Danino (Likud) asked why the price was doubled, and Chairman Bitan added that there is no reason for it. Cohen replied that the expected revenue from the rate increase is less than 0.3% of the municipality's budget and repeated that the idea was to regulate demand. He added that the price of parking in the public parking lots will not increase.
Chairman Bitan requested the municipality's response within two weeks to the demand to lower the price, and said that if the municipality does not do so on its own, the committee will initiate a bill on the matter. According to Chairman Bitan, this is not a threat, but a step of having no choice because the doubling is inappropriate.
He added that he intends to also allow the Ministers of Transport and the Interior to review such decisions in the future, review them and request explanations from the authorities.
MK Ahmed Tibi (Ta'al) added that this is a new tax, while Tel Aviv is the most established city in the country and can afford not to raise the price.
Tel Aviv Municipality representative Cohen promised to respond to the committee in accordance with Chairman Bitan's request.
The representative of the Ministry of Transportation Kedem said: "In the end we have to understand that we need to create a balance, maybe what happened here is a departure from balance and we will look into how to handle it."
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