Traffic congestion on Israeli roads: faulty public policy or preordained?

The consistent and continuous rise in traffic congestion on Israeli roads in recent years has been occupying a major place in local media and politics. This article shows that Israel’s transportation policy lacks coherence. While the government has been allocating increasing funds in recent years to developing a public transportation infrastructure, it has also committed enormous sums to developing road infrastructure, higher than those devoted to public transportation. In addition, the share of taxation from motor vehicles has grown substantially, reinforcing the government’s incentive to sustain the increase in the number of vehicles. Hence, it is arguable that Israel’s high traffic congestion is not preordained but rather stems from faulty public policy based on the short-term perspective and political and personal interests of policy makers.