Plans for a bus-rapid-transport (BRT) line between Rehovot, Ness Ziona and Rishon Lezion have been unveiled by the Netivei Ayalon transport infrastructures company. The 21 kilometer service along the busy Road 412, currently being planned, is scheduled to begin operations in 2027 and will be similar to the Metronit BRT service in Haifa.
As part of the plan, a one kilometer stretch of the main street in Rehovot (Herzl Street) and a 600 meter section of the main street in Ness Ziona (Weizmann Street) will be closed to cars and accessible only to public transport, bicycles and scooters, and pedestrians. Other bus routes will be allowed along some parts of these roads.
The Rehovot-Ness Ziona-Rishon Lezion BRT electric bus service, originally planned as the Tel Aviv Metropolitan area light rail Blue Line, will have 44 stops and is designed to carry 77,000 passengers per day and 55 million passengers annually. The length of Road 412 will be adapted for the plan, including an electricity network, improved lighting, cycle paths and more trees and generally an enhancement of urban spaces.
According to the plan, the BRT electric buses will run every five minutes in each direction and will receive preference at traffic lights, which will be adjusted to automatically turn green when the buses approach. Journey time from the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot to Rishon Lezion City Hall will be 26 minutes, while it will take 15.5 minutes to travel from Habanim Street in Ness Ziona to the Vulcani Institute at the northern edge of Rishon Lezion.
NIS 2.2 billion will be allocated for the project, with work expected to begin next year.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on April 14, 2022.
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