In a rare display of cross-party cooperation, the Knesset plenum approved the ridesharing bills sponsored by Member of Knesset Eitan Ginzburg and Member of Knesset Moshe Passal on Wednesday in a preliminary reading (the initial stage of the legislative process). The legislation aims to open the Israeli transportation market to competition and authorize paid Uber-like services, aligning Israel with norms prevalent in most Western cities.
The reading – which passed with a large majority – represents a joint maneuver by lawmakers from both the Opposition and the Coalition and received full backing from the Ministry of Transportation and Road Safety and the Ministry of Finance.
The legislation seeks to amend the traffic code and establish clear regulations for shared rides, including threshold requirements for drivers, insurance mandates, and price transparency. Simultaneously, the law proposes a "reimbursement fund" mechanism to compensate veteran taxi drivers, ensuring that the new competition remains fair and does not erode their prior investments.
"The fact that the law passed unanimously sends a clear message: The time for Uber has arrived," MK Ginzburg said following the vote. "The law will open the travel market to competition and will improve the lives of Israelis, exactly as happened in Europe, in the US, and in the entire Western world. In order to make a real change political courage is needed. We will not be deterred by pressures and we will continue to move forward with the bill until its final passage, with great responsibility and while considering all the factors affected by the legislative process."
MK Passal welcomed the development. "We advanced today another important step on the way to shared transportation in Israel," Passal said. "My bill will open the travel market to competition, will lower prices, will improve the service to citizens and will reduce the number of private vehicles on the road, all this while keeping taxi drivers and providing fair compensation, so that no one will be hurt by the move."
