Uber, Lyft, and other shared-ride apps are one step closer to coming to Israel after the Knesset’s Ministerial Committee on Legislative Affairs approved a bill on Sunday that would allow these companies to operate.
The project, presented by MKs Moshe Passal (Likud) and Eitan Ginzburg (Blue and White), aims to “open the Israeli transportation market to competition and allow the operation of ride-sharing apps.”
Pushed by MKs from both the coalition and the opposition, the bill's authors assure that it’s a step towards solving the transportation crisis and lowering the cost of living by introducing these new options.
The government supported this bill, which is scheduled to be discussed in the Knesset Plenum on Wednesday, with Transportation Minister Miri Regev and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich both pushing for the legislation’s approval.
“Israeli citizens have been paying exorbitant prices for travel for too long and are suffering from a severe shortage of taxis, while the rest of the world already enjoys advanced, affordable, and convenient shared transportation,” said Ginzburg.
“It's time to open the market to competition, lower the cost of living, and finally allow ride-sharing, which is a real Israeli need," he added.
“This new law is a historic step that will dismantle outdated monopolies, create thousands of new jobs, and open the market to real competition for the benefit of the public," said Regev.
Taxi drivers oppose Uber bill
The main opposition to this bill came from the taxi drivers' sector, which argued that the lax regulations for ride-sharing apps would pose a danger to both passengers' and drivers' safety.
The second argument against the bill centers on illegal drivers who operate without required licenses and would be legalized if the bill were approved in the Knesset plenum.
In addition, another argument against the bill was centered around the high-tech and defense sectors, saying that employees from these types of companies usually receive a car from the company to move around, and family members could use it for ride-sharing without baring the cost of vehicle maintenance and fuel (something that is provided by the company that issues the vehicle in most cases).
The bill aims to resolve this dispute by allowing taxi drivers to receive a refund for their professional licences, which will be funded by the tips drivers receive from ride-sharing apps.
However, MK Ginsburg emphasized that, "In many countries around the world, licensed taxis continue to operate alongside healthy competition, and some are even registered with ride-sharing apps, thus enjoying the ‘best of both worlds,’ something I would like to allow in Israel as well, which would not require waiving licenses."
According to the Israeli economy site Calcalist, Uber has not yet committed to operating in Israel. The company used to operate in Israel but never managed to gain legislative approval, with Defense Minister Israel Katz, then Transport Minister, allowing Uber to operate solely as a taxi-hailing service, barring private drivers from the platform.
Udi Etsion contributed to this report.