Palestine - Transport

Transport in Palestine works very, very well.

From the Tel Aviv airport to Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem, there are pleasant shared taxis to deliver people anywhere in those cities, for only 50 INS ($12) to Jerusalem, for example. There are many taxis, there is a train going up and down the Israeli coast, including right to the airport, and there are many buses and a metro. It's also fairly easy and safe to get a ride with private cars. At same places, like the Israeli side of the Jalame checkpoint, there are no marked taxis, but it's easy to ask the others coming through what the price to the Afula central bus station should be, and then bargain with the waiting drivers. For long distances, it's best to take an express bus that doesn't make every stop. Transport in Israel is always fairly cheap, but obviously the more personal the service, the more expensive. (A ticket for 2 bus rides within Haifa costs $1.5, while a ticket for the 40-minute ride from Afula to Haifa costs about $5.)

In the West Bank, there are taxis and shared taxis (servis) for going between cities, and these taxis are about half the cars on the road. It's fine to share a normal taxi with strangers, or to take it to another city, but the shared taxi provides a discount, a true West Bank experience and friends who will be sure to make sure a guest pays the same fare as others and arrives at his destination in the city. At the central taxi station, any driver can find which taxi is going where, and the driver of a taxi going to a city will call the name of that city before he leaves, unless he has waited until the taxi is full, which is also common. At some point in the early evening, the last shared taxi for another city has departed, so it's best not to wait too late. There are checkpoints, like Hawara south of Nablus, where only pedestrians are allowed through so one must get out of the taxi and take another taxi on the other side. (In the misty night, with the metal gates and lights shining, it really feels like something out of the Cold War, perhaps Berlin in 1988.)

Using these methods, it takes a little more than an hour, door to door, from somewhere in Ramallah to somewhere in Nablus, if everything goes fine. It's the same from Jerusalem to Ramallah, and from Nablus to Jenin, and little faster from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. The other direction can take longer, because the checkpoints generally allow more free travel deeper into the West Bank, but generally stop all cars in the outward direction towards Jerusalem, even at internal checkpoints deep within in the West Bank.

Taxis within a city cost very little, about $2 for a trip. Shared taxis between cities cost about $5 or $10 for an hour ride.

Taxis are mostly medium-size Škoda, Volkswagen or Mercedes-Benz. The shared taxis are mostly Volkswagen vans (not the old ones but T4 and T5). Some of the old shared taxis are stretched Mercedes-Benz saloons, supposedly illegal.

Cars can be rented in the West Bank for not less than $50 per day, so it really only makes sense in certain cases.

Private cars in the West Bank come in all varieties, from the old Fiats to the newest BMWs. Some cities, especially Nablus it seems, are preserving a wealth of old Volkswagens, especially the rare T3 pickups with a double cabin - they are amazingly common! The variety is actually greater than perhaps anywhere else on earth, including the brands mentioned above but also Mazda, Hyundai, Kia, Toyota, Honda, Opel, Peugeot, Renault, and Fiat,and occasionally a Pontiac or other American car. The newer cars tend to be German, Japanese and Czech, while the older cars are German, French, Italian and occasionally American.

There are a few buses in the West Bank, mostly for schools. There are motorcycles and scooters in the West Bank, but not very many by Mediterranean standards - fewer than in Israel and far fewer than in Italy.

Bicycles for adults are not very common in the West Bank, because of the many hills and cheap taxis, but a bicycle tour of the West Bank is definitely possible, because the country is very small and the weather is nice. Though the roads seem unsafe, drivers never drive very fast and are accustomed to passing pedestrians walking, so a bicycle should not be any different.