At Green Prophet, I’ve learned that Tel Aviv’s “old” Central Bus Station has been demolished.
Fortunately, I never found myself inside it; from what I’d heard and read in Haaretz and other places, it was an urban nightmare of the kind with which people like me prefer to be acquainted only via grisly television programs like The Wire.
Unfortunately, I’ve had plenty of experience with Tel Aviv’s “new” Central Bus Station, which is so unpleasant that I’ll do nearly anything not to enter it. The fact of our having had two central bus stations has been quite confusing to many immigrants and tourists, more than a few of whom have called me, desperate and confused, from the new one, wondering how on earth they’d gotten inside the old one.
In response to a commenter, looking at GCT or Penn would be wonderful, but even Giuliani- and Bloomberg-era New York has not managed to create a central bus station that works and is attractive. Port Authority is a monstrosity that, while certainly no worse than Tel Aviv’s new (and I guess now only) central bus station, is hardly better enough for me to think of anything good to say about it. In fact, I think Port Authority’s utter craptastitude accounts for at least 50-75% of the rise of the Chinatown buses, of which many of the new generation are actually operated by Greyhound – ie, they’re Greyhound buses in every way except that they save people the misery of having to enter the Port Authority’s building.
The single worst thing about Tel Aviv’s central bus station is that it’s very difficult to enter directly from the street level and get to where the buses depart, and it’s just as difficult to exit a bus and then get to the street. But after it’s leveled and rebuilt, the problem will remain that a major public building in Israel needs to have very few entrances, all of them tightly controlled, for security reasons. It’s no wonder that I will go way out of my way to travel to and from Tel Aviv using the Arlozorov bus station, which is actually no station at all, but an empty and uncovered space next to the train station.
In the future, Tel Aviv’s central bus station should be rebuilt with the Arlozorov station in mind: linked more closely with the nearby Hagana train station, with utter simplicity, and as few walls and ceilings as possible.
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Port Authority is gross, but in a different way from TA’s “new” bus terminal. Both, however, feature gates on the same level that are not accessible from the same stairs (at PA, it’s downstairs, in TA, it’s upstairs), having led to my utter confusion at one time or another.
Part of the reason why no attention is ever paid to bus stations is because politicians and the general population refuse to admit that bus rapid transit (BRT) is still one of the most, if not the only in most cases, efficient mode of public transportation. High-speed rail continues to be a disaster (check Cato’s publications on Portland’s debacle, as well as the realities of Obama’s proposals), and even NYC’s subway can’t turn a profit. Yet somehow monit sherut drivers in a city with horrible roads and traffic where gas costs twice what it does in the US (i.e., Tel Aviv) are able to turn a profit charging 5 shekels a ride, or whatever it now costs.
Israel dumps how much money into upgrading and re-opening the train from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem? And yet the sherut (or bus, I suppose) ride still costs less and takes half as much time. While Amtrak is more comfortable than a bus, why would I spend $200 when I can have the same ride for $50*? This weekend I took the bus to Atlantic City, for $35 round-trip ($15 when accounting for the $20 cash “casino bonus” you get for walking in the door); it leaves about every half-hour. The train options has two trips on Friday and two on Sunday, and costs at least $60.
The urban elite need to get over their fear of buses. Until they do, no one will care about bus stations.
*I hate the fact that the non-Chinatown buses to and from DC all leave from near Penn Station — which is even worse than Port Authority when it comes to getting into and out of the city.
even NYC’s subway can’t turn a profit.
The subway in New York does undercharge and overserve (eg, by awesomely and expensively running trains all night long). Maybe they could introduce a graduated fare policy: enter the system between 6 am and 10 pm and pay x; enter between 10 pm and 6 am and pay 2x. Don’t change the fee for a monthly pass. It might also help to keep the bums out.
monit sherut drivers in a city with horrible roads and traffic where gas costs twice what it does in the US (i.e., Tel Aviv) are able to turn a profit charging 5 shekels a ride, or whatever it now costs.
The monit sherut system only covers the most profitable bus routes, the routes that are likely to fill a 10-seater van 24 hours a day.
Israel dumps how much money into upgrading and re-opening the train from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem? And yet the sherut (or bus, I suppose) ride still costs less and takes half as much time.
The current train from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem via Beit Shemesh, which uses the Turkish rail and takes twice as long as the sherut, is a money pit and consequently only runs every couple hours (it’s more for tourists than for commuters) – as infrequently as they could possibly justify. When the high speed train is built through Modi’in, they will have the opportunity to price it intelligently and I can imagine a scenario where it actually profits. But before that happens, they’ll need to build a new train station in the center of Jerusalem, because what’s the use in getting from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 20 minutes if you then have to take another hour inside Jerusalem to get where you’re going?
While Amtrak is more comfortable than a bus, why would I spend $200 when I can have the same ride for $50*?
This was true even when I lived in New York and the price differential was smaller (between Amtrak and Greyhound). I used to travel by train only once a year: Thanksgiving break, when my parents would buy me a reserved seat (this was also back in the days of different prices for reserved and unreserved).
The urban elite need to get over their fear of buses. Until they do, no one will care about bus stations.
Buses also suck for a variety of reasons that make me willing to spend more for a train. I have also been known to go way out of my way to take a train instead of a bus. For example: last winter I went from 30th Street Station in Philadelphia to Penn Station via SEPTA rail and then NJTransit rail instead of a bus because I didn’t feel like subjecting myself to the traffic, the jerky bumpiness and carsickness and the inability to get up and walk around / switch seats in response to crying babies or over-perfumed West Indian immigrants.
> The current train from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem via Beit Shemesh, … only runs every couple hours (it’s more for tourists than for commuters)
That said, for Beit Shemesh to Tel Aviv commuters it’s still a pretty good option (if you can live with waiting an hour if you miss one)
> But before that happens, they’ll need to build a new train station in the center of Jerusalem, because what’s the use in getting from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 20 minutes if you then have to take another hour inside Jerusalem to get where you’re going?
That’s why there’s already [the start of] a big hole between the CBS in Jerusalem and Binyanei Ha’uma. The station will be in that hole (despite the obvious security headaches).
That said, for Beit Shemesh to Tel Aviv commuters it’s still a pretty good option (if you can live with waiting an hour if you miss one)
Yes, one of my doctors lives in Efrat and drives to Beit Shemesh to take the train from there to Tel Aviv. The stretch between Tel Aviv and Beit Shemesh really is not that bad at all.
That’s why there’s already [the start of] a big hole between the CBS in Jerusalem and Binyanei Ha’uma. The station will be in that hole (despite the obvious security headaches).
Ah, I think I did know that. I assume the high-speed train will enter Jerusalem from the west instead of from the south. I certainly hope the train and bus stations will be connected without an extra layer of security. It certainly seems more than possible to put something together like the connection between the Hashalom train station and Azrieli mall, for instance.
When I lived in Beit Shemesh, I tried to take the train many times, but it soon became obvious that the bus/sherut was just much easier, as they ran all the time. I remember one time I didn’t realize until after entering the train station that the next train wasn’t for two hours…whoops. I also remember in the winter they dropped the price of the train from Beit Shemesh to Jerusalem to something ridiculous like 5 NIS, but unless you’re going to the mall or a soccer game, what’s the point?
I agree with every single word.
The whole of the new CBS and the area around it should be bulldozed ASAP and turned into a park with trees and squirrels.