Most Israelis would tell you they did not need the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) to realize Israeli roadways are the most congested among OECD nations.

One the one hand, over 160,000 new vehicles have hit the nation’s roads from the beginning of the year until the end of June while Israel’s public transportation continues to lag behind.

According to the report that refers to 2014, Israel has the most congested roads of developed nations, more than 2,500 vehicles for each kilometer of roadway. Israel is followed by Luxemburg, Spain, and the United States.

The nations with the most open roadways are led Estonia, followed by Hungary and then Turkey. It is reported in Estonia; one can ride public transportation free of charge.

The OECD report flatters Israel’s green taxation policy, reporting the tax on vehicles with low fuel emissions is 20% and on high emission vehicles the tax jumps to 83%. The report adds that 83% of vehicle sold in Israel in 2014 were classified as low emission vehicles as opposed to only 19% in 2009.

The Ministries of Finance and Transportation foresaw the problem back in 2012, and developed a NIS billion program to develop Israel’s public transportation.

That report states the continued development of public transportation at the current pace would result in a major failure as the nation’s roadway infrastructure is not capable of handling the load and this would lead to 850 million wasted man-hours annually and an estimated loss of output of about NIS 25 billion.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)