Taxis
| English | pronunciation | Hebrew |
|---|---|---|
| Taxi | Monit | מונית |
| Shared taxi | Monit Sherut | מונית שירות |
| Regular Taxi | Monit Speyshel | מונית ספיישל |
| Meter | Moneh | מונה |
Taxis are very common in Israel. It is always cheaper to use a shared taxi and faster to use a special taxi.
See also In Airport - getting to Haifa.
Shared Taxi (Monit Sherut)
Similar to buses, the shared taxis known as "Monit Sherut" or "service taxi", generally follow major bus routes but can be hailed from anywhere.
They are usually somewhat cheaper and somewhat quicker than buses, their operation hours may be longer - and maybe most importantly, in many cases the service runs 7 days a week, including on Sabbath.
For inter-city lines, if a driver is at a station he may wait until he has a full load of passengers before leaving.
The Shared taxi is one of the best means of transport to and from the Ben Gurion Airport (other than the trains). The Shared taxis are supposed to leave the airport at least once every hour. However - once a Sherut is full, it will leave the station and another will arrive in its place - therefore unless the Sherut already has a load of passengers, you might be in for a wait before you leave, so Look for an almost full Sherut.
The Sherut may take attendees to a location close to the venue - request the driver to take you to the Carmel Center.
- A shared taxi to Haifa costs about 70 shekels ($20)
When leaving Haifa, the Sherut taxis leave to the airport from HaChalutz Street, and the corner of HaNeviIm Street (near HaneviIm Carmelit station).
Regular Taxi ("Special Taxi")
Taxis are very commonly used in Israel.
Unlike the shared taxi (Sherut - see above), the regular Israel taxi is called "special taxi" (using the English words).
The driver should use the meter both inside and outside cities (in Hebrew, "moneh"), unless the passenger agrees to a prefix price (however agreeing to turn off the meter is almost universally in the driver's favor - unless driving between cities when the approved fixed rate is used).
There are surcharges:
- For calling a taxi in advance - as opposed to hailing one in the street (3.50 shekels - 1$),
- For each piece of large luggage (about 3 shekels a piece) - this usually does not include regular (school size) backpacks and hand bags.
- For hailing a taxi at Ben Gurion airport (5 shekels).
Drivers are known to try to cheat tourists by not turning on the meter to begin with and then fighting about the cost at the end of the ride.
It is best to specify that you absolutely require the 'moneh' to be activated before you leave unless you know how much the trip should cost, in which case you can make a deal.
However, if you are caught off guard some drivers will become extremely rude or even violent if you refuse to pay despite the meter never having been switched on - make sure it is always on in advance.
It is recommended to use Sherut or train service to get from Ben Gurion airport to almost any city in Israel, and not taxis. In rides to Tel Aviv, train is the cheapest and Special taxi costs about 100 shekels at day and 150 shekels at night.
A special taxi to Haifa would cost 450 shekels during the day, and 550 shekels during the night.