Superbus ( he, סופרבוס) is an Israeli bus company, which provides

intercity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...

and

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

service in

Afula Afula ( he, עפולה Arabic: العفولة) is a city in the Northern District of Israel, often known as the "Capital of the Valley" due to its strategic location in the Jezreel Valley. As of , the city had a population of . Afula's ancient ...

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Fo ...

, Yokneam and

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

About

The company is equally owned by companies like the Limited and Auto Iris Travelers Yeruham Limited.

Bus Fleet

The company owns 2000 buses and employs about 2500 employees in three branches – Afula, Yokneam

. The company owns three parking garages – two garages and service offices in the

Tel Aviv Central Bus Station Tel Aviv central bus station, also known as the new central bus station (התחנה המרכזית החדשה, HaTahana HaMerkazit HaHadasha), is the main bus station of Tel Aviv, Israel. Located in the south of the city, it was opened on Augu ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, one in

and one at the Jerusalem Central Bus Station. The company also operates special trips to Jerusalem employing about 20 drivers who operate 16 minibuses and 4 full-size buses. In addition, the company also operates specialty lines to transport students.

Superbus Formation

Superbus was formed in 2000, to participate in auctions for the privatization of public transportation in Israel's whose goal was to lower prices and break the monopolies of the

Egged Bus Cooperative , logo = Egged logo.svg , logo_size = 150px , image = Egged bug in Afula 01.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = , company_slogan = , parent = Self-owned 1,500 members 6,500 employees , foun ...

, and the

Dan Bus Company Dan Bus Company ( he, דן חברה לתחבורה ציבורית) is an Israeli bus company based in Tel Aviv. It operates local bus service in the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area (Gush Dan) as well as some intercity bus services between the Gush Dan ...

. In 2001 the company was awarded a tender to operate the

Ramla Ramla or Ramle ( he, רַמְלָה, ''Ramlā''; ar, الرملة, ''ar-Ramleh'') is a city in the Central District of Israel. Today, Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with both a significant Jewish and Arab populations. The city was f ...

– Lod and

Matityahu Mattathias ben Johanan ( he, מַתִּתְיָהוּ הַכֹּהֵן בֶּן יוֹחָנָן, ''Mattīṯyāhū haKōhēn ben Yōḥānān''; died 166–165 BCE) was a Kohen (Jewish priest) who helped spark the Maccabean Revolt against t ...

transportation clusters, replacing Egged on 6 May 2002.

Smart Card Payments

All Superbus services accept the Rav-Kav smart card as payment, which operates on the rest of public transportation in Israel, beginning with the Beit Shemesh and Jerusalem corridor lines from 2008, and the Ramla–Lod–Matityahu from 2011.

Contract Tenders

In 2007 it was published that Superbus won a tender to operate public transportation in

Bet Shemesh Beit Shemesh ( he, בֵּית שֶׁמֶשׁ ) is a city located approximately west of Jerusalem in Israel's Jerusalem District, with a population of in . History Tel Beit Shemesh The small archaeological tell northeast of the modern city wa ...

and the Jerusalem corridor in spite of its low quality of service, and the large number of complaints filed by passengers against the company. A lawsuit was filed by Connex and by

Illit Illit Transport Ltd. ( he, עילית קווי תחבורה בע"מ) was an Israeli bus company that operated in Beitar Illit. Illit was merged into Kavim in 2011, but Illit is still used as a brand for the Beitar Illit routes. According to its ...

, after which a final decision was taken in favor of Superbus. The company began operating these lines in January 2009. In early 2009 the company began operating lines in Beit Shemesh and the Jerusalem corridor. Since the summer of 2011 the company began to operate a night line. In 2013, Superbus lost the Ramla–Lod–Matityahu tender to the rival

Kavim Kavim () is an Israeli bus company based in Holon. It was founded in 2000 and provided lines in the eastern Gush Dan region - the towns/cities Kiryat Ono, Petah Tikva, Or Yehuda, Givatayim and others. In February 2005, Kavim expanded to the north, ...

bus company, and the Beit Shemesh tender in 2017. In 2019 Superbus lost the Jerusalem corridor tender to Afikim, which will take over November 1. In March 2014, Superbus won the tender for cluster the valleys which includes the cities:

Migdal Haemek Migdal HaEmek ( he, מִגְדַּל הָעֶמֶק, lit. ''Tower of the Valley'', also officially spelt Migdal HaEmeq, ar, مجدال هعيمق) is a city in the Northern District of Israel. In it had a population of . There is a tower to ...

Beit Shean Beit She'an ( he, בֵּית שְׁאָן '), also Beth-shean, formerly Beisan ( ar, بيسان ), is a town in the Northern District of Israel. The town lies at the Beit She'an Valley about 120 m (394 feet) below sea level. Beit She'an is be ...

Yokneam Illit Yokneam Illit ( he, יָקְנְעָם עילית), also ''Yoqne'am Illit'' and ''Jokneam Illit'', is a city in northern Israel. It is located in a hilly region of the lower Galilee at the base of the Carmel Mountains, and overlooks the Jezreel Va ...

Kiryat Tivon Kiryat Tiv'on ( he, קִרְיַת טִבְעוֹן, also Qiryat Tiv'on) is a town in the Haifa District of Israel, in the hills between the Zvulun (Zebulon) and Jezreel valleys. Kiryat Tiv'on is situated southeast of Haifa, on the main road to ...

Daliyat al-Karmel Daliyat el-Karmel ( ar, دَالِيَةِ ٱلْكَرْمِل, he, דַלְיַת אֶל-כַּרְמֶל, "vineyards ( دالية) of Carmel") is a Druze town located on Mount Carmel in the Haifa District of Israel, around 20 km southeast ...

Isfiya Isfiya ( ar, عسفيا, he, עִסְפִיָא), also known as Ussefiya or Usifiyeh, is a Druze-majority town and Local council (Israel), local council in northern Israel. Located on Mount Carmel, it is part of Haifa District. In its population ...

and

. Superbus began first in the Yokneam area in December 2014, then in

in March 2015, and in

in July 2015. Superbus began operating the

Metronit The Metronit ( he, מטרונית Arabic: مترونيت), also spelled Matronit, is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Haifa, Israel. One Metronit line, the Red Line, operates during the weekend, or Sabbath, i.e. on Friday and Saturday, which i ...

in Haifa on October 15, 2021.

Criticism

Involvement in Israeli settlements

On 12 February 2020, the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

published a

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases sp ...

of companies doing business related in the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

, including

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the sector of Jerusalem that was held by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to the western sector of the city, West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Jerusalem was envisaged as a separat ...

, as well as in the occupied

Golan Heights The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...

. Superbus was listed on the database on account of its activities in

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...

s in these occupied territories, which are considered illegal under international law.

References

External links

Official Website
Bus companies of Israel {{bus-company-stub