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Parking rules and regulations in Israel.
Avoid a fine and don't get towed! Brush up on parking rules and regulations in Israel.
Hebrew - חוקי חנייה בישראל
You've made Aliyah, finally bought a car and now you're read to hit the road. As a foreign tourist there are some road markings and road signs that you may not be familiar with. Our guide will help you learn the parking rules and regulations in Israel.
Sidewalk markings
Sidewalks are marked with a series of blue and white, red and white or yellow and red markings. This is what they mean
No sidewalk markings - free parking
Blue and white stripes - paid parking
Red and white stripes - parking is prohibited
Red and yellow stripes - designates a bus stop or place reserved for public transport
Identify road markings for the disabled
A wheelchair painted on the road, indicates a parking designated and reserved for the disabled.
If you have applied for a disabled parking permit, once the application has been approved, you will receive a sticker which is affixed to the front windscreen of the registered vehicle. Israel strictly enforces the disabled parking regulation and if your vehicle does not display the permit, you will be given a hefty fine and your vehicle may even be towed.
In January 2018, a new point system for traffic violations was introduced, see here.
Paid parking options
In some areas in the designated blue and white parking area, parking vending machines are posted along the street. The machines accept 10 agorot coins, 50 agorot coins (half a shekel), one shekel coins, two and five shekel coins. You can purchase up to 2 hours of parking at a time.
In some towns you may find a central parking machine which accepts coins and prints out parking stickers for a specific length of time.
These parking machines are slowly being phased out to be replaced by the various parking apps on your smartphone.
Prepaid parking options
Easy Park is a national electronic parking card. This yellow plastic, prepaid parking device can be bought at the post office. Once activated, you set the device for a specified amount of time or alternately, to run for an indefinite amount of time until you return to your vehicle. When you have used up all your prepaid parking time, you can refill the device via their website, from the comfort of your own home or at the post office.
Best parking apps for Israel
Payment for parking via mobile phone via Cell-o-Park. Available for iPhone and Android
You can also pay for street parking through your smartphone using the Pango app.
Free parking options
In order to provide the residents of a city with free parking, the city is divided into various parking zones. There is an official parking permit, a sticker, which must be affixed to your front windscreen. Residents of a zone can park in any blue and white area, within the zone limits, free of charge. Non-residents have to pay for parking between 9:00am and 5:00pm.
Parking from 5:00pm until 9:00am, in a blue and white area, is free. In some cities only residents may park in the blue and white area from 5;00pm until 9:00am for free. Check with your local municipality or regional council.
Some shopping centers mostly offer free parking while others may only offer the first hour for free.
The parking shortage
Most families, in Israel, these days own at least one car. With this a serious parking problem has developed in all the major cities and centers across the country. There is a serious parking shortage in Tel Aviv.
Parking lots and parking garages
There are private parking lots and parking garages in the central business districts of cities and towns. You could pay between 10 and 20 shekels per hour in these garages - more than double the municipal rate. Hospital parking grounds are notoriously expensive.
Some parking garages (often those in commercial buildings) require payment at a booth near the entrance of the building. It is often possible to pay these with credit cards or cash and the vending machines have English options.
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Parking violations, tickets and fines
If you should get a parking ticket, it will be left under the front windshield wiper of your vehicle. The violation will be registered under the vehicle registration number. If your vehicle is rented, the rental company will charge your credit card upon receipt of the fine. A copy of the fine will also be sent to the address registered by the owner of the vehicle.
Should you get a parking fine, there are 3 options:
- Pay it by the specified date
- Request a court date/hearing to present your defense
- Write a letter and request that the fine be squashed. Of course you need to provide credible proof and a valid reason for the request.
The parking fine should be paid within 90 days and no later than the date specified on the fine. Failing to pay a fine on time will result in additional charges. To help you out, we've translated the parking fine from Hebrew to English.
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