Gov’t to Pay Truck Drivers NIS 1,000/Month to Stay Out of Town

As part of its efforts to reduce traffic in cities, the state will pay truck drivers as much as NIS 12,000 a year to stay out of city centers during high-traffic periods. The plan is set to go into effect in the coming days.

The plan is the opposite of a “congestion tax” that has been imposed in many cities, in which vehicles, and especially trucks, are assessed for entering city centers during certain hours. The Netivei Ayalon company, which won a tender to institute programs to reduce traffic in city centers, decided that a “reward” program would work better for Israeli truck drivers. Under the plan, drivers who remain outside city centers during high-traffic periods will be able to garner points that can be cashed in for financial rewards. Data on compliance with the program will be gathered by technological systems, the company said.

A pilot program will include 1,000 trucks, and the hope is that the plan will be expanded, to include as many as 40,000 trucks, the company said. If the program is a success, it could be widely expanded by the beginning of 2021, Netivei Ayalon said.