Eurovision visitors to receive free 'Rav Kav' bus passes

Thousands of pre-loaded Rav Kav public transportation cards will be provided – for free – to tourists visiting Israel for the Eurovision Song Contest and for the official delegations, including the performers and thousands of journalists in Israel to cover the event. Rav Kav Online will pay hundreds of thousands of shekels for loading the cards, according to a report on Globes.

Eurovision Song Contest organizers were also concerned about the issue of public transportation for a number of reasons. On the Saturday on which the final event is held, visitors will be unable to use public transportation (trains or buses) to reach the Expo Tel Aviv (Tel Aviv Fairgrounds) area, because public transportation does not operate on the Sabbath in Israel. This problem has been partially solved with free shuttles that will be operated on several routes by the Tel Aviv municipality.

Organizers were also concerned over the public transportation reform that went into effect last January. Passengers can no longer pay for individual rides on a bus or have the driver load their Rav-Kav cards.

Since a Rav-Kav card must already be loaded when entering a bus, it was feared that tourists would have difficulty in finding a place that sells and loads the cards. Rav-Kav Online resolved the issue by providing loaded Rav-Kav cards for distribution to tourists at Ben Gurion Airport, hotels, Eurovision Village, and Expo Tel Aviv as a starter kit that will include explanations about loading the cards when necessary. Rav-Kav Online will also provide an English-language website and app.

In addition, taxi hailing app Gett will be an official partner of the event and will provide free taxi rides for the delegations traveling to and from the semi-finals, finals and rehearsals.