Electra-Afikim

Electra-Afikim
	Mercedes OC500 bodied Man Barak 21 at the Ariel bus terminal
Founded	2008
Service area	Gush Dan; Rosh HaAyin; Sharon plain; Samaria
Service type	bus service
Routes	31 (January 2014)
Annual ridership	53,600,000

Electra-Afikim (Hebrew: אלקטרה-אפיקים, lit. routes), known also as Afikim, is an Israel bus company that operates on routes connecting the Gush Dan and Sharon plain regions with the western Samaria region of the West Bank, as well as lines in Ashdod, Yavne, Rosh HaAyin and other locations.

History

The company was founded in 2008 and is part of Sela Holdings. It began operating on September 1, 2009.

2010s

In March 2013, the company began operating 'Palestinian only' buses and bus lines for Palestinian workers commuting from the West Bank to jobs in Israel, following complaints from Jewish settlers.^[2]

Afikim also purchased Connex's activity in Israel in 2013, significantly expanding its operations, and as of November 2014, operated about 145 routes and a fleet of 350 buses, with plans to purchase a further 200 for the Ashdod–Yavne–Tel Aviv sector.^[3] In 2015, Afikim won the tender for cluster of Petah Tikva and Rosh HaAyin which includes all intracity service in Petah Tikva and Rosh HaAyin.

On May 6, 2016, Afikim started to operate the intracity and intercity services in Rosh HaAyin and line 47 from Giv'at Shmuel to Petah Tikva. On February 13, 2017, Afikim started to operate line 485 from Jerusalem to Ben Gurion Airport.

2020s

In 2021, Electra-Afikim acquired Egged Ta'avura.^[4] Since, it has merged the operations and branding of Ta'avura into Electra-Afikim.^[4] Electra-Afikim keeps the Ta'avura company active for as long as it has contracts with the Israeli government.

Ridership by sector

In 2017, each sector had the following annual ridership:^[1]

Sector	Ridership (in millions)
Petah Tikva and Rosh HaAyin internal	21
Ashdod internal	15
Ashdod – Yavne – Tel Aviv	10
Samaria	5
Jerusalem – Bnei Brak	3

References

^ ^a ^b תכנית תחרות ענף התחבורה הציבורית באוטובוסים 2030-2018 שנים [Competition Plan for Bus Public Transportation for Years 2018–2030] (PDF) (Report) (in Hebrew). Israel Ministry of Transport. June 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
^ Levinson, Chaim (3 March 2013). "Israel Introduces 'Palestinian Only' Bus Lines, Following Complaints From Jewish Settlers". Haaretz. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
^ "Afikim Won Ashdod–Yanve–Rehovot Route Tender". News1 (in Hebrew). October 30, 2014. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
^ ^a ^b "במסלול של הגדולים: אלקטרה-אפיקים רוכשת את אגד-תעבורה, כמה זה יעלה לה?" (in Hebrew). Ice. 6 May 2021.

[mot-plan-1] תכנית תחרות ענף התחבורה הציבורית באוטובוסים 2030-2018 שנים [Competition Plan for Bus Public Transportation for Years 2018–2030] (PDF) (Report) (in Hebrew). Israel Ministry of Transport. June 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2018.

[2] Levinson, Chaim (3 March 2013). "Israel Introduces 'Palestinian Only' Bus Lines, Following Complaints From Jewish Settlers". Haaretz. Retrieved 13 September 2021.

[news1-3] "Afikim Won Ashdod–Yanve–Rehovot Route Tender". News1 (in Hebrew). October 30, 2014. Retrieved November 1, 2014.

[taavura-4] "במסלול של הגדולים: אלקטרה-אפיקים רוכשת את אגד-תעבורה, כמה זה יעלה לה?" (in Hebrew). Ice. 6 May 2021.

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