Can I use contactless or card to pay for public transport in Israel?

I loved how modern Israel’s transport felt. On my last trip, I tapped my Mastercard directly on an Egged bus in Haifa, and it went through instantly. In Jerusalem, the Rav-Kav was simple to use on the light rail. ATMs from Bank Hapoalim gave me shekels easily, and I barely needed cash. Only the sherut minivans stuck to cash. If you stay in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, you can almost go cashless.

The system worked fine with Rav-Kav, but I was frustrated with how many exceptions there were. I topped up at a kiosk near Tel Aviv Central Bus Station, but then tried to use a sherut van to Herzliya, and the driver waved off my card, demanding cash only. I had to sprint to a Hapoalim ATM for shekels. If everything took Rav-Kav or contactless, it would be perfect, but tourists still need to juggle both cash and card.

I lived in Tel Aviv near Dizengoff Street and used the bus to Jaffa almost daily. My Rav-Kav card, which I topped up at a Super-Pharm in Allenby with my Visa, worked perfectly. On the light rail in Jerusalem, it was also accepted. The one tricky part was the sherut minibus from Tel Aviv to Ben Gurion Airport - the driver insisted on cash in shekels only, no Rav-Kav, no cards. Luckily, I withdrew cash from a Bank Leumi ATM near Carmel Market the day before.

In Israel, buses and the light rail in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv all run on the Rav-Kav card. You load it with shekels at kiosks, Super-Pharm branches, or even online with a credit card. Contactless Visa and Mastercard now work on Dan and Egged buses too, but Rav-Kav is still more reliable. Small sherut minibuses are cash-only. ATMs from Bank Hapoalim and Leumi are everywhere in city centres. I’d recommend having some shekels in cash for sheruts and topping up Rav-Kav for everything else.