BoI: Widening roads doesnt lower congestion

Israel continues to widen roads and add new lanes, however site visitors congestion in metropolitan areas will not be easing – and in some instances is even getting worse. A brand new examine by the Financial institution of Israel Analysis Division factors to one of many important causes for this: As highway capability will increase in city areas, extra households select to personal a further car and use automobiles extra.

The examine examined adjustments within the highway community in Israel between 2015 and 2019 utilizing detailed administrative knowledge on some 3.2 million Israelis, together with knowledge on automotive possession, mileage, and spatial knowledge on the highway community in Israel.

The examine delves into the phenomenon of “induced demand” – a state of affairs through which highway growth initially eases site visitors congestion, however on the identical time encourages extra individuals to make use of automobiles or buy automobiles, in order that site visitors jams steadily return.

The evaluation reveals that nearly any further capability on city roads is shortly eaten up by elevated automotive use. Based on the examine, increasing the capability of the highway community by 10% in city areas results in a rise of about 7.5% within the complete variety of journeys in these areas. The impact is especially pronounced within the metropolitan facilities of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and Beersheva, the place the extra roads are more likely to nearly fully neutralize the optimistic impact of increasing the infrastructure on lowering congestion.

Whereas in city areas, increasing highway capability was accompanied by a rise in journeys, in non-urban areas the impact was a lot smaller – solely about 1.2%.

Problem maintaining with enhance in demand for automobiles

One of many key findings of the examine issues the mechanism that produces the rise in mileage. Opposite to the widespread assumption that drivers merely drive extra when roads are widened, the Financial institution of Israel discovered that many of the change comes from buying choices by households. Based on the examine, the rise in mileage stems primarily from a rise within the variety of automobiles owned by households, and never from a serious enhance within the quantity of use by current automotive house owners.

The group that stood out within the examine is younger households with low to medium revenue ranges (revenue of NIS 5,000-7,500 per grownup) who select to buy a second automotive following improved highway accessibility.

Based on the examine, this sample is especially vital in Israel, the place the speed of automotive possession remains to be low relative to different international locations with an analogous revenue degree, alongside an exceptionally excessive inhabitants progress price. The that means, in line with the researchers, is that the potential for progress within the variety of automobiles in Israel remains to be removed from being exhausted – and due to this fact highway growth alone has problem maintaining with the speed of enhance in demand for automotive journey.

Revealed by Globes, Israel enterprise information – en.globes.co.il – on Might 12, 2026.