Givat Shmuel has no train or light-rail station of its own, but it sits between Route 4, Jabotinsky Road and Bar-Ilan, so buses go almost everywhere. The stop-by-stop lines are on the Getting around page; this guide is the overview.
Paying and planning
- Rav-Kav is the national smart card for buses and the light rail; you can also pay with the official payment apps.
- Moovit gives live times and routes (JLIC recommends it to newcomers), and the Ministry of Transport's bus.gov.il has official timetables and fares. The national public transport information line is *8787.
Buses
- Dan 17, 32 and 160 run to Tel Aviv; 32 goes through Bar-Ilan.
- Electra Afikim 30, 30A and 47 link the city with Bar-Ilan's south side, Rosh HaAyin and Petah Tikva.
- Metropoline 7, 8, 8A and 69 go to Sheba Medical Center; 18 and 69 go to Ayalon Mall.
- Intercity: buses to Jerusalem (lines 400, 401, 402, 404, 409, 411, 416, 422), Beit Shemesh, Modiin Illit, Elad and Ashdod stop on Route 4 at the Givat Shmuel interchange and the pedestrian bridge. JLIC calls the interchange the hub for intercity buses.
Light rail
The Red Line has no stop inside the city. The nearest are Shenkar, Shaham and Beilinson on Jabotinsky Road in Petah Tikva and Aharonovich in Bnei Brak. It runs Sun-Thu from about 05:00 to 00:30, stops before Shabbat on Friday and restarts on Saturday night; a single fare is 8 NIS (Red Line (opens in a new tab)).
The Purple Line, under construction, will connect central Tel Aviv with Yehud and Givat Shmuel; Wikipedia says it is expected to open in 2028 (Purple Line (opens in a new tab)). I found no official date, so don't plan around it.
Trains
The two nearest Israel Railways stations are on the same line and are served by the same trains:
- Bnei Brak station, by Ayalon Mall, about 3.3 km from the city centre.
- Petah Tikva Kiryat Arye, about 3.4 km away, next to the Red Line's Kiryat Arye stop.
In the official timetable for an ordinary weekday (Wednesday 7 October 2026) each had about 55 trains a day heading south via Tel Aviv (University, Savidor Center, HaShalom, HaHagana) to Rishon LeZion, Ashdod, Ashkelon and Be'er Sheva, and about 53 heading north via Segula, Kfar Saba, Hod HaSharon and Ra'anana to Herzliya (Ministry of Transport GTFS via Open Bus (opens in a new tab)). For Jerusalem or Ben Gurion Airport, change in Tel Aviv. Timetables change during works, so check rail.co.il (opens in a new tab) or call *5770 before you travel.
Shabbat and chagim
There are no buses or light rail on Shabbat and chagim. Plan to walk: the city is about 2.6 sq km, and the religious council has an eruv department.
Bikes, scooters, taxis and car share
- Metrofun (formerly Tel-O-Fun) docked bike share covers Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan and Herzliya, not Givat Shmuel (Metrofun (opens in a new tab)).
- AutoTel car share operates only in Tel Aviv-Yafo (AutoTel (opens in a new tab)).
- Taxis: use the Gett app or a local station. I found no local taxi station with its own web page.
- The municipality says e-scooters and e-bikes must be registered and display an identification plate.
Parking
Blue-and-white bays cost 5.36 NIS an hour, two hours maximum (meter, Pango or Cellopark). Residents with a permit park without a time limit; the permit needs a Givat Shmuel address and arnona registration in your name (parking (opens in a new tab)).
If you ride these lines every day and something here is wrong, please tell me.
