Investing in Tomorrow: The Metro Project is Israel's Future

The article by economist Shlomo Maoz raises an important question: is it right to invest hundreds of billions of shekels in the metro project, or is it right to wait for the technologies of the future — autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, and smarter transport solutions? This is a worthy question. However, the answer does not rely on enthusiasm for new technology, but on economics, long-term planning, and the accumulated experience of countries around the world.

There is great charm in the idea that technology will solve all transport problems. Autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, and smart traffic lights will indeed change the world. But from there to the conclusion that there is no longer a need for a metro, the road is long. You can manage a traffic jam better with an algorithm. You can replace the driver with a computer. But as long as more and more vehicles are traveling on the same road, it will remain a traffic jam.

This is exactly the reason why innovative and advanced countries continue to invest in metro systems. Paris is expanding its metro network, London has completed the Elizabeth line, New York is investing in upgrading and expanding its network, Singapore continues to add new lines, and India, China, and Saudi Arabia are promoting unprecedented investments in metro systems. They do not choose between innovation and a metro. They understand that innovation relies on infrastructure, not replaces it.

Israel is at exactly that same decision point. By 2050, about seven million residents are expected to live in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, and the number of vehicles in Israel is expected to almost double. Already today, traffic jams take a heavy toll on the economy, in lost working hours, in damage to productivity, in air pollution, and in quality of life.

Suggesting to wait for the next technology is not a solution. A country cannot base its future on technologies that might mature in a decade. Its role is to prepare for the reality that will be here in twenty or thirty years.

I meet this project every day, in the field, with local authorities, government ministries, professionals, and leading companies in the world. Precisely from this place, it is clear to me that the question is not whether Israel needs a metro, but how to build it in the best, most efficient, and most responsible way.

The metro does not compete with artificial intelligence. It will use it. It does not compete with the autonomous vehicle. It will complement it. In the metro tenders, NTA incorporates automatic trains without a driver, advanced control systems, artificial intelligence for traffic management, innovative construction methods, and advanced materials. Therefore, the claim that this is an outdated project simply does not stand the test of reality.

But at the heart of the debate is not technology. At the heart of the debate is economics. There are those who look at the price tag, about 180 billion shekels, and declare that it is a waste. This is a view that looks only at the expense line and ignores the value that this infrastructure is expected to generate for decades.

National infrastructure is not measured only by the cost of its construction. It is measured by its contribution to growth, productivity, and the ability of a country to continue to develop. No one asks today how much it cost to build the National Water Carrier or the desalination plants. The question is what would have been the price for Israel without them. This is how the metro should also be examined.

A significant part of Israel's economic activity is concentrated in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. As the metropolitan area grows, so does the importance of a transport system that allows workers to reach workplaces, businesses to expand, and the economy to continue to generate value. The metro is not just a transport project — it is an economic, social, and urban project, where transport is the engine through which it changes the face of the country. Around the 109 metro stations, centers for housing, employment, commerce, and leisure are planned, which will allow for urban development on an unprecedented scale. The metro does not only connect people to workplaces; it changes the way our cities develop. It will increase the supply of housing, accelerate urban renewal, strengthen local authorities, and allow more families to live a short drive from employment centers.

At the same time, it will connect workers to workplaces, increase productivity, reduce congestion costs, and inject billions of shekels of economic activity into the economy over the years. Therefore, the metro is not a transport expense. It is an investment in the future growth of the State of Israel.

This is also the reason why the discussion about the metro cannot be summed up as a transport question. It touches on labor productivity, the housing crisis, equality of opportunity, economic growth, and the resilience of the State of Israel.

The question is not how much the metro costs — the question is how much it will cost the State of Israel to give it up. The debate is not between a metro and innovation. The debate is between long-term planning and the hope that someone will invent a solution in the future that will save us from the need to make difficult decisions today.

The metro is not an investment in yesterday. It is an investment in Israel's future.

The author is the Chair of the Board of Directors of NTA.