What Metropoline does

Metropoline Public Transportation Ltd. (מטרופולין תחבורה ציבורית בע"מ) is one of Israel's largest government-franchised public bus operators, founded in 2000 and headquartered in Kfar Saba. The company runs approximately 1,900 buses and minibuses across over 100 active routes in four clusters — Sharon, Sharon-Holon Extended, Ono-Elad, and Negev-South — covering a geographic span from Netanya in the north to the Negev desert in the south and accumulating 72+ million kilometers of service annually with a workforce of more than 2,500 professional drivers. Its operations are conducted under franchise concessions (זיכיונות) awarded by the Israeli Ministry of Transportation through competitive tenders, including the largest single tender in Ministry history (Sharon-Holon Extended, won 2017). The company holds the largest alternatively-powered fleet in Israel's public bus sector, with approximately 84 CNG buses in the Sharon-Holon cluster and an expanding electric fleet, supported by real-time OT and control-room systems for fleet monitoring, the efoBus route-planning app, and integration with the national Rav-Kav (רב-קו) smart card fare system. The company also operates dedicated night routes (kav-layla) and student transport (kav-talmidi) sub-products, and sells advertising space on its bus fleet as a secondary revenue stream.

Metropoline is privately held, ultimately controlled by the Generation Capital REIT fund through its parent Bon Tour (בון תור), with Leumi Partners holding a minority stake in the parent. Revenue is generated primarily through Ministry-regulated passenger fares and secondarily through bus advertising; the company does not independently set its own pricing. Customer acquisition is non-commercial in the conventional sense: ridership is a function of route coverage, frequency, reliability, and geographic reach across the awarded clusters, while the company distinguishes itself in driver recruitment through sector-leading wages, signing bonuses, and benefits to ensure operational staffing. End customers are the general Israeli public across multiple use-cases — daily commuters, students, night travelers, and inter-city riders — with the Israeli Ministry of Transportation functioning as the economic counterparty that awards concessions, sets tariffs, and defines service obligations.

Name

Metropoline

Legal name

Metropoline Public Transportation Ltd. (מטרופולין תחבורה ציבורית בע״מ)

Website

https://metropoline.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Metropoline is a privately held Israeli public bus operator, founded in 2000, running ~1,900 vehicles across 100+ routes in four Ministry of Transportation–franchised clusters from Netanya to the Negev, serving commuters, students, and inter-city travelers with the country's largest alternatively-powered transit fleet.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Bus Transportation

NAICS

Bus and Other Motor Vehicle Transit Systems (485113), Interurban and Rural Bus Transportation (48521)

SIC

Local & Suburban Transit & Interurban Hwy Passenger Trans (4100)

akta.pro primary industry

Fixed-Route Urban Bus Operators (Municipal/Regional) (TLAFAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Intercity Commuter Bus Operators (TLAFAFAG), Suburban/Regional Commuter Bus Operators (TLAFAGAC)

Keywords

• Public bus transportation
• Urban transit services
• Intercity bus services
• Government-franchised transit
• Public transit operator

Headquarters

HQ city

Kfar Saba

HQ country

Israel

HQ region

Middle East

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Transportation Fares: Metropoline generates revenue primarily through collecting passenger fares on its bus routes. Fares are regulated by the Ministry of Transportation, which sets standardized tariffs across the public transport system. Passengers use the רב-קו (Rav-Kav) smart card system for payment. Revenue is tied to the volume of kilometers driven (72+ million km/year) and ridership levels across all clusters.
2. Advertising on Buses: Metropoline sells advertising space on the exterior and interior of its bus fleet to businesses and brands, providing broad daily exposure to hundreds of thousands of passengers and pedestrians across Israel's central cities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Metropoline provides public bus transportation services across Israel, operating approximately 1,900 buses and minibuses that travel over 72 million kilometers annually on more than 100 active routes spanning four geographic clusters from Netanya to the Negev. It serves passengers under Ministry of Transportation franchise concessions through regulated fares paid via the Rav-Kav smart card, supported by real-time control room monitoring and route-planning tools. The company also sells advertising space on its bus fleet as a secondary service to businesses.

Product overview

Metropoline operates as a public transportation company providing bus services across multiple clusters in Israel. The core offering consists of bus transportation services spanning the Sharon, Central, Southern regions and Elad areas, operating a fleet of approximately 1,900 buses and minibuses covering over 72 million kilometers annually. The company complements its core bus services with supporting products including the efoBus route planning application, Rav-Kav transit card integration for fare payment, dedicated night lines for late-night travel, student lines for educational institutions, and bus advertising services for businesses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bus Transportation Services Public bus transportation services operating across the Sharon, Central, Southern, and Elad clusters in Israel, using approximately 1,900 buses and minibuses covering over 72 million kilometers annually on more than 100 active routes for commuters, students, and the general public.
• Bus Advertising Services Advertising space sold on the exterior and interior of Metropoline buses, providing broad daily exposure to hundreds of thousands of passengers and pedestrians across Israel's central cities for businesses and brands.
• Night Lines Service Dedicated night bus routes (קווי לילה) operating during late-night and overnight hours to provide safe public transportation outside standard daytime operating hours.
• Student Lines Service Dedicated bus routes (קווי תלמידים) serving educational institutions during school hours for student transportation to schools and educational campuses.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 72 million kilometers driven annually across all operating clusters
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Dan (דן) / Nehora NativminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 2003, Metropoline joined with Dan and its subsidiary Nehora Nativ to establish Matrotdan Beer Sheva for operating urban bus routes in Beer Sheva. This joint venture operated until 2016 when the tender period ended.
• Tov College - Network of Vocational Training Colleges (מכללת טוב - רשת מכללות להכשרה מקצועית)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerMetropoline shares employee data, including personal information, with its subsidiary Tov College — a network of vocational training colleges (license 516773777) — as part of its driver training and professional development programs. The college provides the educational component of driver qualification for Metropoline employees.
• Ministry of Transportation (משרד התחבורה)coreOthersMetropoline operates under franchise concessions (זיכיונות) issued by the Israeli Ministry of Transportation. The Ministry oversees route assignments, service standards, tariffs, and regulatory compliance. Metropoline has won multiple Ministry tenders for operating bus services across different geographic clusters, including the largest single tender in the Ministry's history (Sharon-Holon Extended) in 2017.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• National Express Group: Public transit and coach operator running franchised bus services and school transport in multiple geographies. Comparable as a multi-cluster, government-contracted bus operator with regulatory fare exposure similar to Metropoline.
• FirstGroup: UK-listed transport operator running franchised bus and rail services under government contracts. Comparable franchise-based, regulated-tariff bus operator model at materially larger scale.
• Connex (Transdev): Global public transit operator with multi-modal bus and rail services under government concessions. Comparable as a broad incumbent franchise-based bus operator with similar B2G revenue model to Metropoline.
• ComfortDelGro: Singapore-listed multi-modal land transport group operating buses, taxis, and rail under government contracts globally. Comparable as a large-scale, multi-geography regulated public bus operator.
• Arriva: European passenger transport operator running franchised bus services under government concessions across multiple countries. Comparable multi-cluster, regulated-tariff public bus business model.

Regional players

• Nateev Express: Israeli intercity bus operator with overlapping long-distance services. Comparable to Metropoline's inter-city and Negev corridor operations, though focused primarily on long-haul rather than urban service.

Direct peers

• Egged: Israel's largest bus cooperative, operating urban, inter-city, and intercity bus services across the country under Ministry of Transportation franchises. Directly competes with Metropoline for tenders and on overlapping routes in central Israel.
• Superbus: Israeli public bus operator running Ministry-franchised urban and inter-city routes in central Israel. Comparable as a competing franchise concessionaire competing for cluster tenders.
• Kavim: Israeli bus operator that lost the Elad cluster to Metropoline in 2022. Directly comparable as a Ministry-franchised operator of urban and inter-city bus routes competing for the same tender pool.
• Dan Bus Company: Major Israeli public bus operator historically focused on Gush Dan/Tel Aviv metropolitan area. Directly competes with Metropoline's Sharon-Holon Extended cluster, and previously partnered with Metropoline in the Matrotdan Beer Sheva JV (2003–2016).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/metropoline
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/83052596/admin/page-posts/published
• Instagraminstagram.com/accounts/login/?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fmetropoline_transport%3Figsh%3DMWE5dXU5b2xhZDlp%26utm_source%3Dqr&is_from_rle
• TikToktiktok.com/@metropo.line?_t=ZS-8ucTRgHmQ4N&_r=1
• Xx.com/metropoline

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Metropoline