The bus ramps to the station will be demolished in early 2027
According to Globes, the Tel Aviv municipality and the Transport Ministry have agreed to demolish all the concrete ramps and the bridge that bring buses up to the station’s upper floors. Work should start in early 2027. The newspaper calls it the first step towards taking down the station itself.
- Why now. The Purple Line light rail works are moving from Derech HaHagana towards Levinsky Street, right next to the ramps. If the ramps are still standing in about six months, taking them down would mean stopping the light rail.
- When. The Levinsky Street ramp should be gone by March 2027 at the latest. The Transport Ministry says the first half of 2027, if the infrastructure and operations are ready.
- Who does it. The city has already published a tender. It would prefer Shapir, the company building the Purple Line, to win it, so the works don’t delay or damage the light rail.
- And Nitzba? Nitzba, which owns and runs the building, hasn’t been told about the plan yet, and is expected to oppose it. The land under the ramps isn’t theirs, but they could argue the change affects space they control.
- What changes for buses. Today the station has about 2,300 bus departures and 2,300 arrivals a day. Without the Levinsky ramp, buses will reach the upper floors only from Mattalon Street, on the west side. Some lines will move to other terminals, such as Savidor. Expect crowding and delays at first. Passengers are supposed to get the details before anything changes.
- The bigger plan. The city and the ministry want to empty the station of buses step by step over the next few years. The temporary terminal at Mikveh Israel near Holon Junction (approved in September) should take about 60% of the station’s buses, but it’s only planned to open in 2031. So the station itself has at least five more years.
Deputy Mayor Meital Lehavi called the station a wound in the heart of south Tel Aviv. She said the ramps, which tower over the neighbourhood’s homes, are the clearest symbol of that, and that lowering them is a necessary first step.