Transportation System in Hebron, Palestine: Travelling around the West Bank is surprisingly easy. One big reason for this is that the distances are quite short. For example, getting from Jerusalem to Hebron, the Southern West Bank only takes around one hour. There are also plenty of options for transport and public transport runs regularly.
The most common way of traveling from a city to another is to use a service. The servees are shared taxis. There´s no need to book them in advance as they leave when they´re full. You can either take one at the bus station in Hebron or hail it on the street. Inter-city prices are quite low by European standards, a trip from Hebron to Bethlehem costs around only 9 shekel.
It is noteworthy that the servees don´t run very late so f you´re planning a return late at night you might consider using a normal taxi. It is common to drive taxis from one city to another but the price is of course significantly higher than a servee.
The cheapest option for traveling outside the city is the Israeli bus company Egged. The trip from Hebron to Jerusalem costs only around 8 Shekel. The buses run regularly until late at night and there´s no need to book in advance. The only trick is to remember that these buses might pass your stop a bit earlier than the schedule says! It is also noteworthy that since it´s a company, the Palestinians generally are not able to use these buses and these buses only use Israeli roads. To get to the bus stop at H2 you always have to keep your passport with you.
There is also a Palestinian bus company that goes from the central bus station in Hebron to a couple of cities in the West Bank. The prices are quite cheap, from 10 to 25 NIS, but the locals don´t really use these buses as there are no straight lines to for example Nablus and Jerusalem.
Hitchhiking in the country is quite easy as the locals are very helpful and friendly. However, it´s always worth considering your safety – anywhere in the world.
INSIDE HEBRON
Hebron is a city of cars. Not that the roads are in the best conditions – they aren´t. There´s no public bus line inside the city. Bicycles and walking longer distances are also pretty much out of options as the city is extremely hilly.
The common way to cover distances too long to walk is to use a taxi. The taxis are quite cheap – from a couple of shekels to 15 shekels for a few kilometers. You will find taxis easily in any bigger street until around midnight. If you hail it from the street it is common that the driver picks up other people on the way as well. There is also an app for calling the taxi called Rocab. However, you will need to speak basic Arabic to use this app.
