Rakavlit

The Rakavlit (Hebrew: רַכַּבְלִית), a diminutive of רכבל, meaning 'cable car', and itself a contraction of רכבת, 'train', and כבל, 'cable'), is a gondola lift that is a part of Haifa's expanded public transport system complementing the existing city bus and Metronit BRT lines. The cable car serves 6 stations, only three of which are open for passenger use. Its route runs from the HaMifratz Central Bus Station and public transit hub at the foot of Mount Carmel to the Technion and then onto the University of Haifa, for a total distance of 4.4 kilometres and an elevation gain of 460m. Most of the passengers are students. Total travel time from the Check Post Junction to the University of Haifa is around 19 minutes. The cable car was named through a competition open to schools in the Haifa municipality. A similar contest was held in 2010 to choose the name of Haifa's Metronit lines. The Yefeh Nof municipal development company began work on the system in June 2017. Original estimates indicated that the project would cost an estimated 280 million NIS. It is part of a wider plan to address traffic congestion in Haifa, and in particular, on the two university campuses. All discounts presently available on other transit systems are available on the cable car, which is also fully accessible to individuals with disabilities. Non-discounted tickets cost ₪8 for a one-way trip. The system is served by 148 fully-accessible cable cars that each hold up to ten passengers; 8 sitting and 2 standing. The cable cars depart from the stations every 15 seconds. The total passenger capacity is up to 2,400 passengers per hour in each direction. Announcements are made in Hebrew, English, and Arabic before entry into each of the 3 passenger-served stations. While in passenger-served stations, doors...