One might think that residents of large cities own a private car to use it only on special trips, and usually use alternative means available in cities, such as public transportation, bicycles, taxis, or walking.

Many of us go on vacation during the high holidays. If you will also be driving, pay attention to the fuel gauge.

The Ministry of Energy’s fuel station registrar records 1,199 gas filling stations. We would expect to find the majority of stations in rural or open areas, where there is more need for vehicular travel between places, since distances are greater, but it turns out that gas stations are concentrated in major cities. For example, 32% of the country’s residents are concentrated in the eight cities with a population of more than 200,000 residents. A somewhat similar percentage (28%) of the gas stations are located in these cities – more than we might expect.

The picture becomes clearer when you look at the number of vehicles. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, 33% of Israel’s vehicles are registered in these large cities (and a similar percentage of the private vehicles)

One might think that residents of large cities own a private car to use it only on special trips, and usually use alternative means available in cities, such as public transportation, bicycles, taxis, or walking, but with the exceptions of Tel Aviv and Petach Tikva, where the average mileage per private vehicle is 12,600 and 13,200 kilometers per year (respectively), in all the large cities (more than 200,000 residents) the kilometers traveled are similar to or above the national average standing at 14,800 kilometers per car per year.

If the population of the country is concentrated in large cities, the rate of ownership of private cars in these cities is not very low, and the distance traveled per car is not much different from the national average – it is understandable why a large number of gas stations are located in these cities.

Shana Tova!