Residents of the greater metropolitan area of Jerusalem frequent the city for different reasons and at different rates. Data from a mobility survey that was conducted in metropolitan Jerusalem between 2014 and 2017 by the team of the Master Plan for Transportation provide information about the visits to Jerusalem by residents of the greater metropolitan area. The survey included Jerusalem’s residents as well as residents of the municipalities around Jerusalem. Israeli municipalities located beyond the green line were included in the survey while Palestinian municipalities were not included.
The percentage of residents of greater metropolitan Jerusalem who reside outside the metropolis and visit the city differs, depending on the age group, whether it is one of the weekdays from Sunday through Thursday, or on Friday and Saturday, and based on which municipality is being considered. First, let’s check the percentage of residents of metropolitan Jerusalem who reside outside Jerusalem and visit the city, and then we will concentrate on the residents of several of the large places municipalities.
From Sunday through Thursday, 39% of the residents of the greater metropolitan area of Jerusalem from among the major ages of employment (25 to 64) who live outside the city had visited the city on the day when they responded to the survey. The rate of residents ages 18 to 24, and 65 and older, who visited Jerusalem was similar (35% and 38% respectively). However, children and youth visited Jerusalem at a lower rate, with only 11% of the residents ages 0 to 17 having visited Jerusalem on the day when they responded to the survey.
The percentage of young people ages 18 to 24 who visited Jerusalem on Fridays and Saturdays was higher, when compared to the Sundays through Thursdays – 54%, as opposed to 35%.
On Sundays through Thursdays, between 60% and 70% of the residents of Mevasseret Zion, Givat Zeev and Maale Adumim, ages 25 to 64, had visited Jerusalem on the day they responded to the survey. However, only 36% of the residents of Betar Ilit, 24% of the residents of Beit Shemesh, and 15% of the residents of Modiin ages 25 to 64 had visited the city. Children and youth under the age of 18 visit Jerusalem at lower rates. While 50% of the residents of Givat Zeev ages 0 to 17 visited Jerusalem on Sundays through Thursdays, only 30% of the children and youth who live in Mevasseret Zion and 17% of those who live in Maale Adumim had visited Jerusalem on the day they responded to the survey. The rate of visits to Jerusalem by children and youth ages 0 to 17 who live in Betar Ilit, Beit Shemesh and Modiin, was less than 5%.
