The “Sherut taxi” are yellow minivans that operate as shared taxis. The sherut follow public bus routes in Tel Aviv. They have numbers on the front windshield indicating their routes.
A ride is flagged by raising your hand when you see them coming. And will cost you 7 shekels per person. If the minivan did not stop for you, they didn’t see you or are full.
The main bonus in taking a sherut are:
– You don’t need a bus stop, they will pick you up and drop you off anywhere on their route.
– Sherut operate on Friday night and Saturday, unlike the rest of the public transportation, fares are a bit higher.
– Fast and convenient.
The most Useful sheruts are no. 4 & 5.
4 goes from Tel Aviv Central Bus Station through Allenby and Ben Yehuda Streets all the way up to Tel Aviv harbor (and back). Helpful with getting to the beach.
5 goes from Tel Aviv Central Bus Station through Rothschild Blvd, Dizengoff Center and Dizengoff St. up to Weitzman St. (and back). The Sherut doesn’t go all the way to the train station, as the number 5 bus does.
Sherut Etiquette: After getting on a sherut grab onto something. The drivers will not always wait for you to sit down before starting to move.
You can hand the driver your fare and then go sit down, or you can go sit down and pass the money to the driver. Either way don’t worry about your change, it will be passed back to you.