The Ministerial Committee for Legislation on Sunday approved a draft bill to advance regulation that would allow rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft to operate in Israel, seeking to lower taxi costs for consumers.

The bill co-sponsored by Blue and White MK Eitan Ginzburg and Likud MK Moshe Passal would pave the regulatory path to permit shared ride-hailing service companies such as Uber and Lyft to offer services in Israel via phone applications that connect private drivers with passengers. The bill is expected to be advanced to the Knesset for a preliminary reading next week, and will need to pass additional readings before becoming law.

If approved, the new legislation would severely disrupt the taxi sector, which had for years successfully lobbied to keep Uber and other ride-hailing services out of Israel.

In recent months, Transportation Minister Miri Regev has been working to allow Uber to enter the Israeli market as early as the beginning of this........

© The Times of Israel