For more than a decade, the Moovit app was almost synonymous with public transportation in Israel. Anyone who wanted to know when the bus was coming or how to get somewhere quickly found themselves using it – often while also dealing with a flood of advertisements, pop-up messages, and commercial content that became an inseparable part of the experience. Now, the Egged Group is trying to offer a different alternative: The “egg” app, which promises an ad-free experience and includes all public transportation services in Israel (including non-Egged companies) under one roof.
Egged presents “egg” as an app that consolidates all the services a passenger needs – route planning, real-time schedules, fare prices, and digital validation for buses, light rail, Israel Railways, and even shared mobility options such as scooters and bicycles. In addition, the app offers extra services for Egged line passengers, including advance seat reservations on intercity rides, a lost and found reporting and tracking system, and a customer service center that can be contacted directly through the app.
The most unusual aspect of the move is precisely what it lacks – advertisements. In a world where nearly every digital service is funded by advertising, and especially in the field of public transportation apps, Egged’s decision to give up such a revenue source raises a broader question about the balance between public service and economic models based on user attention. Egged emphasizes that this is a principled decision intended to put the passenger at the center, rather than turning them into an advertising product.
According to Egged Group CEO Gilad Riklin, the launch of the app marks a conceptual shift in the way public transportation companies communicate with the public. He said the goal is “to create a simple, precise, and distraction-free user experience,” as he defined it. However, at this stage, it is still unclear how the app will be received by users and to what extent it will succeed in competing with veteran and loyal-user apps like Moovit.
“After years of endless advertisements – Egged is changing the rules of the game. We are proud to be the first public transportation group in Israel to launch an app that allows all public transportation passengers to plan a route, recharge their Rav-Kav, validate rides, book tickets, and contact customer service – all without ads,” Riklin added. “Our goal is clear: To enable passengers to reach their destination easily and efficiently and to lead public transportation into a new era.”