On-demand transportation repurposed to serve hospital workers in Israel

Israel’s government reduced all public transportation by 75% in March in order to keep people safe. Travel options for those who still need to get to work, particularly healthcare workers, became limited. Bubble Dan was swiftly repurposed by the Ministry of Transportation and Road Safety as a transportation engine for essential healthcare workers, expanding the service zone from three cities to six in just two days. The move was strategic, with the new zones covering eight additional hospitals, three of which are the largest medical centers in the region. The service enabled limiting the number of passengers in each vehicle, controlling and monitoring routes to prevent shuttles from entering restricted area, and perform contact tracing for COVID-19 patients.

Additionally, the TikTak service, which a collaboration between the Ministry of Transportation and Road Safety, public transit operator Egged and Moovit, was expanded to provide transportation services to hospitals, medical centers and other essential workplaces.