A vehicle with a wheelchair lift can be arranged in advance for intercity rides in Israel, provided you say so when you book; accessible vehicles have no published price and are quoted individually. If the chair folds into the trunk, you pay the ordinary fare — from ₪290 by day for Jerusalem to Ben Gurion Airport and from ₪300 for the return, on the official 2026 meter tariff. Accessibility requests go to our accessibility coordinator by phone, WhatsApp or email. Here is how both setups work and how much notice to leave.
Which vehicle do you actually need?
Accessible bookings come in two shapes, with different lead times.
A regular taxi, with the folding chair in the trunk
If the passenger transfers into a standard car seat and the wheelchair folds, no special vehicle is involved: the driver assists with boarding and alighting and stows the chair in the trunk. Walkers, rollators, crutches and other medical mobility aids travel the same way. A regular taxi seats up to 4 passengers and takes up to 3 large suitcases; if the aid is bulky, say so at booking and we send a bigger vehicle. Under the 2026 tariff there is no luggage surcharge and no per-passenger surcharge — both were abolished in 2020 — so the chair costs nothing extra.
A vehicle with a wheelchair lift, arranged in advance
If the passenger stays seated in the chair for the journey, or the chair is powered and does not fold, you need a vehicle fitted with a lift. We arrange those in advance, not at short notice: send the date, the addresses, the time and the details of the chair, and we come back with the vehicle and the price.
How to book: the accessibility coordinator
Accessibility requests reach our accessibility coordinator by phone or WhatsApp on +972-50-912-2133, or by email. The same channels cover booking by phone when a form is hard to use, and information in an accessible format; our contact page lists them all.
What to include in the request
- Route and exact addresses — street and number, hotel, or hospital and department; the route sets the price.
- Date and time, plus the flight number for an airport run.
- The chair — folding or rigid, manual or powered; this decides whether a lift is needed.
- Transfer needs — whether the passenger moves to a car seat, and how much help boarding takes.
- Who is travelling — passengers, companions or carers, and how many suitcases.
- Anything else — a service animal, a stop on the way, stairs at the address.
For a regular taxi with a folding chair the usual lead time is fine, and same-day is often possible. A lift-equipped vehicle has to be scheduled for your date and time, so ask early, and book the return leg in the same conversation.
2026 prices: a regular taxi with a folding wheelchair
The figures below are "from" prices for a regular taxi of up to 4 passengers under Tariff A, the daytime tariff (Sunday to Thursday 06:00–21:00; Friday and holiday eves 06:00–16:00), on the official meter tariff in force since 1 April 2026. They include the ₪5.78 pre-booking fee.
| Route | Distance | Typical drive time | Regular taxi, Tariff A (day) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jerusalem → Ben Gurion Airport | 54 km | ~48 min | from ₪290 |
| Ben Gurion Airport → Jerusalem | 54 km | ~50 min | from ₪300 |
| Jerusalem → Tel Aviv | 67 km | ~64 min | from ₪370 |
| Beit Shemesh → Jerusalem | 32 km | ~37 min | from ₪190 |
Distance and time are metered together, so traffic raises the metered figure — but a price agreed in advance is the price you pay. Departures from Ben Gurion carry an official ₪5 airport surcharge, already reflected in the ₪300 above; Highway 6 (about ₪20) and the Carmel Tunnels are added at cost only if used. From 21:01 Sunday to Thursday the meter moves to Tariff B, and on Thursday to Tariff C from 23:01 — roughly 14% and 28% above the daytime figure on an intercity ride, since those tariffs raise the per-minute and first-10-km rates more than the long-distance rate. Routes with no row above are charged by the same official tariff — see our 2026 price page, or get an instant price in the calculator. Final price confirmed at booking.
Tell us what you need — we will arrange the right vehicle
The route, the date and one line about the wheelchair is enough to start.
Ben Gurion Airport: arriving and departing
On arrival
Your driver waits inside the Terminal 3 arrivals hall holding a sign with your name — no queue to join, no rank to find with a chair and a trolley. We track the flight in real time, so a late or early landing changes nothing, the agreed price included; if disembarking takes longer than for everyone else, the driver waits. More in our Ben Gurion pickup guide and on the taxi from Ben Gurion page.
On departure
The rule for international flights is to be at Ben Gurion about three hours before departure, which means leaving Jerusalem roughly four hours before take-off, plus 15 to 20 minutes in rush hour. With a wheelchair, add a further buffer for the walk from the car to check-in and on to the assistance point. Outbound timings sit on our Jerusalem to Ben Gurion Airport page.
Special assistance is arranged with the airline
Assistance inside the terminal — the wheelchair service from check-in to the aircraft door, and the reverse on arrival — is arranged in advance with your airline or the airport, not by the taxi company. Request it when you book the flight; our part is the road.
Companions, families and groups
Boarding takes longer with a wheelchair, and hospital entrances, hotel lobbies and residential buildings add minutes at the kerb. Leave a wider margin than feels necessary, and tell us how long boarding usually takes so we build it into the schedule.
Companions and carers travel as ordinary passengers, and a regular taxi seats 4 people in total: a wheelchair user with three relatives and a carer needs a bigger vehicle, not two cars. Book a 6-seat large taxi, 10-seat van or 19-seat minibus on our large taxi page, with the same advance notice about the chair — we confirm the price within minutes. Luggage capacity is set out in our guide to how many suitcases fit in a taxi.
Hospital and medical transfers
Appointments, admissions and discharges are a common reason to book ahead. We drive to and from the major medical centres — Hadassah Ein Kerem, Hadassah Mount Scopus and Shaare Zedek in Jerusalem, Rambam in Haifa, Soroka in Beer Sheva — on the same advance arrangements as any other journey. One limit: Almaxpress runs intercity rides only, so Beit Shemesh to Jerusalem is ours from ₪190 by day, while a hop inside Jerusalem is not. Routes without a row in the table are priced by the official meter tariff — get an instant price in the calculator.
Two details help: the exact building or entrance, and a realistic pickup time for the return, since discharge times slip — message us if it moves. A full tax invoice is issued for every ride and sent by email. Payment and cancellation terms — free more than 24 hours ahead, up to 50% between 24 and 6 hours, 100% under 6 hours or for a no-show, cancellations in writing — are on our terms page.
Shabbat, holidays and Saturday-night rides
Almaxpress operates 24 hours a day, Sunday to Friday — 24/6. There is no service on Shabbat or on Jewish holidays, from candle-lighting on the eve until the day ends, so Friday rides are planned to finish before Shabbat starts.
Saturday-night rides are pre-booked and depart after Shabbat ends. That end time shifts weekly with the season, roughly an hour after sunset, so check the Havdalah time for your own date rather than a fixed clock. The meter follows the tariff day, which runs until 05:59 on Sunday: a ride starting after Shabbat ends is billed on Tariff B until 19:00 and on Tariff C from 19:01. In winter, when Shabbat ends early, an 18:30 departure is Tariff B; in summer the same departure falls into Tariff C.
Holiday eves follow the Friday pattern and holiday days follow Shabbat. The dates affected in the year ahead are Rosh Hashanah on 12–13 September 2026, Yom Kippur on 21 September 2026 (no service at all), Sukkot on 26 September 2026, Simchat Torah on 3 October 2026, Pesach on 22 and 28 April 2027 and Shavuot on 11 June 2027. Bookings cannot be taken during Shabbat itself, so arrange a Saturday-night accessible ride before Friday afternoon — earlier still for a lift-equipped vehicle. There is more in our Saturday-night and holidays guide, and our accessibility statement sets out what we do to make the website and the service usable.
Bottom line
- A vehicle with a wheelchair lift can be arranged in advance — give notice at booking; no published price, quoted individually.
- A folding chair in the trunk means ordinary fares: Jerusalem → Ben Gurion from ₪290, Ben Gurion → Jerusalem from ₪300, Jerusalem → Tel Aviv from ₪370, Beit Shemesh → Jerusalem from ₪190 by day, official 2026 meter tariff.
- Drivers assist with boarding and alighting and store folding wheelchairs and medical mobility aids in the trunk; no surcharge for the chair.
- Accessibility requests go to the accessibility coordinator by phone, WhatsApp or email: +972-50-912-2133.
- Terminal assistance is arranged with the airline; we handle the road, with a name sign in the Terminal 3 arrivals hall. No service on Shabbat or holidays.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a wheelchair-accessible taxi with a lift in Israel?
Yes — a vehicle with a wheelchair lift can be arranged in advance for intercity rides, provided you request it when you book. It is not an on-demand service, so contact the coordinator early.
How much does an accessible taxi cost?
Lift-equipped vehicles have no published price; they are quoted individually. If the chair folds into the trunk of a regular taxi you pay the standard fare — from ₪290 by day for Jerusalem to Ben Gurion Airport, on the official 2026 meter tariff.
Is there an extra charge for a wheelchair, a walker or other mobility aids?
No. There is no luggage surcharge and no per-passenger surcharge under the 2026 tariff, so mobility aids travel at no extra cost. Tell us at booking so we send a vehicle with room.
Does the driver help me get in and out of the taxi?
Yes. Drivers assist with boarding and alighting, and with storing folding wheelchairs and medical mobility aids in the trunk. Say in advance how much help is needed, so the ride is scheduled with enough time.
How do I make an accessibility request?
By phone or WhatsApp on +972-50-912-2133, or by email — it reaches our accessibility coordinator, who also handles booking by phone and information in an accessible format.
Who arranges wheelchair assistance inside Ben Gurion Airport?
Your airline or the airport, arranged in advance when you book the flight. The taxi covers the road: the driver meets you in the Terminal 3 arrivals hall with a name sign.
Can I book an accessible taxi for Shabbat?
No — there is no service on Shabbat or Jewish holidays. Book a Saturday-night ride instead: it departs after Shabbat ends, billed on Tariff B until 19:00 and Tariff C from 19:01. Arrange it before Friday afternoon, since bookings cannot be taken during Shabbat.
Plan the accessible ride once, then stop thinking about it
Send the route, the date and a note about the wheelchair — we confirm the vehicle and the price.
