Transportation, Infrastructure and Road Safety Minister Yisrael Katz marked the opening of the Afikim bus service in Samaria (Shomron), Monday, by instructing Ministry Director-General Uzi Yitzchaki to make sure that residents of the Palestinian Authority who are allowed to leave the authority may travel on all of Israel's public transportation, including buses serving Judea and Samaria. Katz called for a bolstering of Afikim's service and an increase in the number of places it reaches, in order to make bus access easier for the PA Arabs. The minister called for advertising of the service to be in Arabic as well as Hebrew and for the service to insist on the equality of all its passengers.

The ministry said that new lines serving the Eyal Crossing are intended to replace pirate companies that gouged the PA workers to the tune of dozens of shekels. The subsidized lines will range from NIS 5.10 for the trip from Tzufim to Kfar Sava or Ra'anana and 10.60 shekels from Tzufim to Tel Aviv.