The Hasa’ah (הסעה) is a bus that you can rent to deliver your guests to and from the wedding venue. Providing a Hasa’ah is considered standard practice for an Israeli wedding.
Many people in Israel don’t own a car, or they plan on letting loose at the wedding and don’t want to drink and drive.
Taxi rides to venues outside Tel Aviv or Jerusalem can get very pricey and because buses and trains stop running in the late evening, it’s important that you provide transportation for your guests if you are getting married outside of a city.
It’s also a great way to kick off the party – rope a friend who’s taking the bus into distributing shots on the way to the venue.
You can expect to pay between 1000 – 1500 shekels for the Hasa’ah, depending on the distance and length of the journey. There are many companies that provide this service so feel free to shop around until you find a driver that you’re comfortable with, at a price that works for your budget.
This is definitely a situation where you can put your bargaining skills to the test.
Once you find a driver you like, you’ll agree on a pickup point (a common place in Tel Aviv is Rabin Square) where he’ll collect your guests.
You should assign someone on the bus to be the “bus captain” – they’ll serve as the driver’s contact person, in case the driver has problems finding your guests, or the point of contact in case someone in your group is running late.
I recommend telling your guests that the bus leaves 15-30 minutes earlier than it actually will – for example, if you’d like the bus to be on its way to your wedding at 7 PM, you should tell everyone that the bus is leaving at 6:40.
The driver will most likely want to be paid in cash at the end of the night after the return journey. I recommend giving the money to your bus captain beforehand so that you don’t have to deal with this on your wedding night.
The driver will take guests back when the party starts winding down, and oftentimes, will make multiple stops to drop off your guests on the way to the original pick up point.
The Israeli Wedding 