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Turkey is a huge country comprising of all its highs and lows, but the best part is that the country is developing day by day. Locals and Foreigners are encouraged to use public transport and guess why? It is because the transport is a state of the art modern and efficient system here in all cities.
The system constitutes a series of local buses, Metro line buses, Underground trains, mini-buses, taxis, trams, ferries, and hired car services as well. Your choice of transport depends on your tastes especially in terms of how fast you want to get to your destination, as there are numerous ways. Let us start with the most common transport mean here in Turkey:
Local buses are fully air-conditioned and heavily maintained with sometimes their own tracks and they have a computerized system of following various routes. There are many applications that locals and foreigners use in order to keep track of all buses and their timings easily, but the most important and quality part is that you can get a magnetic travel card with a cheap deposit.
Then you can use the card for however long you want by getting it loaded every now and then. For students, it is a plus point because they can get a student travel card and get to travel with it for all means of transport in half the price from usual.
Fig- A sample of how a local bus looks like
The Istanbul Kart is the most convenient way to travel within major transports such as local buses, metro buses, trams, etc. and you can purchase the card in 10 Turkish liras then keep on loading it accordingly. Here is an updated version, of what an Istanbul card looks like and how to scan it and enter bus stations:
Fig. Istanbul Card Sample
Fig. Card scanning panels.
The metro bus system in Turkey is an invested and incorporated system that consists of both underground and Surface transit trains, which are growing quite fast, and now the Turkish government is working on making clear tracks for the metro trains to arrive at Sabiha Gokçen Airport and new Istanbul Airport directly.
These metro trains were constructed to connect the European side and Asian side and to help locals and foreigners to easily travel within minutes to their desired destination and the tunnels were constructed via rail under the Bosphorus as well. Let us come on to the metro lines, which are essential to understand before using the train itself.
The metro system of Istanbul is operating from Aksaray – Atatürk Airport to Kirazli (M1 line), Haciosman to Yenikapi (M2 line) and Kirazli to Olimpiyat, Basaksehir (M3 line) on the European side and it is operating from Kadikoy to Tavsantepe (M4 line) and Uskudar to Yamanevler (M5 line) on the Asian Side.
The Yenikapi metro line is an inter-change section and it connects you to Mahmutbey (M-7) metro line as well as all major areas like Taksim, Sishane, Sisli (Business hub), and much more.
These are the basic metro lines and now let us come on to the most important metro line, which is called the Marmara and Gebze-Halkali system. 76 km long, tube tunnel provides passengers inside the train to pass under the Marmara inner sea with this train in a matter of minutes and it is scheduled to arrive at the station after every 5-10 minutes so almost anyone can avail the ride.
Fig. Yenikapi
In the figure above, we can see that the M2 metro line, which is known as Yenikapi, is shown. A marvelous underground train that moves with high speed and is available until midnight for everyone and is very easy to use through an Istanbul card.
Fig. Marmary Metro Train
The Tramway is a very modern and updated version of an open-air set of rails specifically built for the tramway to make its route. These trams are specifically made to access all tourist attractions and the oldest most popular areas to reach in the main city of Istanbul, Turkey.
Tramways are located on the European side of Istanbul and are very neat, clean, and air-conditioned just like all other transports but the advantage of taking the tram is that it takes you directly to many popular attractions such as Sultan Ahmet in front of Blue Mosque and Aya Sofia. There are two trams passing one is called T1 that allows access to Sultan Ahmet and T4 line goes North ways.
Fig. A Modern Tram
If you are looking for a way to avoid traffic and feel refreshed from the clean crisp air of Istanbul, then using ferries to cross the European side to Asian side back and forth is the best way to do so. Ferries are built with a strong structure and are a sight to see, especially when you can easily travel through them with your regular transport card at the cheapest rates.
Locals also love to travel through ferries to their desired destination because it saves a lot of time and you can see the city with a beautiful view. Foreigners also use the ferries to cruise around the Bosphorus and enjoy the various sceneries that come during the ride. The main piers on the European side are Eminönü, Kabataş, Karaköy, and Besiktaş, and for the Asian side, Üsküdar and Kadıköy are accessible easily.
Fig. Ferry in Turkey
These are shared cabs that can handle eight passengers at a time and run all day every day throughout Turkey. These mini-buses or cabs are also economical and the payment method is extremely simple because you will just hand over the decided price according to your destination directly to the driver.
The main lines for the dolmus are in European side of Istanbul and consist of the following areas Beşiktaş – Taksim; and Taksim – Bakırköy, Yeşilköy; Sarıyer – Beşiktaş and Kadıköy and Üsküdar from Asia. For a student or local it is the best way to travel around the city and there are many taxi stands where you can find these parked for service, so they are not hard to catch.
Fig. Dolmuş in Istanbul
We hope that you are fully informed about the most important public transportations in Turkey after reading this article. As mostly, foreigners need to know more about transport in Turkey rather than locals it is essential that you read content like this online and research about how you can move around here beforehand. If you will face any further issues here to travel around, locals will happily guide you about certain destinations, as Turkish people are known for their hospitality and friendly nature.