Boon for Istanbul traffic expands
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Anatolia News Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 03, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Istanbul’s perpetual traffic has been letting up a bit recently thanks to the expanding metrobus public transportation system.
Istanbul’s metrobus system, which carries nearly 550,000 people a day, now connects Europe to Asia, completing the third stage of the city’s most-used transport methods.
The first metrobus lines began running between Avcılar and the Topkapı district in 2007. Operating in its own separate lane on the E-5 highway, the metrobus has helped ease Istanbul’s bustling traffic. The line that was extended from Avcılar Ğ the furthest stop on the European side Ğ to Zincirlikuyu will now reach Söğütlüçeşme on the Asian side.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Kadir Topbaş are expected to attend an opening ceremony tommorow. The pair will take a ride on the metrobus starting at Kadıköy, crossing the Bosphorus Bridge and riding to the last stop on the European side.
The new metrobus line was constructed in 150 days and was tested with a trial run over the weekend. It is expected to decrease travel time between the European and Asian sides to 24 minutes. Some 300,000 people are expected to use the new line, bringing the metrobus system’s total ridership up to nearly 1 million passengers a day.
The new line is 11.2 kilometers long and will share a lane with other vehicles only while on the Bosphorus Bridge, a crossing that will take about seven minutes, according to the test drives. Entering the traffic lane after the Zincirlikuyu stop, the metrobus will go through the newly built underpass at the end of the bridge and continue on in its own lane.
The metrobus stops starting from Avcılar are Saatçi Kuruçeşme, IETT Camp, Küçükçekmece, Cennet, Beşyol, Sefaköy, Yenibosna, Kuleli, Şirinevler, İncirli, Zeytinburnu, Merter, Cevizlibağ, Topkapı Park, Halıcıoğlu, Çağlayan, Mecidiyeköy and Zincirlikuyu. From Zincirlikuyu, the new line stops at Bosphorus Bridge, Burhaniye Neighborhood, Altunizade, Acıbadem, Uzunçayır, Hasanpaşa and Söğütlüçeşme.
After the first stage of metrobus construction was completed work began on the second stage Ğ Topkapı-Zincirlikuyu Ğ and was completed in 77 days. Construction of the first two stages cost $276 million and the trip from stop to finish takes 38 minutes.
With the completion of the $90-million third stage of the metrobus system, the entire journey from end to end takes 62 minutes. It is impossible to travel 40.5 kilometers in one hour in Istanbul using any other transportation method.
Hybrid buses
Ten new buses will run on the new line, each with a capacity of nearly 200 passengers. Busses take eight months to manufacture and can reach speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour. The new buses are Phileas-brand hybrid vehicles that have been purchased from the Netherlands at a cost of 1.2 million euros. Compared to the current metrobuses, they will use 40 percent less fuel.
In other countries, metrobuses run using a computer-controlled "flight directory" system similar to what is found in airplanes, but the ones in Turkey still have drivers.
The first metrobus lines began running between Avcılar and the Topkapı district in 2007. Operating in its own separate lane on the E-5 highway, the metrobus has helped ease Istanbul’s bustling traffic. The line that was extended from Avcılar Ğ the furthest stop on the European side Ğ to Zincirlikuyu will now reach Söğütlüçeşme on the Asian side.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Kadir Topbaş are expected to attend an opening ceremony tommorow. The pair will take a ride on the metrobus starting at Kadıköy, crossing the Bosphorus Bridge and riding to the last stop on the European side.
The new metrobus line was constructed in 150 days and was tested with a trial run over the weekend. It is expected to decrease travel time between the European and Asian sides to 24 minutes. Some 300,000 people are expected to use the new line, bringing the metrobus system’s total ridership up to nearly 1 million passengers a day.
The new line is 11.2 kilometers long and will share a lane with other vehicles only while on the Bosphorus Bridge, a crossing that will take about seven minutes, according to the test drives. Entering the traffic lane after the Zincirlikuyu stop, the metrobus will go through the newly built underpass at the end of the bridge and continue on in its own lane.
The metrobus stops starting from Avcılar are Saatçi Kuruçeşme, IETT Camp, Küçükçekmece, Cennet, Beşyol, Sefaköy, Yenibosna, Kuleli, Şirinevler, İncirli, Zeytinburnu, Merter, Cevizlibağ, Topkapı Park, Halıcıoğlu, Çağlayan, Mecidiyeköy and Zincirlikuyu. From Zincirlikuyu, the new line stops at Bosphorus Bridge, Burhaniye Neighborhood, Altunizade, Acıbadem, Uzunçayır, Hasanpaşa and Söğütlüçeşme.
After the first stage of metrobus construction was completed work began on the second stage Ğ Topkapı-Zincirlikuyu Ğ and was completed in 77 days. Construction of the first two stages cost $276 million and the trip from stop to finish takes 38 minutes.
With the completion of the $90-million third stage of the metrobus system, the entire journey from end to end takes 62 minutes. It is impossible to travel 40.5 kilometers in one hour in Istanbul using any other transportation method.
Hybrid buses
Ten new buses will run on the new line, each with a capacity of nearly 200 passengers. Busses take eight months to manufacture and can reach speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour. The new buses are Phileas-brand hybrid vehicles that have been purchased from the Netherlands at a cost of 1.2 million euros. Compared to the current metrobuses, they will use 40 percent less fuel.
In other countries, metrobuses run using a computer-controlled "flight directory" system similar to what is found in airplanes, but the ones in Turkey still have drivers.