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The Istanbul BRT system is providing quality service and time savings to over 600,000
passengers per day. The local BRT system brings about a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions
of 623 tons per day in through modal shift.
Key pollutants that Istanbul's Metrobus removes from the air each year include 78.5 tons
of carbon monoxide, 282.7 tons of nitrogen oxide, 7.3 tons of fine particulate matter and 25
tons of hydrocarbons.
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Overall, 250 Metrobuses carry more than one million passengers a day. From the outset, riders
only had to wait 70 seconds for the next Metrobus on certain routes during rush hour, but now
they need wait only 30 seconds. Thus, for riders, the length of their daily commute on public
transport has been reduced to a maximum of 40 minutes compared to an hour and a half in the
past. This has reduced in-vehicle travel time by about 50 per cent and increased use of
public transport helping to improve the quality of life for the people of Istanbul. Metrobus
has also helped to relieve traffic congestion on main arteries by introducing a dedicated bus
lane.
To ensure high frequency, reduced travel time and passenger safety, the authorities decided
on completely segregated bus lanes that never merge with regular traffic. Special signs have
been installed along the way to tell drivers how fast they can drive. There are also
directions indicating when to brake slowly and carefully to ensure maximum rider comfort.
Overall the benefits to the community are as follows:
• Savings on Travel Time (Per passanger): 52 min. a day; 316 hrs. a year
• Savings on Vehicle used (Removed from service): 133 İETT, 76 POB, 1.296
MINIBUS
• Fuel Savings on Public Transportation: 242 tones fuel
• Environment: Reduction of 80.000 vehicles from roads; Daily 623 tones CO2
reduction
• Customer Satisfaction: 90 per cent Customer Satisfaction.
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Istanbul’s first BRT project was a pilot located in the median of the D‐100
motorway, the main East ‐West passage in Istanbul. With the pilot proving to be a
success, the city decided to create a major East‐West public transport corridor
stretching 50 km along the D‐100 motorway. And they decided that it should be a BRT
corridor. In 2009 operations began on the Asian expansion. The 43 km system, which operates
24 hours/day, is operating at or above capacity from 7 in the morning till 8 at night during
weekdays with time savings exceeding 1 hour/direction. Construction of the 10 km westward
expansion into Beylikduzu is began in 2011 and is anticipated to carry 175000 passengers, in
addition to the 600,000 passengers the corridor was already carrying. Subsequent plans are
for the network to be expanded throughout the city with the addition of 5 more corridors.
Success of the BRT has helped bring about a mindset change in the thinking around urban
transport. As a result, the city is shifting its investment away from road infrastructure
development to expanding its public transport system. In addition to the D‐100
corridor, the plans are in place to create a BRT network integrated into the existing and
planned rail and ferry infrastructure, and which extends throughout the city. Where a
full‐blown BRT system is not feasible, dedicated bus lanes are being developed.
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