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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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