Metrobus successfully begins operations
Istanbul's Metrobus is the first and only transcontinental BRT system.
The new 11-kilometer Metrobus line carrying commuters between Europe and Asia began operations on March 3 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that included top city officials and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
"The presence of the prime minister underscores the importance placed on Metrobus as a solution to the urban transport problem in Istanbul," says Sibel Bulay, director of the Center for Sustainable Transport Turkey (SUM-Türkiye), which helped to catalyze the project.
The newest intercontinental addition to the Metrobus corridor carries passengers from Zincirlikuyu, the last station on the European side, over the Bosphorus Bridge to Söğütlüçeşme, on the Asian side. With the completion of this stage of the project, the Metrobus corridor now measures 41 kilometers, includes 31 stops and cost $360 million. This final stretch was completed in 150 days.
The 30-kilometer European corridor is carrying more than 500,000 passengers daily with average time savings of two hours for those traveling the entire length of the corridor at peak hours.
The addition of the intercontinental corridor is expected to increase total ridership to 800,000 passengers per day.
The opening of the intercontinental corridor is especially important given that the Bosphorus Bridge is one of the key traffic bottlenecks in the city. Crossing the bridge can take anywhere between 20 minutes to three hours, according to Bulay.
Commuters choosing Metrobus can now cross over to the European side in 25 minutes and transfer to the metro and other bus services once they reach the Zincirlikuyu/Mecidiyekoy station, located in the commercial heart of the city.
