Inter-city and International Transportation
Air
Together with some private airlines, Turkish Airlines (THY) has a domestic flights network covering seventeen Turkish airports, the first five of which are also international:
Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara, Dalaman, Antalya, Adana, Bursa, Denizli, Kayseri, Samsun, Erzurum, Erzincan, Malatya, Diyarbakir, Urfa, Elazig, Kars, Van.
While Ankara is the major junction of the domestic air routes, Istanbul is the busiest airport and the principal terminus of international lines.
Domestic fares are quite reasonable, between 50-100 US Dollars one way to each destination.
Turkish Airlines has one of the newest fleets of aircraft and is among the youngest airlines in the world. THY has a capacity of 67 airplanes and 10,500 seats (1994).
Sea
As a country surrounded by sea on three sides Turkey should have been using much more sea transportation. Except for a few routes sea transportation is not very common. Turkish Maritime Lines is operating some routes from Istanbul to the Black Sea, Marmara Sea, Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
Rail
Turkey’s railway system extends approximately 10,200 km / 6,340 miles of which 2,300 km / 1,430 miles is within the framework of the International Main Railways European Charter and the Trans-European Railways (TER).
Turkish Railways employ 55,000 workers and the General Directorate replaces 300500 km / 185310 miles of track each year. There are 58 steam, 554 diesel and 58 electric locomotives in operation. 12% of the railways work on electricity and the remaining 88% are diesel. The number of passengers traveling by train per year is around 150 million, the amount of freight transported is 17 million tons.
Except for the route between Ankara and Istanbul and a few other routes extending to the eastern part of Turkey which provide comfort under severe climatic conditions, traveling by train is not usually preferred, because buses provide faster, cheaper and more comfortable services.
Bus
With a network of 368,677 km / 229,000 miles (1992) of roads, Turkey has excellent bus services. Many of the luxurious buses are manufactured in Turkey, therefore the number of buses is comparatively high. The ratio is 25 people per one public vehicle.
Because of the big competition among the private bus companies, the number of services is high. In some destinations, services are as frequent as the airlines with cafe, bar and restaurant facilities on board. The fares are around 10-20 US Dollars to each destination.
City Transportation
Apart from public buses, trains and trams the most common means of transportation are taxis, ferry boats (Istanbul and Izmir), sea buses (Istanbul) and dolmus.
Dolmus
Dolmus (literally full of passengers) is a kind of shared taxi which, sometimes takes the form of a large car, a station wagon, a regular taxi or a minibus. It follows a specific fixed route. Passengers pay according to the distance traveled and can get in and out whenever and wherever they want to by informing the driver. It is a very practical means of transport and much cheaper than a taxi. The dolmus fares are determined by municipalities according to distances.
Taxis
Taxis are numerous all over Turkey and are recognizable by their yellow color and lighted “taxi” signs on top.
Each taxi is metered and there are two different rates. After midnight (24:00) till morning (06:00) it will cost 50% more than the daytime fare. Additional expenses like ferryboat or bridge crossing fees are extra to passengers. Tipping is not necessary, however leaving the change or rounding up the fare is customary.
Ferry Boats (Istanbul and Izmir)
The busy city of Istanbul sits on the shores of Europe and Asia. Many of the inhabitants live on one continent but work, study or socialize on the other. Apart from the two bridges on the Bosphorus, ferry boats are the only means to connect the two continents and are therefore vital. It is different in Izmir where ferry boats provide an easy option with which to cross the Bay of Izmir.
The ferry service is reliable and peaceful operating throughout the day and until midnight.
Sea Buses (Istanbul)
With fewer boats than the ferry boat system these fast and smooth services by air conditioned power boats offer very efficient commuting from one point to another across Istanbul’s Bosphorus. More expensive than the ferry boats they also offer light snacks and beverages.