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Here is an e-mail from Mustafa, who just returned from Istanbul yesterday .
When my older brother Cem recommended that I use the Akbil or Smart Ticket to travel throughout Istanbul, i was skeptical. I had always used the ferry system in Istanbul , but my past experience with public buses was not good. They were overcrowded and sometimes dirty, schedules were not well known, it was a hassle to pay the driver etc etc.
On my recent trip, I loaded a total of 50 TL (about $28) on the smart card and used it almost exclusively to travel throughout istanbul. I only took a cab twice; from the airport to the ferry station and back to the airport and only because I had bags.
The ferries run every 15 minutes or so between major landing points like kadikoy, Karakoy, Besiktas, Uskudar and Eminonu. This is nothing new, but what I discovered was the convenience of using the Smart Ticket and not having to fumble for change, tokens etc.
The Metro (subway) is still being built but is great...I will give a practical example. When about 4-5 inches of snow fell on Monday the 16th, traffic quickly became locked up throughout the Eurpoean side. I was unfortunately in Levent which was receiving some of the heaviest snowfall. I needed to go to Besiktas to take a ferry across but people reported that it was taking 1.5 to 2 hours to navigate the approximately 3 or 4 miles to Besiktas. I took the Metro to Taksim (twice the distance to Besiktas) in 10 minutes, transferred to the Sishane line (another 5 minutes), walked 50 yards to the "Tunnel" and in another 5 minutes (total of 20 minutes) was at the ferry station at Karakoy taking my boat across. ...20 minutes vs 2 hours.
The subway is clean and efficient...Trains run every 5 to 8 minutes. At the stations, there are electronic displays showing when the next train will arrive. Inside the subway trains, announcements of stops are made in Turkish and English. It is crowded but reasonably so. You are not packed like a can of sardines.
The buses were the biggest surprise. They are clean, efficient, less crowded than before and run very frequently between the major points (every 2 or 3 minutes to major spots like Taksim, Besiktas and Eminonu). The bus stops have the schedules printed; some are paper schedules but some have electronic displays showing in real time when the next buses are due for each line. On the bus, the announcements are in Turkish and English. The Smart Ticket works like a charm. And most of the time, you can find a seat or stand up without getting claustrophobic. There are many diffreent type of buses: the IETT official bus, the "Halk Otobusu" (or "People's Bus" which is run by private contractors as opposed to by the City directly, the "Metrobus" which is humongous and has its own dedicated lanes, the new Purple colored buses...I dont know the exact number but I bet there are thousands of buses in service every day. The good news is that they all take the Smart Ticket.
I used to be somewhat of a "snob" when it came to taking buses in Turkey. Not anymore, I am sold...They have made huge improvements. The whole transportation system is interconnected and schedules are coordinated between buses, ferries, Metro and "Sea Bus". It is inexpensive and convenient. In one busy day, I counted 12 segments that I used public transportation for. My cost was less than 20 TL (about $12). If I has taken taxis, I would have paid hundreds of liras and would not have saved much time, if at all.
Thanks Cem for a great tip about using the Akbil or Smart Ticket!!"
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