If you are the type of person who drives in Istanbul’s traffic, you are probably also the type of person who enjoys snake-wrestling, base jumping and eating wet burgers from unaffiliated mobile wet burger purveyors. That is, you scoff in the face of danger while tearing your shirt and laughing off the horrible paralysis of the snake venom.
Not for you, then, the nerdish and weak recourse to using technology to make your drive through the city easier. But pause a while and think: if there were a better way to get to where you are going, why not take it?
Many drivers by now have become aware of a range of traffic apps that can reduce your driving time by substantial amounts. The Istanbul Municipality has one, IBB Ceptrafik, that takes some of the guesswork out of getting from A to B, even though you might have to go through C, D, and possibly E to get home at a reasonable time.
The app kicks off as a map of Istanbul. Zoom in and roads become color-coded in a logical fashion. Green means you can make the call home, demanding your dinner be hot and waiting, whereas red means you know you have to pack several liters of water and an extra jerry can of petrol.
Motorists who know their city can see those red lines between them and their destination and can make for a greener, or at least orange, passage home.
Dotted over the map are little camera icons. Tap one and you get to see a video of that particular zone. This is a good way to visualize just what that red line means on a human level. Also, fun on a day off when you can kick back at home and watch others struggling to merge through the toll gates on the Second Bridge.
The downside of the IBB Ceptrafik app is that many of the smaller streets are not on the database. A superior app is from the Russian company Yandex (available as an Android or iPhone app). This one seems to crash less and has far more streets covered. An extra plus is an overall traffic rating. Rated from one to ten, when you get to ten you know you are essentially in a traffic apocalypse and you should probably ditch the car and walk.
When you are forced to ditch the car, for whatever reason, then it is time to break out the app called Buradan Oraya Istanbul. The name is a mouthful, but the concept is simple. You just put your current location and desired destination into either the website or the app, and it will lay out all the details. The power of this service is that Istanbul’s public transport is a patchwork of trains, ferries, trams, trains, light rail, cable cars and possibly hovercrafts. Unless you have an extensive map of the system tattooed on your arm or memorized in your brain, you will struggle to find the best route.
The itinerary includes walking times between the connections in the step-by-step guide. For those who do better with a visual cue, the website features maps with lines indicating your movements through the city.
Buradan Oraya seems to favor buses when quizzed on the best route, which seems slightly illogical, given that the two fastest ways around the city are either below ground or on the water. However, an advantage of the site is an estimated travel time. It is unclear, though, whether these projected times are based on the current flow of traffic.
Istanbul traffic is a surly, unpredictable beast. Any advantage you can gain over it is worth the free download. Remember: you will never win the war, but the odd victory in battle is good for morale.
IBB Ceptrafik
Android
iPhone/iPad
Yandex Maps
Android
iPhone/iPad
Buradan Oraya
Website (with links to download the app for both Android and iPhone/iPad)
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in February of 2014. It was updated for relevance on December of 2018.
[…] complaining about traffic. We all […]
[…] a year ago, Yabangee featured a review of some mobile apps that can help you get around and navigate Istanbul’s often confusing public […]
…and this is the organizied trafic collapse in Istanbul
[…] Traffic. It’s the Istanbul classic, and it sucks just as much as everyone says it does. […]