“Metrobüs” is a word whispered in dark corners of the yabangee community in İstanbul. So what is this so called Metrobüs? How does it work? And most importantly how to survive the Metrobüs experience? Before I tell you how a mode of transportation is associated with survival, let me give you some information about it.
Long, long ago… In 2005, the Turkish government realised that digging a metro system across İstanbul to move the ever increasing population around is not practical. So Metrobüs came into our lives. It is a 50 km (31.1 miles) bus rapid transit route with 45 stations which follows the city’s ring-road via Avcılar, Zincirlikuyu and the Bosphorus Bridge to Söğütlüçeşme using dedicated bus lanes for most of the route.
The first section of the busway, which was opened in 2007 after two years of construction, is used by a number of Metrobüs lines which operate within this ‘closed’ system carrying 800,000 people daily.
Being the only mode of transportation that avoids traffic, runs 24 hours and can get you from Kadıköy all the way to Avcılar (which is a long long way to go), Metrobüs is a very popular way to get around quickly in the vastness of Istanbul. It’s also decently fast, and runs quite often with a total of 4000 trips a day during weekdays and 2000 during weekends.
You must be saying “Wow! That sounds awesome, I’m taking that all the time!” Well the problem is, it’s a bit too popular. How popular you might ask? Well look at the image below:
Nope that’s not judgment day, that’s a picture of Metrobüs on a random day.
So how to survive the Metrobüs experience?
1 – First and foremost, as with any area of that dense a crowd, you want to keep your phone, wallet and bag close to you.
2 – Try avoiding Metrobüs at rush hour (8 – 10 am / 6 – 8 pm). And if you must take it, anticipate a lot of resistance and loss of personal space.
3 – For the long journey you might be tempted to take a book with you, however there’s usually no place to hold a book up. So an audiobook or a good podcast for the journey is highly recommended.
4 – When you want to get off Metrobüs, make sure that you’re as close to the doors as possible. The density of people might block your exit so you want to start moving towards the door a station or two in advance using expressions such as “Afedersiniz” or “Pardon” as you gently push people around.
5 – Once you get to your destination, don’t forget to use the refund machine that gives you some of your money back if you haven’t taken Metrobüs from Kadıköy all the way to Avcılar or vice versa.
6 – Take a deep breath before getting on, reminding yourself how much you love İstanbul and how fast the Metrobüs will take you where you want to go. And take another deep breath after getting off, being proud of yourself for surviving the Metrobüs experience!
Let us know your tips on how to survive the Metrobüs experience in the comments below.
