Automotive Exports December 2019

Istanbul tests new, larger metrobuses
Istanbul municipality began testing new
metrobuses with higher capacity after
commuters complained about massive
crowds at the rapid transit system
during rush hour.
If they pass the ongoing test runs, the
newer vehicles will have nearly double
the capacity and replace the old fleet.
“The vehicles that are being tested right
now have the capacity for 280 people,
with 30 of them seated and 250 on foot.
It will also have a separate cabin for
the driver,” said Arif Duran, the head
of the municipality’s directorate of
metrobuses.
“We want to renew our fleet with nextgeneration
vehicles. We are testing
vehicles that are 20 meters long and
have been conducting them for 10
days. Right now, we are doing load
tests and will move on to test runs with
commuters,” Duran said, adding that
the municipality was willing to consider
any vehicles from other manufacturers
as long as they met the requirements.
He said the test vehicle was produced
locally and would include additional
features for commuter comfort as well
as increased cost effectiveness.
Several media outlets reported that
the new metrobus prototype was called
“Akia” and that it was manufactured
in Turkey’s Bursa province by an
Iran-based company. The reports
said electric motors were also being
considered for the new metrobuses.
One of Istanbul’s most popular means
of transit, the metrobus sees almost
an endless flow of commuters during
rush hours, and even though authorities
introduced more buses along the route
and switched to a longer timetable
with more frequent trips, the problems
linger. Overcrowding is particularly
evident in the first stops of the rapid
transit route that takes commuters
from Beylikdüzü on the far western
corner of city’s European side to
Söğütlüçeşme on the Asian side.
Passengers point out that the
problem has worsened, particularly
for Beylikdüzü, as thousands travel
every day from the district and nearby
districts to work in the city’s financial
centers like Mecidiyeköy and Levent.
Verbal arguments are common in
metrobuses and sometimes they even
end in brawls as passengers complain
it is “torture” to find even a small space
to stand in the buses.