If you don’t wish to drive in Ankara there are a variety of easy
and cheap alternatives for you. Municipality buses, public buses,
dolmuş, taxi and subway are among the Ankara’s public
transportation alternatives. All you need is to learn well where
the stops are.
Bus (Otobüs)
Buses are cheap, however especially at peak times they are very
crowded and they’re not comfortable. There are two types of
buses in Ankara servicing the whole the city.
One is run by the municipality and these are called Belediye
Otobüsü. These buses are either red or blue and dark blue
striped. Since electronic tickets are required for traveling
with these buses the tickets should be bought in advance. They
are sold in minimum usage of five.
The second type of bus is privately run Halk Otobüsü, which are
green or blue. Tickets are not welcome on these buses and only
cash is accepted. However the price is the same. The green
double-decker busses are also privately owned and require cash.
Some of them are covered by colorful advertisements.
Underground (Metro-Hafif Metro)
There are 2 routes of underground in Ankara. Ankaray (Light
metro) and Metro.
They are both very comfortable and speedy. Connections between
Metro and Ankaray are in Kızılay. The fare for 1 unit is
the same as the bus and your electronic bus tickets are also
valid here. Route map and electronic cards can be obtained from
any underground station. Working hours are 06.00-00.00
The first line of th Ankara Metro runs from Batıkent,
north of the city to Kızılay in other words the
Centrum.
Ankaray (Light metro) runs from ASTI (Ankara Intercity Bus
Station), west of the town, passing through Kızılay and
ending in Dikimevi.
Dolmuş
Dolmuş is a special service found only in Turkey. This is a
collective taxi, which follows specific routes. It may be a car
or a minibus. Each passenger pays according to the distance
traveled and can get off at specific or requested stops. In
order to get off, the passenger need only say, "inecek var"
meaning “someone to get off here” and the dolmuş will stop. The
municipality fixes the relatively cheap fares. This is a very
practical means of transportation and much cheaper than a taxi.
You pay the fee to the driver. Prices differ depending on
distance traveled. They usually have a sign in the lower or
upper right-hand corner of their windshield that specifies the
direction to which they will be traveling. The prices are
displayed somewhere visitble within the vehicle.
Taxi (Taksi)
Taxis are numerous in all Turkish cities and are recognizable by
their yellow color and word taksi on top of the car. All taxis
have the letter T in their license plates. The fare shown on the
meter reads according to distance traveled. Be sure that the
meter is on day rate and reads "gündüz" from 06:00a.m till
midnight. The ride will start at 1.7 YTL, and the rate is 1.7
YTL per kilometer. Night rate "gece" is from midnight till 06:00
am. The fare starts at 2.12 YTL, and thereafter the charge is
2.12 YTL per kilometer.
Here are a few useful sayings that might come in handy:
Turn off the music - müziği kapatın; Close the window -
camı kapatın; Open the window - camı açın; Stop
here - burada durun; Left - sol, Right - sağ;
Turn on the meter - taksimetreyi çalıştırın; Wait please
- lütfen bekleyin; Wait here - burada bekleyin.
Suburban Train (Banliyö Treni)
There are suburban trains traveling from Sincan a district on
the west of the city, to Kayaş at east end of Ankara.
Suburban trains are alternative when traffic is an issue,
however since they are the most affordable way to travel longer
distances, they can be extremely crowded, dirty and not very
preferable. Tickets can be bought at the station. Monthly
discount cards are also available.
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