Istanbul's public transport body, the İETT, will launch a line leasing tender for 10 years of public transportation with 150 buses on 18 lines in order to create lines for "Luxury Transportation with Luggage" throughout Istanbul. The tender is being carried out to meet the transportation needs with the opening of Istanbul New Airport.

Joint ventures and foreign companies are expected to participate in the tender to be held today.

According to the information obtained from the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB), buses to be used on 18 lines will be vehicles between 0 to 3 years old with the same qualifications as the airbuses that provide public transportation to the two existing airports.

Some 150 buses to operate on 18 lines will be luxury vehicles. It is requested that 100 of the buses to be used on this line will be the solo type with at least 46 seats while 50 buses will have a capacity of at least 35 seats.

Estimated monthly price for a bus will be 10,000 full electronic tickets, while the total estimated price will be TL 468 million ($70.7 million), corresponding to 180 million full tickets. The closed bidding will be realized in such a way to raise over the estimated bid price with the unit price being valid.

In line with the tender specifications, the bus line, which is expected to carry 75,000 passengers per day along with luxury transport, will charge between TL 12 and TL 30.

The line where the largest number of vehicles will be operated is planned to be the Yenikapı-Sirkeci line, spanning 50 kilometers. There will be 23 vehicles on this line where the vehicle will move every 11 minutes. The fee for this line will be TL 18. The most expensive and farthest line will be from Pendik. This line will operate with 5 vehicles, and the fee for the 93-kilometer Pendik line will be TL 30.

The vehicles that will win the tender will be operational on Oct. 25 and will start serving on Oct. 29, the opening date of the airport. The vehicles will serve in accordance with Istanbul's working conditions. During the contract, vehicles older than five years will not operate in this regard.

The line leasing business for public transportation will be carried out with a raise over the estimated price of TL 468 million, and how the winning company will pay is explained in the tender contract in detail.

Accordingly, the monetary amount of the 20 percent portion of the full electronic ticket price of the contract price will be paid by dividing the monetary amount equally into five months to commence in the month following the signing of the contract. The 80 percent portion will be paid by dividing it equally to 120 months.

Besides for the luxury buses, 660 commercial taxis and 38 İETT buses will also carry passengers to the new airport.

In addition, the Gayrettepe-Istanbul New Airport and the Halkalı-Istanbul New Airport metro lines will provide public transportation services in the future.