Despite the annual increase in population and the number of vehicles in Istanbul, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality's (IBB) investments in transportation and introductions of smart solutions have reduced traffic congestion by 6%.
TomTom, regarded as one of the world's leading traffic data providers, prepared its annual report by collecting GPS data from in-car navigation devices in 403 cities in 56 countries on six continents. According to the report unveiling Istanbul's traffic index, traffic congestion fell from 59% in 2017 to 53% in 2018. Thanks to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality's ongoing rail system projects, it is envisaged that the traffic congestion will be further relieved in coming years.
Smart transportation systems, rail systems and interconnected public transportation services undertaken by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality with the vision of smart urbanization have relieved Istanbul traffic to a great extent. According to the traffic index published by TomTom, which monitors traffic densities of big cities in the world, the traffic congestion in Istanbul is on the decline despite the continuous increase in population and the number of vehicles in the city.
The traffic index report announced by the Netherlands-based company calculates the extra time drivers spend all year at the wheel. In TomTom's study, traffic congestion in 403 cities in 56 countries was analyzed. An international survey published by the same company last year on https://www.tomtom.com/en_gb/traffic-index/istanbul-traffic#statistics also indicates that Istanbul's traffic congestion dropped by 6%.
Many innovations realized by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB), such as smart transportation systems, new road construction, road and intersection arrangements, increase in the variety and number of public transportation and integration of all public transportation vehicles have relieved Istanbul's traffic congestion notably. Investments such as the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, the North Marmara Motorway, the Eurasia Tunnel and the Marmaray, which were realized by the central government, have also provided significant relief to Istanbul traffic. The Marmaray, which serves an average of 450,000 passengers per day, has increased the use of public transportation, thus reducing vehicle density.
Meanwhile, 15 rail system lines, 11 undertaken by the İBB and four by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, are being constructed throughout Istanbul. With the commissioning of rail system lines, traffic congestion in Istanbul should further decrease in coming years.
