Transportation to Ataturk Olympic Stadium
Metro Rail System
Construction of the underground railway system began in 1992 opened for public use in 2000 and remains booming and expanding today. Locals and tourists alike suggest the metro system is the most cost effective mode of transportation around Istanbul and Ikitelli. Public transportation records show that of the 13 million inhabitants the metro and light rail combine to serve over 2 million passengers daily. The Tunel is the oldest running rail line in Europe and considered third oldest in the world since its first run in 1872 and with obvious technological modifications it remains a main source of transport.
Similar to the Tunel is the light rail funicular line created in 2006 that doesn’t quite cast a shadow over the old school but rather shares the load. While the Tunel rail system has over 15,000 passengers a day and consists of over 50 station to station stops, the new light rail system has fewer stops and more frequent running times. Between Kabatas to Taksim Square is about 600 meters of rail line and climbs an impressive 60 meters in 110 seconds. Ultimately, the rail system is a traveler’s best bet to and from the Ataturk Airport in Istanbul and the Ataturk Stadium.
Metro Bus System
A more popular and coincidentally more crowded mode of transport is the Bus Rapid Transit System that is comprised of more than 5,300 vehicles in its operation. Since 2005 the steady increase of above ground transport has the BRT accruing more than 30% of the nation’s transportation duties. The total daily ridership is more than 3.2 million between the Metrobus system and normal routed bus system. While it is a normal mode of transport, convenience is met with style in that majority of the buses are Mercedes Capacity, Mercedes Citaro and Mercedes Benz.
