Demand soars for international bus travel

ISTANBUL

People seeking to go abroad have started to prefer traveling by bus instead of plane due to the rising cost of flight tickets and baggage restrictions, as the number of buses covering international routes has increased at Istanbul terminals.

With the beginning of the holiday season, those who managed to overcome the Schengen visa problem are now complaining about flight ticket prices.

Recently, Turkish citizens have encountered a range of challenges in the Schengen visa application process, with a significant number of applications being rejected by consulates and appointment dates being scheduled at least a month in advance.

People have started to prefer traveling by bus rather than taking a flight due to reasons such as fear of flying, baggage restrictions, as well as costly airfare.

Dozens of passengers leave from the country’s largest bus terminal in Istanbul’s Bayrampaşa district to travel to several countries, such as the Balkan and Caucasus states, Germany, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Ukraine.

Citizens can travel abroad by bus with fares starting from 100 euros ($108), while Germany has become the most visited country.

Passengers can also have two suitcases without weight restrictions, unlike flights where they have to pay exorbitant prices for their baggage.

The journey from Bayrampaşa to Munich takes about 27 hours. On days when the control lines at customs gates are long, this period can extend up to 50 hours.

“Currently, flight ticket prices are around 500 to 600 euros [$540 to 648] per person. For a family of five, round-trip tickets amount to 5,000 euros [$5,400], equivalent to over 100,000 Turkish Lira. They cannot afford such a price. That’s why they prefer the bus. There has been an increase in demand recently,” said Mustafa Yıldırım, Bus Drivers Federation chairman.

Stating that of approximately 1,100 trips made from the bus terminal in a day, 140 are to international destinations, Yıldırım said that this number could have doubled if there were no visa problems.

Especially with the arrival of the summer months, buses leave for Germany every day, and they carry passengers to France three days a week, he said.

Yıldırım also said they expect an increase in the number of passengers traveling to Belgium and the Netherlands in the coming months.

“The journey is long and tiring but enjoyable. I was planning to go by plane next week, and the tickets were around 350 euros [$378] without any luggage. Now, I can go for only 100 euros,” said Nesrin Tavukçu, a passenger.