Istanbul, Ankara introduce new transport rules

ISTANBUL

DHA Photo

Turkey’s two largest cities, Istanbul and Ankara, which yesterday came out from a 48-hour lockdown along with 29 other provinces, started the week with new measures for public transport aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.

As part of the new regulations introduced by the city’s governor’s offices, commuters and drivers in Istanbul are all required to wear protective face masks during the trip. Passengers are not allowed to use public transport unless they have face masks on.

Some drivers for metrobuses wear protective gowns.

In order to ensure the proper implementation of the social distancing rules, inner-city transport vehicles will operate at 50 percent capacity, which means only half of the seats will be occupied. The number of standing passengers will not exceed the number of seated travelers. Commuters are also required to take the window seat, leaving the aisle seats empty.

According to the new rules, sanitizers are installed on all public transport vehicles and at all stops.

The capital Ankara, the country’s second largest province by population, has also introduced additional public transport regulations against the outbreak, which are designed to help people observe social distancing rules.

The city’s public bus system will operate regularly. On weekdays, the metro will run every seven minutes from 7:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and between 4.p.m to 8.30 p.m. Outside these hours, the metro cars will run every 15 minutes.

As it is the case with Istanbul, commuters are required to wear face masks and those who ignore this rule will be fined.