Istanbul residents spend nine hours a week in traffic: Research

ISTANBUL

The residents of Istanbul are spending nine hours a week in traffic on average, according to data gathered by Ajans Press from the public transport and mapping application Moovit.

Data showed that the average Istanbul resident working six days a week spends nine hours in traffic due to several factors that lead to traffic jam, including road maintenances and the opening of the new school year.

Those who commute by public transport in Istanbul spend nearly one-and-a-half hours in traffic on average daily and 30 percent of employees spend at least two hours in public transportation vehicles.

Istanbul residents also wait at public transport stations for 19 minutes on average and 66 percent of them change vehicles once.

Residents of the capital Ankara, meanwhile, spend less time in traffic, though the duration is also high. Ankara residents spend 71 minutes in traffic on average every day, while the average time spent in traffic in the southern province of Antalya is 63 minutes.