TekirdaÄ, especially the downtown area in where almost all the sights are, is fairly convenient to explore on foot. Nevertheless, city has a public transport system based on minibuses, some are public and run by the city council while others are private. In any case, you donât have to have a ticket beforehand—there are no tickets even if you wish to have—and pay cash to the driver inside the vehicle.
Public minibuses recognizable by their navy blue colour have route numbers on the front, but it makes no sense to memorize them since they are running between the otogar and different outlying residential hoods -which are of no interest to the occasional traveller- usually via the city center. The private minibuses usually donât have route numbers, instead they are all painted different colours according to their routes. The two most important routes for an ordinary traveller would be the Barbaros-KumbaÄ line, which is painted in light blue, and DeÄirmenaltı line which is painted in slightly greenish-yellow There are actually three different lines using the same slightly greenish-yellow colour and they line up together in pairs at the main stop in the city center. They all do run to the same direction but their terminii are different points. Either carefully read the signs on the front window of the vehicle about where it goes to, or tell the driver the place name you want to go, he will either make an approval gesture (shaking his head downwards or point to another minibus, which means âthat one goes thereâ. These greenish-yellow minibuses are those exceptional ones to have route numbers and #1 goes into DeÄirmenaltı, so look for that. The same-colour #3 and #5 also stop at Maxi Mall, which is located at the entrance of the hood).
All minibuses run on a fixed route and schedule, mostly in 10-minute intervals, however the interval frequency drop late at night to once every 30 minutes. The last minibus for most lines is at midnight 3AM for KumbaÄ line during July and August
Main stop for private minibuses is across the street from Rüstem PaÅa Mosque. They donât have any standard stops other than this, they stop wherever a passenger raises his hand to show he/she is going to board or wherever a passenger inside shouts inecek var pronounced ee-neh-djek vahr to get off. Public minibuses only stop at standard stops none of them has an official name and anyone who is willing to get off next stop should push one of the buttons around the back door to make sure the minibus will stop and the door will open at the next stop.
Fees are standard 1.50 TL within the city borders, 2.50 TL for KumbaÄ and no student discounts available.
Taxis are also available from many stands around the city. Please note that official rate for taxis is twice more expensive than the rate of those in Istanbul.
For the villages and towns surrounding the city for example Åarköy, you can find busses at the otogar, or minibuses departing from shoreline or some other designated stops around the city.
