Public Transit Mobile Apps You Need in Turkey
Exploring a massive country like Turkey gets easier with technology. Paper maps, language barriers, getting lost, or eating at low-quality restaurants are now a thing in the past. Nowadays, there are mobile apps to help you traveling Turkey as smooth as possible. You can easily find the best restaurants, ancient points of interest, or travel in large cities at ease.
Google Maps; The most famous application in the world that comes with an offline download option. You can download the districts you plan your trip on, and Google will show you all the points of interest around, as well as simple entertainment and food places. Google Maps covers all 81 provinces of Turkey.
Yandex Maps; Another map application with an offline download option. Yandex seems to be more accurate on the traffic information it provides, so this app might be for you if you wish to travel by your car instead of public transportation.
TAV Airport
TAV manages the airport transportation in large cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, and Bodrum. Their specific mobile app displays all information for airports including information on real-time flight schedules, duty-free promotions, car parking services, and transfer options. They also offer a helpful travel guide for the destinations.
Antalya Airport, on the other hand, has its own official app available on iOS and Android. You can find similar information as TAV Airport on there.
BiTaksi; You can call a taxi to your location through this app. You can also see how many cabs available around you, contact the specific taxi. You can mark your destination on the app, so that you won't have to lose any time by giving directions. Through the app, you can follow your taxi on the map, and pay through credit card. If you have a Debit Card from a Turkish Bank, you can make payments through them as well. At the end of your trip, you can also rate the driver and your trip, and recommend the driver to your friends and family. This app only operates in Istanbul and Ankara at the moment.
Moovit: This app is a lifesaver for anyone who wishes to use public transit. You can enter your destination and the app will give you the perfect route with the schedule of any public transit that you can take to your destination. Moovit allows you to save multiple public transit routes so if there is a frequent bus or subway you take, you will never lose their next or last working hours. Moovit supports all major cities in the country (Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir), as well as many other smaller ones, such as Antalya, Adana, Çanakkale, Muğla, Trabzon, and Aydın.
EGO Cepte: The capital city of Turkey, Ankara, has its own bus app where you can receive routes directly from the municipality itself. You can favorite your routes and stops for later, search for a stop or the bus, and see the schedule of every operating bus in the city. The app will also give you a list of Points of Interests with the closest bus routes, so you do not have to do thorough research on your next adventure.
IBB CepTrafik; Made by the Istanbul Municipality, this app will offer real-time traffic information for the city. You can see which routes have construction on them, find car parks worked by the municipality, and watch the roads through the city's webcams.
Başkent Mobil; Ankara Municipality has released an app that will help you with everything in the city. You can find the free wifi locations around the city, as well as find pharmacies. The app will also offer you a city guide. If you bought an ANKARAKART for your public transportation usage, you will be able to see its remaining balance on the app.
Izmir Büyükşehir Belediyesi; Same as Ankara Municipality's application, this software on your smartphone will offer you a full guide for the city. There is a complete schedule of all the boats operating in the city, as well as all the pharmacies in Izmir.
