Istanbul Fast Ferries Co. Inc.
İDO
TypePublic
IndustryTransport
Founded1987
HeadquartersIstanbul, Turkey
Key people
Murat Orhan, General Manager[1]
Websitehttp://www.ido.com.tr

İDO Istanbul Fast Ferries Co. Inc. (Turkish: İstanbul Deniz Otobüsleri, meaning Istanbul Sea Buses) was founded in 1987 by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Originally established with a fleet of 10 seabuses built by the Kvaerner Fjellstrand shipyard of Norway, the İDO today has a fleet of 25 seabuses (with capacities ranging from 350 to 450 passengers) designed by Kvaerner Fjellstrand, Austal and the Damen Group; 10 high-speed car ferries (1200 passengers and 225 vehicles) designed by Austal and the Damen Group; 18 car ferries; 32 commuter ferries; and 1 large passenger ship.[2] At present, the İDO is the world's largest commuter ferry operator with its 87-passenger ships and 86 piers.[2] The company owns a total of 103 ships including its service vessels.[2]

In 2011, the company was privatized for 30 years by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.[3][4]

Old İDO logo at the bottom and on the top the logo of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality

Fare system

A Seabus on the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul

The İDO uses several systems to manage trip fare. Since the conventional boats are scheduled on intracity lines and are roughly connected with other rapid transport systems such as the Istanbul Metro and İETT Buses, passengers simply pass through pay gates. There is no pre-reservation or assigned seating and admission is fairly cheap. The pay system is integrated with the AKBİL passenger cards (smart tickets) which are also valid for all other means of public transport in Istanbul that are operated by the Metropolitan Municipality.

Routes operated by the İDO in the Sea of Marmara

Seabuses are more expensive and they are not as frequently used as the conventional commuter ferries. Passengers pay the fare at the pay gates and AKBİLs are valid. The procedure is the same for the intercity seabus lines. There are no assigned seats for the passengers.

A Seabus and the Rumeli Castle, viewed from the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge on the Bosphorus

Fast car ferries and conventional vehicle carriers also carry passengers with no assigned seat numbers; however, in the high-speed car ferries, there are separate sections for the Economy Class (downstairs) and First Class (upstairs) tickets. Conventional carriers do not require pre-reservation. Passengers are suggested to reserve their seat and car slot beforehand, although there is no assigned seating in the double-ended fast ferries.

In an effort to improve customer satisfaction and the overall management of the fare system, İDO plans to switch to a dynamic pricing system similar to those of airline companies. Dynamic pricing implies that ticket prices will vary as the trip time approaches.

İDO tickets can be bought from online ticket/travel agencies such as Bilet.com.[5] In this case customers could be charged a small service fee in accordance with the conditions of ticket sale accord. Dynamic pricing system of İDO is also available to a small number of select online ticket agencies.

Fleet

Fast Ferry

Fast Ferry Fleet (Updated 28.01.2009)
Type Class Firm Number in fleet Passenger Capacity Vehicle Capacity Year Built Maximum Speed (in miles) Description
Double Ended Fast Ferry Bureau Veritas DAMEN 2 600 112 2008 22 Used in Yenikapı-Yalova line; names Kanuni Sultan Süleyman/Yavuz Sultan Selim
Katamaran Fast Ferry Germanischer Lloyd AUSTAL 2 1200 225 2007 37.4 Used in Yenikapı-Bursa line; names are Osman Gazi-1/Orhan Gazi-1
Katamaran Fast Ferry Germanischer Lloyd AUSTAL 2 800 200 1998 37 Used in Yenikapı-Bursa, Yenikapı-Yalova, Yenikapı-Bandırma line; names are Adnan Menderes
Double-Ended Fast Ferry DNV Kvaerner Fjellstrand 2 588 112 2007 22 Used in Pendik-Yalova line; names are Recep Tayyip Erdoğan/Fatih Sultan Mehmet-1
  • İDO has total of 10 fast ferries.[6]
  • The average age of the fast ferry fleet is 5.5 years.

Seabuses

Seabus Fleet (Updated 28.01.2009)
Type Firm Number in fleet Passenger Capacity Year Built Maximum Speed (in miles) Description
Katamaran DAMEN 5 449 2007 30.9 Names Burak Reis-3/Salih Reis-4/Kemal Reis-5/Mehmet Reis-11/Murat Reis-7
Katamaran Kvaerner Fjellstrand 10 449 1987/1988 25 Names are Umur Bey/Sarıca Bey/Uluç Ali Reis/Nusret Bey/Hezarfen Çelebi/Çaka Bey I/Yeditepe I/Ulubatlı Hasan/Karamürsel Bey/Çavlı Bey
Katamaran Kvaerner Fjellstrand 8 350,358,400 1997,1998,2000 32 Names are Kaptan Paşa/Seydi Ali Reis I/Oruç Reis V/Piri Reis II/Temel Reis II/Hızır Reis III/Sokullu Mehmet Paşa/Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa
Katamaran AUSTAL 2 450 1996 33.5 Names are Piyale Paşa/Sinan Paşa
  • İDO has total of 25 seabuses.[7]
  • The average age of the seabus fleet is 12.4 years.

Car Ferries

Car Ferry (Conventional Vehicle Boat) Fleet (Updated 28.01.2009)
Number in fleet Vehicle Capacity Description
4 80 Between Harem-Sirkeci. Built in 2007 by Çeksan. Names Sahilbent, Suhulet, Sadabad, Sultan Ahmet
8 112 Between Eskihisar-Topçular.
6 66 Between Harem-Sirkeci and Eskihisar-Topçular

Overall

İDO Fleet (Updated 28.01.2009)
Type Total Passenger Capacity
Seabus 25 490 to 1200
Fast Ferry 10 350 to 450
Conventional Passenger Boat 38 750 to 2100
Conventional Vehicle Boat 17 600 Passenger + 66 to 112 Vehicle
Motorboat 7
Sea Taxies 6
Total 103

Routes

Fast Ferry Lines Trip Time Notes
Yenikapı-Bursa 80 minutes Trip by fast ferries. Cars with LPG and PNG are not allowed on katamaran type.
Yenikapı-Bandırma 120 minutes Trip by fast ferries, but sometimes by seabuses. Seabus interchange from Bostancı before half hour.
Yenikapı-Yalova 70 minutes Trip by fast ferries or seabuses. Vehicles with LPG and PNG are allowed only in double-ended type. Seabuses are only for passengers.
Pendik-Yalova 45 minutes Trip by double-ended fast ferries. Vehicles with LPG and PNG are allowed.
Inter-City Seabus Lines Trip Time Notes Fares (TL)
Istanbul-Armutlu-Kumla-Gemlik Yenikapı to Armutlu in 75 minutes; to Kumla 90 minutes; to Gemlik 105 minutes The seabus first moves from Bostancı to Yenikapı and then goes to the otherside of The Marmara Sea. Normal 18

Discount 14

Istanbul-Marmara Island-Avsa Island 5 hours to Marmara Island; 5.5 hours to Avşa Only in the weekends. The boat takes off from Sarayburnu. Normal 45

Discount 40

Istanbul-Çınarcık-Esenköy 65 minutes to Çınarcık; 75 minutes to Esenköy Normal 14/Discount 12
Bostancı-Kartal-Yalova 40 minutes Normal 7.5/discount 6
Kabataş-Kadıköy-Bursa 120 minutes Normal 21/Discount 16
Inner-City Seabus Lines Trip Time Notes Fares (TL)
Bostancı-Kadıköy-Yenikapı-Bakırköy From Bostancı 20 minutes to Kadıköy;30 minutes to Yenikapı;55 minutes to Bakırköy Token 6

Normal 4 Discount 2,65

Bostancı-Kabataş 25 minutes Some trips overstop at Kadıköy. No trips on Sunday and Holidays. Token 6

Normal 4 Discount 2,65

Bostancı-Kabataş-Kadıköy-Bakırköy-Avcılar-Büyükçekmece See this[8] In winter, no trips to Büyükçekmece. Usually interchange in Bakırköy to go Bostancı. Only in weekdays. Token 6

Normal 4 Discount 2,65

Pendik-Kartal-Maltepe-Bostancı-Kabataş-Bakırköy-Avcılar From Pendik, 15 minutes to Kartal; 30 minutes to Maltepe; 50 minutes to Bostancı Passengers must interchange in Bostancı pier to go to the European Side. Only in weekdays. Token 6

Normal 4 Discount 2,65

Kabataş-Princes' Islands-Bostancı From Kabataş, 20 min to Kınalı, 30 min to Burgaz, 45 min to Büyük, 55 min to Heybeli, 75 min to Bostancı Only in weekends From Bostancı From Kabataş

Token 4 7 Normal 3,25 5,50 Discount2,75 4

Vehicle Boat Lines Trip Time Notes
Eskihisar-Topçular 35 min Old types of conventional boats. 20 minutes between two trips.
Harem-Sirkeci 12 min/20 min New types are faster. 20 min between 2 trips in weekdays and Saturdays.
Erdek-Marmara Island-Avşa

Images of the Seabus models

References

  1. "İDO'nun Genel Müdürü atandı". 24 August 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 "İstanbul Deniz Otobüsleri A.Ş." Archived from the original on May 13, 2012. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  3. "İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi". Ibb.gov.tr. 2011-06-17. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
  4. "Akfen : Privatization of 100% Shares of IDO" (PDF). Akfen.com.tr. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  5. "İdo Bileti". İdo. Retrieved 2017-10-31.
  6. "İstanbul Deniz Otobüsleri A.Ş." Archived from the original on May 25, 2012. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  7. Archived December 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  8. Archived December 28, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
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