Transport in Turkey is road-dominated and mostly fuelled bydiesel.^[1] Transport consumes a quarter ofenergy in Turkey,^[2] and is a major source ofair pollution in Turkey andgreenhouse gas emissions by Turkey. TheWorld Health Organization has called for moreactive transport such ascycling.^[3] As of 2023health impact assessment is not done inTurkey.^[4]: 50

TheTCDD – Türkiye Devlet Demir Yolları (Turkish State Railways) possess 13,919 km of1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) gauge, of which 7,142 km are electrified (2024).^[7]There are daily regular passenger trains all through the network.^[8] TCDD has started an investment program of building 5.000 km high-speed lines until 2023. Multiple high speed train routes are running, including:Ankara-Eskişehir-İstanbul,Ankara-Konya andAnkara-Sivas lines.

The freight transportation is mainly organized as block trains for domestic routes, since TCDD discourages under 200 to loads by surcharges.

After almost 30 years without any trams,Turkey is experiencing a revival in trams. Established in 1992, the tram system ofIstanbul earned the best large-scale tram management award in 2005. Another award-winning tram network belongs toEskişehir (EsTram) where a modern tram system opened in 2004. In 2010,Kayseri (Kayseray) won the "Worldwide Project of the Year" and "Best Urban Integration Project of the Year" awards for being a light rail system with nearly the entire route constructed as agreen track. Several other cities are planning or constructing tram lines, with modern low-flow trams.

By 2014, there have been 12 cities in Turkey using railroads for transportation.

• Cities withcommuter rail systems:Istanbul,Ankara,İzmir,Sakarya,Gaziantep
• Cities withmetro systems:Istanbul,Ankara,İzmir,Bursa,Adana
• Cities withlight rail transit systems:Istanbul,Ankara,İzmir,Adana,Bursa,Eskişehir,Konya,Antalya,Kayseri,Gaziantep,Samsun,Kocaeli.

• Azerbaijan – viaGeorgia – under construction
• Armenia – closed (seeKars Gyumri Akhalkalaki railway line)^[9]
• Bulgaria – open –1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
• Georgia – under reconstruction –break-of-gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)/1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in).
• Greece – open –1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) (Note: Passenger services as Express of Friendship/Filia suspended from 13 February 2012^[10])
• Iran – viaLake Vantrain ferry – same gauge
• Iraq – No direct link, traffic routed via Syria – same gauge
• Syria – closed (plans to reopen it is on the agenda^{[citation needed]})–1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) (Note: It was suspended after breakout ofSyrian Civil War in 29 August 2011)

Road transport is responsible for muchair pollution in Turkey and almost a fifth ofTurkey's greenhouse gas emissions, mainly via diesel. It is one of 3 G20 countries without a fuel efficiency standard.^[11] As of 2020^[update] there are many old, inefficient, polluting trucks.^[2] Retiring old polluting vehicles by forcing all cars and trucks to meet tailpipe emission standards would reduce disease, especially frompolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.^[12] As of 2024^[update], the country has a roadway network of 68,617 kilometres (42,637 miles).^[13] TheEurasia Tunnel (2016) provides an undersea road connection for motor vehicles.^[14] TheBosphorus Bridge (1973),Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge (1988) andYavuz Sultan Selim Bridge (2016) are the three suspension bridges connecting the European and Asian shores of the Bosphorus strait. TheOsman Gazi Bridge (2016) connects the northern and southern shores of theGulf of İzmit. The1915 Çanakkale Bridge (2022) , connects the European and Asian shores of theDardanelles strait.

Fuel quality and emissions standards are not as good as those in the EU,^[15] and as of 2024^[update] about 1% of cars^[16] and almost no commercial vehicles on the road are electric.^[17]

In 2023 the World Bank said the government should plan and subsidize the rollout of public electric car chargers, particularly because so many people live in flats. They said that a subsidy would provide environmental and social benefits. They also said that cities should set an end date for diesel buses.^[18]

In the same year, according to a study by Dr. Hüseyin Korkmaz of Istanbul University, Istanbul drivers lost an average of 105 hours due to traffic congestion. The research, utilizing AI to analyze data from the Turkish National Police, identified 97,354 traffic accidents in the city that year, with many occurring during peak hours on major routes. The study highlights that even minor accidents can significantly disrupt traffic flow, especially when lanes are closed. Dr. Korkmaz suggests that addressing Istanbul's traffic issues requires improved public transportation, better urban planning, and measures to control population growth and vehicle usage.^[19]

There are three types of intercity roads in Turkey:

– The first is the historical and free road network called State roads (Devlet Yolları) that are completely under the responsibility of theGeneral Directorate of Highways except for urban sections (like the sections falling within the inner part ofring roads ofAnkara,Istanbul orİzmir. Even if they mostly possessdual carriageways andinterchanges, they also have sometraffic lights andintersections.

– The second type of roads arecontrolled-access highways that are officially namedOtoyol. But it isn't uncommon that people in Turkey call themOtoban (referring toAutobahn) as this types of roads entered popular culture by the means ofTurks in Germany. They also depend on theGeneral Directorate of Highways except those that are financed with aBOT model.^{[citation needed]}

– The third type of roads are provincial roads (Il Yolları) are highways of secondary importance linking districts within a province to each other , the provincial center, the districts in the neighboring provinces, the state roads, railway stations, seaports, and airports

• Motorways: Motorway 3.796 km (January 2025)^[20]
• Dual carriageways: 29.673 km (January 2025)^[20]
• State Highways 30.832 km (January 2025)^[20]
• Provincial Roads 33.922 km (January 2025)^[20]
• Motorway Projects‐Vision 8.325 km (in 2053)^[21]

As of 2023, there are 471tunnels (total length 665 km)^[22] and 9.660bridges (total length 739 km)^[23] on the network.

There are numerous privatebus companies providing connections between cities in Turkey.For local trips to villages there aredolmuşes, smallvans that seat about twenty passengers.As of 2024, number of road vehicles is around 31 million. The number of vehicles by type and use is as follows.^[24]

• Car 16,232,458
• Minibus 522,608
• Bus213,416
• Small truck 4,703,287
• Truck 1,000,326
• Motorcycle 6,261,927
• Special Purpose vehicle 102,100
• Tractor 2,265,267
• Total: 31,301,389

Source^[25]

This section is an excerpt fromCycling in Turkey.[edit]

Cycling in Turkey is held back by poor infrastructure. It is sometimes done forhealth reasons, and infrastructure is being improved.^[26][27] TheWorld Health Organization has called for transport in Turkey to include moreactive transport such as cycling.^[28]

Escooter rental is available in some cities,^[29] and escooters can be used on cycle paths, and on urban roads without cycle paths where the speed limit is below 50 kph.^[30]

As of 2024^[update] about 10% of cars sold were electric,^[17] and over half the registered motor vehicles were cars - about 16.2 million - of which 5.5 million were diesel fueled, 5.2 million LPG, 4,9 million gasoline, 0.4 million hybrid, and 0.2 million electric.^[31]

In 2013 Turkey had the tenth largest passenger air market in the world with 74,353,297 passengers.^[32] In 2013 there were 98airports in Turkey,^[33] including 22international airports.^[34] As of 2015^[update],Istanbul Atatürk Airport is the11th busiest airport in the world, serving 31,833,324 passengers between January and July 2014, according toAirports Council International.^[35] Thenew (third) international airport of Istanbul is planned to be the largest airport in the world, with a capacity to serve 150 million passengers per annum.^[36][37]Turkish Airlines,flag carrier of Turkey since 1933, was selected bySkytrax asEurope's best airline for five consecutive years in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.^[38][39][40] With435 destinations (51 domestic and 384 international) in 126 countries worldwide, Turkish Airlines is thelargest carrier in the world by number of countries served as of 2016^[update].^[41]

Total number of Airports in Turkey: 117 (2007)

Airports – with paved runways
total:88
over 3,047 m:16
2,438 to 3,047 m:

1,524 to 2,437 m:19
914 to 1,523 m:16
under 914 m:4 (2010)(Link:^[42])

Airports – with unpaved runways
total:11
1,524 to 2,437 m:1
914 to 1,523 m:6
under 914 m:4 (2010)(Link:^[42])

Heliports20 (2010)

About 1,200 km

Black Sea

• Hopa
• Inebolu
• Samsun
• Trabzon
• Zonguldak

Aegean Sea

• İzmir

Mediterranean Sea

• İskenderun
• Mersin
• Antalya

Sea of Marmara

• Gemlik
• Bandırma
• Istanbul
• İzmit
• Derince

Road traffic is a major source ofair pollution in Turkey,^[43] and Istanbul is one of the few European cities without alow emission zone.^[44][45]

Transport emitted 85 megatonnes of CO₂ in 2018, about one tonne per person and 16 percent ofTurkey's greenhouse gas emissions. Road transport dominated transport emissions with 79 megatonnes, including agricultural vehicles.^[46]

• Right to Clean Air Platform Turkey
• Public transport in Istanbul
• List of highways in Turkey
• Turkish State Highway System
• List of otoyol routes in Turkey
• Otoyol
• List of countries by vehicles per capita Turkey "total number of vehicles" 16th, Turkey "vehicles per capita" 66th

• Difiglio, Prof. Carmine; Güray, Bora Şekip; Merdan, Ersin (November 2020).Turkey Energy Outlook.iicec.sabanciuniv.edu (Report). Sabanci University Istanbul International Center for Energy and Climate (IICEC).ISBN 978-605-70031-9-5.

• Bisiklet Yolları Klavuzu [Bicycle Path Guidelines](PDF) (Report) (in Turkish).Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning (Turkey). December 2019.

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