New ferry line to be launched between Istanbul's İstinye and Çubuklu

The Istanbul City Lines are preparing to launch new car-carrying ferry services between İstinye on the city's European side and Çubuklu on the Asian side in early 2017, in a bid to ease vehicle traffic on the three bridges over the Bosphorus. 

With the planned ferry line, the duration of passage from İstinye to Çubuklu is expected to take from seven to eight minutes. 

City Lines executive Yakup Güler said the biggest problem in transportation between Istanbul's European and Asian sides stemmed from the traffic congestion on bridges, and the new ongoing project aimed to relieve traffic on coastal roads and on roads leading to the bridges. 

Güler said they would initially launch three ferries, each with a minimum capacity of 50 vehicles. They eventually plan to offer 40,000 services annually, carrying 1.7 million vehicles and 2.5 million passengers. 

Güler also signaled that if the new line is a success, they will create similar lines along the Bosporus.