İDO Istanbul Fast Ferries Co. Inc. (, meaning ''Istanbul Sea Buses'') was founded in 1987 by the

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Metropolitan Municipality. Originally established with a fleet of 10 seabuses built by the Kvaerner Fjellstrand shipyard of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, the İDO today has a fleet of 25 seabuses (with capacities ranging from 350 to 450 passengers) designed by Kvaerner Fjellstrand,

Austal Austal Limited is an Australian-based global ship building company and defence prime contractor that specialises in the design, construction and support of defence and commercial vessels. Austal's product range includes naval vessels, High-spee ...

and the

Damen Group The Damen Group is a Dutch defence, shipbuilding, and engineering conglomerate company based in Gorinchem, Netherlands. Though it is a major international group doing business in 120 countries, it remains a private family-owned company. Dame ...

; 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. At present, the İDO is the world's largest commuter ferry operator with its 87-passenger ships and 86 piers. The company owns a total of 103 ships including its service vessels. In 2011, the company was privatized for 30 years by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

Fare system

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 The Istanbul Metro () is a rapid transit railway network that serves the city of Istanbul, Turkey. Apart from the M11 line, which is operated by TCDD Taşımacılık, the system is operated by Metro Istanbul, a public enterprise controlled by th ...

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

Istanbulkart Istanbulkart is a contactless smart card for fare payment on public transport in Istanbul, Turkey. It was introduced on March 23, 2009 in addition to the Akbil, an integrated electronic ticket system which was eventually phased out in 2015. The ...

, which is also valid for all other means of public transport in Istanbul that are operated by the Metropolitan Municipality. 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 Istanbulkart cards are valid. The procedure is the same for the intercity seabus lines. There are no assigned seats for the passengers. 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. 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. File:Ido2.JPG, A ''Seabus'' on the

Bosphorus The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait ( ; , colloquially ) is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental bo ...

File:Sultanahmet, Istanbul (P1100256).jpg, IDO car ferry Sultanahmet on the Bosphorus with it's namesake in the background File:Bandirma ido.jpg, İDO car ferry at

Bandırma Bandırma ()Greek: Panormos(Πανορμος)is a municipality and district of Balıkesir Province, northwestern Turkey. Its area is 755 km2, and its population is 167,363 (2024). Bandırma is located in the south of the Marmara Sea, in the ...

Fleet

Fast Ferry

*İDO has total of 10 fast ferries. *The average age of the fast ferry fleet is 5.5 years.

Seabuses

*İDO has total of 25 seabuses.
*The average age of the seabus fleet is 12.4 years.

Car Ferries

Overall

Routes

Images of the Seabus models

File:Ido1.JPG, Damen Group, Damen made İDO ferry File:Ido2.JPG,

made İDO ferry

References

External links

İDO homepage (English)

Fleet and Terminals at İDO

Map of Ferry terminals at İDO

Buy Online İDO Tickets

İDO Ferry timetables

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ido Transport in Istanbul Ferry companies of Turkey Companies based in Istanbul Transport companies established in 1987 Turkish brands Turkish companies established in 1987