9/15/2015 People matter: How to reduce the time wasted in İstanbul’s traffic http://www.turkishreview.org/mainheadline/peoplematterhowtoreducethetimewastedinistanbulstraffic_552242 1/9 (/turkishreview) (/search.action) Tarık Little/ A. Mehmet Altıntaş 14 September 2015 ONLINE ONLY / MainHeadline People matter: How to reduce the time wasted in İstanbulŨs traffic This report argues that traffic congestion is largely preventable and that good driving habits could significantly reduce the time wasted in İstanbul’s traffic. The article also discusses possible solutions under the categories ‘solution,’ ‘quick fix’ and ‘longterm fix.’ Coauthor Terry Little, has driven in 72 cities and visited 15 others of the total 146 in the TomTom Index, an experience which provides a major source of traffic data for this article. In addition, the writer has held or holds driver’s licenses in Peru, Germany, Japan, Panama and Turkey, as well as Texas, Florida, North Carolina and Michigan in the US ‘Houston, we have a problem’ In 2014, the TomTom Index rated İstanbul as the worst city in its index in terms of traffic congestion, with the city’s road users annually wasting an average of 118 hours in traffic. In 2015, a commute that would normally take only 30 minutes requires an additional 29 minutes of travel time, given the levels of traffic.[2] Also as of 2015, congestion levels in İstanbul stand at 79 percent on highways and 50 percent on other roads. İstanbul is the 18thlargest city in the world, yet in five cities larger than İstanbul, road users waste less time in traffic, showing the possibility of improvements for İstanbul.[3] The report argues that a major change in the driving attitudes of only 3 percent of the drivers in İstanbul (hereafter the “Three Percenters”) could alleviate this situation; if these drivers were to have their driving licenses revoked, the traffic problem in large Turkish cities like İstanbul, Ankara and İzmir could be considerably ameliorated. Furthermore, it is suggested that the government should consider not only suspending the Three Percenters’ licenses but also impounding their cars.