Dolmus in Turkey
Do you want to get around in Turkey?
The dolmus is the way to go for an inexpensive form of transportation.
This traditional public transport recently experienced an upgrade. A widespread program gradually moved this shared taxi from a less-organized, informal operation to a cash-free system dependent on contactless credit cards, digital “ticket” cards and wireless terminals.
I was pleased to see how easy it was to swipe my contactless card and make payment on riding the dolmus recently in Yaniklar.
Gone are the days of needing small bills to pay drivers. I have zero issues with breaking large bills at local stores or handing fares to drivers not unlike moving products along an assembly line. Yep; that’s how it used to be if you needed to hustle to the back of a crowded minibus.
I vividly recall stepping into the last row of the minibus to keep the ride moving along quickly during our trip to Cappadocia. From the last row, the old skool system involved handing your 10 or 20 Turkish lira to passengers in the row in front of you…who relayed the money row after row to the driver. Did you need change? No worries; he would dig into his change bin – while driving, mind you – staring at the bin for a split second, then the road, then bin, then road….bin then road….until he relayed your change back to you, each passenger moving the money along until you received your change.
This summed up the payment process when we rode the dolmus during our 2017 trip to Turkey.
As of this post’s publish date, the experience evolved into a cashless, digital process incredibly convenient, easy to follow and quite helpful for passenger and driver alike.
After riding the dolmus a handful of times I want to guide you through the process.
1: Find Stops by Your Location
Research stops by your location to find out where to catch your ride.
We usually ask our AirBnb hosts or homeowners we house sit for to point out Dolmus stops.
Dolmush stops on main roads seem frequent. Expect to see a station every 20-30 minutes of walking around a city. Semi-rural areas also boast frequent stops because locals depend on the dolmus as an inexpensive, easy way to get around.
Kelli and I keep our peepers peeled for groups milling around a small bus shelter if we are in town and have not researched the stops.
2: Schedule
Some stops post a timetable of when the dolmus will arrive.
But if there is no schedule expect a minibus to stop every 10-20 minutes.
Semi-rural destinations can offer fairly frequent stops too; don’t worry about waiting for hours if you need a ride 20-30 minutes outside of town.
Most depend on this form of transportation for day to day chores.
The next ride is always on the way.
Look for your desired location on the windshield of the minibus as it rolls up.
Step toward the vehicle as it slows down to alert the driver of your intention to embark.
Old habits die hard for me; I gently flag him a’la hailing a taxi cab in NYC. However:
- this is not necessary
- I hail with the deftest, most subtle touch not to look entirely like a douchey tourist
3: Enter the Dolmus and Pay
When the minibus arrives hop on and pay for your ride.
Drivers accept:
- contactless credit cards
- card purchased at the stop or participating stores
- cash
Our contactless credit card proved to be convenient in Turkey. Vendors accept only this form of credit card payment in most cases throughout the entire country.
We simply entered the minibus, swiped the card, paid for one fare then swiped again for the 2nd passenger’s fare.
Payment terminal for Turkish dolmus
The process from swiping to payment takes only a few seconds.
Passengers can purchase cards from select vendors or via teller machines at bus stops but only expect to see automated machines in modernized urban areas. For example, when we rode the dolmus in semi-rural Yaniklar by Fethiye and by Ortahisar in the Cappadochia region no machine or schedule graced the generic looking bus stop. But one machine by a popular Fethiye stop gave riders another payment option.
Do yourself a favor and get a contactless credit card before traveling to Turkey if you do not already have one. You will need it to make transactions. Swiping it after entering the minibus is the quickest and easiest payment option.
Drivers do accept cash but we only saw one local pay in cash after a series of rides. Virtually everyone uses their contactless credit card or ticket-card to pay.
If you resist technology and prefer cash use only small bills.
Cost
We paid 20 Turkish lira for a 20 minute ride into Fethiye.
At the publish date of this post this is roughly equivalent to $1 USD give or take a few cents.
Payment should range from 10 to 20 TL.
4: Know Specifically Where You Need to Disembark
A fair number of Turkish people speak a little bit of English but mapping your specific spot makes sense before hopping on to the dolmus.
Research stops online. Map your stop. Track it with GPS via your phone during the ride.
Ride the dolmus with confidence by knowing specifically where you want to go.
Even though the system has evolved do not expect a clear map of stops to be posted anywhere offline. Research stops online and feel free to verify with your driver before hopping off of the minibus.
If we do not feel fully confident we will speak the location to the driver in question form and he either gives us the yes-nod or nope-nod.
Video
I recorded a short video during a ride on a Turkish dolmus.
Check it out for a first person perspective of riding the minibus.
Conclusion
Enjoy traveling around Turkey via the dolmus.
After circling the globe for 12 years this is one of the better shared taxi systems in the world.
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