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A Turkish dolmus (DOHL-moosh)
is a jitney, a shared
taxi or minibus
running a pre-determined route,
with each passenger paying only a
portion of the normal fare.
(Sometimes I spell it "dolmush" to
remind you that the final 's' is an
's-cedilla' in Turkish, equivalent
to 'sh' in English. See my Turkish
Language Guide for details on Turkish
pronunciation.)
Dolmus means "filled:" the
car or minibus waits at the beginning
of its route until most or all of its
seats are filled.
Passengers can get out anywhere along
the route, or ride to the end, for
a single set fare that's the
same for all passengers no matter what
their destination.
Although their use is declining, dolmushes
still operate within
cities,
and between cities and nearby towns
and villages—in short, anywhere
where small-vehicle shared transport
makes sense. You may find them operating
from suburbs into the city for big
football (soccer) matches, or from
a railroad station to a nearby beach.
Small cities and country towns may
have a dolmush/minibus terminal as
well as an inter-city bus terminal.
Sometimes they're the same place, sometimes
not. Larger cities may have several
dolmush terminals in different parts
of the city.
Fares are usually about TL3 within
a city. City-to-village routes, which
tend to be longer, may have higher
fares but still far less than a private taxi (though
usually a bit more than city bus fare.)
In city centers there may be legally
designated dolmush stops, usually
marked by blue signs bearing a big
white "D", and dolmushes
may be forbidden to stop anywhere else
to let passengers in or out. On the
outskirts and in less heavily trafficked
locations, you may stop a dolmush wherever
you like.
In big cities, dolmush route systems
tend to be many and varied, and
meaningful only to local residents.
Signboards in the front window of
the car or minibus, or atop the vehicle,
indicate the destination and usually
a few of the major points along the
route.
Although most dolmush routes are of
little use to the visitor, some can
be very handy. You can often save
time and money by using dolmushes
on routes that fit your travel plans.
For example, in many beach
resorts, dolmush minibuses are
the most common way to go between
hotel, beach and town center: just
wander out to the main road, read the
front-window signboards as they come
along, and wave to the driver of
one that's going your way.
Get in and take a seat. The driver
collects fares and makes change as
he drives, which often makes
for a thrilling ride. If you're not
near enough to hand the fare to him,
hand it to someone in front of you
and they'll hand it up to the driver.
If you don't know the fare,
watch what others pay and pay the same;
or give the driver a TL5
note and you'll get change. Or, as
a last resort, ask Bilet
ne kadar? ("How much is a
ticket?") and someone will help
you.
Try not to give a high-value note (worth
more than TL10
or so) as this makes life more difficult
for the driver. But if you must, you
must....
When you want to get out, say Inecek
var! (een-eh-JEHK vahr, "Someone
wants to get out!") You'll hear
other passengers saying Müsait
bir yer... which means "At
a permitted place...[I want to get
out]," which comes to the same
thing but is more difficult for non-Turkish
speakers to pronounce.
Try it! The first time you
ride in a dolmush you'll be filled
with trepidation, but after the first
time it'll all be quite easy, I assure
you!
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