In Congested Istanbul, Electric Scooters Find a Spiritual Home
The global proliferation of the two-wheelers has reached the Turkish metropolis, and one company in particular is dominating the market.
A customer rides an electric rental scooter, operated by Marti Ileri Teknoloji AS, along a cycle lane in Istanbul, Turkey.
Photographer: Erhan Demirtas/BloombergIstanbul is not naturally an ideal biking city. As hilly as San Francisco but with 17 times the population, Turkey’s largest metropolis is hard to navigate by human-powered pedal. Traveling by car can be an even greater struggle, with roads ranked the most congested in the world.
Such transportation challenges have primed Istanbul to follow other cities across the world and embrace a different kind of vehicle: the electric scooter. The little vehicles can zip up hills faster than bicycles, emitting no carbon along the way in an urban area where air pollution-related health issues account for as much as 27% of the country’s overall medical costs.