Dolmuş Travel

A dolmuş, or shared taxi, is a cross between a taxi and a bus: they run set routes, leave when full, and make fewer stops than a bus, so they're faster. Most dolmuşes are bright yellow minibuses. Dolmuş stands are marked by signs (look for a large "D") but you can also hail one on the street; the destination is shown on a roof sign or a card in the front window. Dolmuşes mostly head out to the suburbs, but visitors may find a few routes useful, including those that go from Taksim to Beşiktaş and from Taksim to Nişantaşı/Teşvikiye (for both routes, dolmuşes leave from the top of İnönü Caddesi near Taksim Square, and the fare is 2.25 TL). Dolmuşes also run between Taksim and the Kadıköy neighborhood (6 TL) on the Asian side, which is useful if you are coming back at night after the last boat.