Horse-drawn carriages to go electric in Istanbul

Visitors to Istanbul’s Prince’s Islands will find a small change in the horse buggies that trot along the seashore — they are now electric.

ISTANBUL (Cihan) – The Transportation Coordination System (UKOME) has decided to regulate transportation on the islands — where motorized vehicles are not allowed — and exchange the horse-drawn carriages with battery-operated ones.

The islands are frequented every year by thousands of tourists and even more locals, who flock to them to escape the hustle and bustle of Istanbul. Many of these visitors in the past have chosen to tour the island’s rocky roads and sandy beaches on colorful horse carriages, a nostalgic alternative form of transport.

UKOME made the decision to expropriate the buggies because of both the high fees that prohibited them from meeting public demand as well as the harsh working conditions of the horses.

A Public Transportation Services Directorate report on coach transport conducted in recent months found that out of the 277 registered horse-drawn buggies, 30 percent or 86 had no shelter for the animals. Also, according to the report, more than 15 percent of the roads the horses pull the carriages along are uphill.

UKOME will provide 40 electric carriages on the Buyukada, Heybeliada and Burgazada islands. <Cihan/Todays Zaman>

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