Transportation in TRNC

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is, unfortunately, less fortunate in a diverse platform related to transport since the island lacks inland waterways or rivers. Moreover, the government hasn’t done much to initiate any sort of railway projects or lay any rails as well. However, this has given rise to a, particularly competitive ground for local road transport that includes buses, cars, shuttles and taxi services which provide pretty fast, reliable and efficient services at considerably economical rates. In this article, I will focus on the bus services that the students and tourists can utilize to ensure a safe and punctual journey while they remain in Northern Cyprus.

The buses in TRNC do not follow a fixed schedule. However, bus departures are frequent (every 20-30 minutes) between large and smaller towns during the weekdays and weekends. The renown companies that operate between the central cities of Nicosia, Famagusta, Kyrenia, Guzelyurt, Karpaz and Lefke are Cimen, Akva and Kibhas. One major restriction that befalls the bus services is that most of these companies do not operate that frequently after 7.00 p.m. In summer the last bus goes usually at 8 pm, while in winter the last one is 6 pm bus. So, if you plan to use a bus to travel between locations, make sure that you take care of your business before 7 p.m. or else your last resort would be to hire a taxi service which is relatively very costly as compared to the bus services. Furthermore, the taxi drivers are very cunning and don’t offer any discounts to students and have formed a sort of an obscure union which makes it a bit harrowing to haggle for cheaper rates. As far as I remember, the average fare of a single bus ticket for a  student falls around 9-10 Turkish Liras.

These bus companies operate from fixed bus stations of proximities like in Nicosia, the bus station is located at the Corner of Atatürk Caddesi and Kemal Asik Caddesi. In Famagusta, there are Otobüs Terminals (Gazi Mustafa Kemal Bulvari) and the Itimat bus station (south side of Yirmisekiz Ocak). In Kyrenia, the buses arrive and depart from Bedredin Demirel (south of the New Town) and Belediye Meydani ( City Centre). It always pays off to have the contact numbers of the bus companies tucked in safely in your phone or a travel diary.

Therefore, I have included the contact information of the above-mentioned bus companies for your convenience.

• Kibhas Bus Services: 0533 870 78 48, 0533 870 78 45

• Akva Shuttle Services: 0392 7144970

• Cimen Bus Services: +90 392 228-8615, +90 392 815-3144