In recent years, especially due to increased traffic congestion the motorcycle usage in Istanbul has become increasingly widespread. According to 2015 data, the number of automobiles in Istanbul has reached up to 2.5 million, while the number of motorcycles has reached up to 260 thousand. This transportation mode, which was predominantly used by the couriers previously, has become a preferred mode of transportation by the reason of its speed and operating cost at urban trips.
The aim of this study is to determine the advantages and disadvantages of the motorcycle usage and understand the travel habits with respect to their socioeconomic status of motorcyclists in Istanbul. The analysis is realized with the help of a face-to-face questionnaire study conducted with 201 motorcyclists. On the questionnaire, it is determined that the most important reason to choose motorcycle is the traffic congestion and the most important obstacle to the spread of the motorcycle usage is the behavior of other vehicle drivers. The motorcycle owners evenly prefer motorcycles on compulsory trips (home to work, home to school etc.) and on other trips. It has been seen that motorcycle usage rate does not change with respect to the length of the trip and accordingly for the trips shorter than 1 km, walking is preferred as well as
motorcycle.
This study is one of the rare studies that inspect this transportation mode in İstanbul, which is more environment friendly than private car.