Action Line #80203 - Base Shuttle

  • Published
  • By Anonymous
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  Complaint:

I have been at Incirlik for over a year. I occasionally use the shuttle bus on base as well does my wife since we only have one car. All I ever hear from the commercials on TV is that you can't flag down the bus now and that you need to be at the stop before the bus arrives.

This is good advice however there are no times posted at the bus stops that tell when the bus is supposed to arrive. The arrival times seem to vary from day to day. I have also been told that the bus quits running at 1600. This seems a little early for bus service to quit running since most of the base does not get off work until 1630.

It seems that most of us that live in Phantom Housing or work in some of the more distant locations on the base that it would be nice if the bus could run till 1700 so we could have the option of riding the bus for free instead of paying $4 to $5 for a taxi. I also live in Phantom housing and am also concerned that the closest bus stop to my house is at the High School track. I still have 3 blocks to walk once I exit the bus.

It seems that for those of us that live in the back of Phantom housing and Herky housing that the bus could stop closer to us, maybe near the tennis courts between Istanbul and Ankara Streets. This service would also be a convenience for those just arriving to Incirlik that do not have their vehicle here yet or did not ship one. A bus stop some where near the middle of Izmir Street would also be helpful. Thanks for your consideration in this matter. 

Response:

Thank you for the opportunity to address our shuttle service. The shuttle makes nine stops along its route which takes approximately 20 minutes to complete. In an effort to improve our service and provide as much information as possible, we'll start posting schedules to approximate shuttle arrival times at each stop. Unfortunately "exacting" the arrival of a bus at a single pick up/drop-off point isn't an easy thing to do as the time spent at each stop varies based on how many people board/exit. As a result, the schedules we're posting may not be exact however they should be accurate within a few minutes.

Shuttle service ends at 1600 hours as a result of a recent ridership analysis that shows on average, only two passengers per day use the shuttle after 1600 hours. Simply stated, the low demand did not justify operating expenses after 1600.

As for where the shuttle stops, AFIs restrict us from providing domicile to duty location transportation which precludes stopping in the housing areas as you suggest. We designed our routes to accommodate residents to the maximum extent possible while remaining compliant with governing directives.