Istanbul is “hailing” a new era of urban mobility today, as the city with Europe’s largest taxi fleet has selected a new Istanbul Taxi design and supply the next-generation “Taxi of Tomorrow.”
The Taxi Design Contest, run by the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality which took the contest to a plebiscite, ended with Istanbul residents choosing the B model as their new taxi design.
The new vehicle resembles a futuristic minivan and promises comforts geared toward a more urban creature.
The vehicle will have a transparent glass roof, interior floor lighting, a deployable entry step, exterior lights that flash when the van’s doors open, and independent, passenger-controlled climate controls. Sliding doors. Charging stations for mobile devices. Reading lights. Even passenger LCD screens and internet connection.
The vote took place on June 15-29 over the Internet and 340,000 people participated in the voting. The B model taxi received 41.2 percent of the votes. İstanbul residents have also chosen the designs for buses, trams and ferries in recent years.
The İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s Taxi Design Contest aimed to provide more comfortable services for the city’s residents. The new taxi design is geared towards including new technological developments and focuses on security and accident-prevention technologies as well accessibility features for the disabled. A municipal officer said the design will have characteristics specific to İstanbul.
Recently Turkish automaker Karsan designed a futuristic taxi cab and was among the three finalists in New York City’s search for a taxicab for the future. Nissan beated out the Karsan model after officials decided they could not risk awarding the contract to a company with little experience in the American market.
Comparing the two new Taxi designs, Istanbul’s New Futuristic Taxi Looks Way Better Than NYC’s Taxi of Tomorrow.