"Over the last half-century, Istanbul has undergone a rapid transition to a sprawling megacity, growing from just over 1 million inhabitants in 1945 to an estimated 12 million in 2011. The number of cars on Istanbul’s streets has increased eightfold since 1980, faster than its population growth ... The city has tried to provide excellent and convenient multimodal public transportation to its millions of residents and tourists who visit each year." (Quoted from article)