Istanbul commuters turn cars into bedrooms to beat traffic

For many office workers in Istanbul, the workday no longer starts at 9 a.m. It starts whenever they manage to defeat the city's traffic.

As congestion continues to shape daily life in Istanbul, some commuters heading to the busy business districts of Levent and Maslak have adopted a strategy that would have seemed unusual a few years ago, arriving at work hours early and sleeping in their cars until their shift begins.

In what could be described as Istanbul's newest unofficial hospitality sector, parked vehicles outside office towers are increasingly doubling as temporary bedrooms, dressing rooms and entertainment centers.

Many workers leave home as early as 5 a.m., armed with pillows, blankets and a determination to avoid the traffic jams that can transform a relatively short commute into a multi-hour ordeal.

Some spend the extra time sleeping behind the wheel. Others watch videos on their phones, take morning walks or prepare for the day before stepping into the office.

One commuter said he sometimes leaves home around midnight to avoid traffic and then waits for hours outside his workplace.

Another employee traveling from Büyükçekmece said the journey to Levent can take around 40 minutes under ideal conditions, but after 7:30 a.m. the same trip can stretch to nearly 2 hours.

"If you leave after 7:30, it can take up to 2 hours," he said, explaining that he often passes the time by walking around the neighborhood before work.

For some workers, the waiting period has become part of the daily routine. A commuter from Yenibosna said she frequently uses the extra time to sleep, apply makeup or organize her schedule for the day.

The trend highlights how traffic congestion increasingly dictates daily schedules across the megacity, where many residents calculate departure times not according to work hours but according to when roads are least likely to resemble parking lots.

While some cities boast coworking spaces, Istanbul appears to be pioneering something different, co-sleeping spaces conveniently located inside personal vehicles.

Traffic congestion continues to dominate daily life in Istanbul, which was ranked the world's most congested city for a second consecutive year in the 2025 INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard. Drivers lose an average of 118 hours annually to traffic delays, prompting some commuters to arrive at work hours before their shifts begin to avoid rush-hour gridlock.